Mental and behavioral health education and training grants

42 U.S.C. § 294e–1

• Title: 42 — The Public Health and Welfare
• Chapter: 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
• Subchapter: V
• Part: D
• Current through: Pub. L. 119-99

Text

(a) Grants authorized
The Secretary may award grants to eligible institutions to support the recruitment of students for, and education and clinical experience of the students in—
(1) accredited institutions of higher education or accredited professional training programs that are establishing or expanding internships or other field placement programs in mental health in psychiatry, psychology, school psychology, behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nursing (which may include master's and doctoral level programs), social work, school social work, substance use disorder prevention and treatment, marriage and family therapy, occupational therapy (which may include master's and doctoral level programs), school counseling, or professional counseling, including such programs with a focus on child and adolescent mental health, trauma, and transitional-age youth;
(2) accredited doctoral, internship, and post-doctoral residency programs of health service psychology (including clinical psychology, counseling, and school psychology) for the development and implementation of interdisciplinary training of psychology graduate students for providing behavioral health services, including trauma-informed care and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services, as well as the development of faculty in health service psychology;
(3) accredited master's and doctoral degree programs of social work for the development and implementation of interdisciplinary training of social work graduate students for providing behavioral health services, including trauma-informed care and substance use disorder prevention and treatment services, and the development of faculty in social work; and
(4) State-licensed mental health nonprofit and for-profit organizations to enable such organizations to pay for programs for preservice or in-service training in a behavioral health-related paraprofessional field with preference for preservice or in-service training of paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health workers, including training to increase skills and capacity to meet the needs of children and adolescents who have experienced trauma.
(b) Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for a grant under this section, an institution shall demonstrate—
(1) an ability to recruit and place the students described in subsection (a) in areas with a high need and high demand population;
(2) participation in the institutions' programs of individuals and groