[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 767 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 767
To enhance mental health and psychosocial support within United States
development and humanitarian assistance programs.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 9, 2023
Mr. Casey (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Booker, Mrs. Shaheen, Mrs.
Murray, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Fetterman) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance mental health and psychosocial support within United States
development and humanitarian assistance programs.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mental Health in International
Development and Humanitarian Settings Act'' or the ``MINDS Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) According to the World Health Organization (referred to
in this section as ``WHO''), an estimated 1,000,000,000
individuals worldwide have a mental health or substance use
disorder.
(2) The Lancet Commission estimates that nearly 130,000,000
additional cases of major depressive and anxiety disorders
globally in 2020 resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.
(3) According to WHO--
(A) depression is among the primary causes of
illness and disability in adolescents;
(B) 50 percent of mental health disorders emerge by
the time an adolescent reaches 14 years of age; and
(C) 14 percent of children and adolescents
worldwide experience mental health conditions, the
majority of whom do not seek care, receive care, or
have access to care.
(4) According to a report commissioned by the United
Nations--
(A) more than 1 out of every 5 individuals living
in a conflict-affected area has a mental health
disorder;
(B) approximately 1,500,000,000 (or 2 out of every
3) of the world's children younger than 18 years of age
live in countries affected by conflict;
(C) more than 1 out of every 6 children live in
conflict zones;
(D) a greater number of children live in areas
affected by armed conflict and war now than at any
other time during this century; and
(E) the mental health burden in conflict-affected
contexts is twice the global average.
(5) According to the WHO--
(A) risk factors that increase susceptibility to
mental health disorders include--
(i) poverty and hunger;
(ii) chronic health conditions;
(iii) trauma or maltreatment;
(iv) social exclusion;
(v) discrimination; and
(vi) exposure to, and displacement by, war
or conflict;
(B) these risk factors, along with demographic risk
factors, manifest at all stages in life;
(C) preliminary research illustrates that the
COVID-19 pandemic--
(i) has increased the risk factors
affecting communities, families, and
individuals for multiple types of adversity;
and
(ii) compounded preexisting conditions and
vulnerabilities.
(6) According to a Lancet Commission report--
(A) allocations for mental health have never risen
above 1 percent of health-related global development
assistance; and
(B) child and adolescent mental health services
receive an estimated 0.1 percent of health-related
global development assistance.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) helping to ensure that individuals have the opportunity
to thrive and reach their fullest potential is a critical
component of effective and sustainable international
development efforts;
(2) mental health is integral and essential to overall
health outcomes and other development objectives;
(3) mental health is an issue of critical and growing
importance for United States development and humanitarian
assistance programs that requires coordinated efforts to ensure
that programming funded by the United States Government is
evidence-based, culturally competent, and trauma-informed;
(4) the relevant United States Government development and
humanitarian assistance strategies should include a mental
health and psychosocial support component;
(5) the redesign of USAID--
(A) reflects the nexus between humanitarian and
development interventions; and
(B) should be applied to all mental health and
psychosocial support efforts of United States
development and humanitarian assistance programs; and
(6) ongoing efforts to improve social service workforce
development and local capacity building are essential to
expanding mental health and psychosocial support activities
across all United States development and humanitarian
assistance programs.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the
Administrator of USAID.
(2) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States
Agency for International Development.
SEC. 4. COORDINATOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.
Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152f)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Coordinator for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.--
``(1) Appointment.--The Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development, in consultation with the
Secretary of State, is authorized to appoint a Mental Health
and Psychosocial Support Coordinator (referred to in this
section as the `MHPSS Coordinator').
``(2) Specific duties.--The MHPSS Coordinator shall--
``(A) establish and chair the Mental Health and
Psychosocial Support Working Group authorized under
section 4 of the MINDS Act;
``(B) guide, oversee, and direct mental health and
psychosocial support programming and integration across
United States foreign assistance programming;
``(C) serve as the main point of contact on mental
health and psychosocial support in the Bureau for
Global Health, the Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance,
regional bureaus, the Center for Education and the
Inclusive Development Hub in the Bureau for
Development, Democracy, and Innovation, other bureaus,
the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Global
Health Diplomacy, and other interagency or presidential
initiatives;
``(D) promote best practices, coordination and
reporting in mental health and psychosocial support
programming across United States development and
humanitarian assistance programs;
``(E) provide direction, guidance, and oversight on
the integration of mental health and psychosocial
support in United States development and humanitarian
assistance programs; and
``(F) participate in the Advancing Protection and
Care for Children in Adversity Interagency Working
Group.
``(3) Focus populations.--The MHPSS Coordinator, as
appropriate, should prioritize populations with increased risk
factors for developing mental health disorders, including--
``(A) adult caretakers and children, including
families and adults who are long-term caretakers;
``(B) children and others who are separated from a
family unit; and
``(C) other specific populations in need of mental
health and psychosocial support, such as crisis
affected communities, displaced populations, gender-
based violence survivors, and individuals and
households coping with the consequences of diseases,
such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19.''.
SEC. 5. MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT WORKING GROUP.
The Administrator, in cooperation with the Mental Health and
Psychosocial Support Coordinator appointed pursuant to section 135(f)
of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 4, shall
establish the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Working Group,
which shall include senior representatives from relevant USAID bureaus,
the Department of State, and other Federal departments and agencies, as
appropriate, to ensure continuity and integration of mental health and
psychosocial support across United States development and humanitarian
assistance programs.
SEC. 6. INTEGRATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.
(a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to
integrate mental health and psychosocial support across all relevant
United States development and humanitarian assistance programs.
(b) Implementation of Policy.--The Administrator and the Secretary
of State should--
(1) require all USAID and Department of State regional
bureaus and missions to advance the policy described in
subsection (a) through relevant development and humanitarian
assistance efforts, including by building local capacity to
inform, design, and implement mental health and psychosocial
support programming;
(2) ensure that all USAID and Department of State mental
health and psychosocial support programming--
(A) is evidence-based and culturally competent;
(B) responds to all types of childhood adversity;
and
(C) includes trauma-specific interventions in
accordance with the recognized principles of a trauma-
informed approach, whenever applicable; and
(3) integrate the principles of the Advancing Protection
and Care for Children in Adversity Strategy.
SEC. 7. CONSULTATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Consultation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the
Secretary of State, shall consult with the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives regarding--
(1) the progress made in carrying out section 6(b); and
(2) any barriers preventing the full integration of the
strategy referred to in section 6(b)(3).
(b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and annually thereafter for the following 5 fiscal years,
the Administrator and the Secretary of State, in consultation with the
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Coordinator appointed pursuant
to section 135(f) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by
section 4, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, as
necessary and appropriate, shall submit a report to the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of
the House of Representatives that describes--
(1) the amount of United States development and
humanitarian assistance program funding that was obligated and
expended during the most recently concluded fiscal year on
mental health and psychosocial support programming;
(2) how USAID and the Department of State are working to
integrate mental health and psychosocial programming, including
child-specific programming, into their development and
humanitarian assistance programs across relevant sectors,
including health, education, nutrition, and protection;
(3) the metrics of success of the Advancing Protection and
Care for Children in Adversity Strategy and the progress made
towards achieving broader mental health outcomes;
(4) the programs in which trauma-specific strategies are
being implemented, and how best practices for trauma-informed
programming are being shared across programs;
(5) any barriers preventing full integration of child
mental health and psychosocial support into programs for
children and youth, and recommendations for modifications or
expansion of such programs;
(6) any barriers to the expansion of mental health and
psychosocial support programming in conflict and humanitarian
settings, and how such barriers are being addressed;
(7) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health
and psychosocial support programming; and
(8) funding data, including a list of programs to which
USAID and the Department of State have obligated funds during
the most recently concluded fiscal year to improve access to,
and the quality of, mental health and psychosocial support
programming in development and humanitarian contexts.
SEC. 8. SUNSET.
This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall terminate on
the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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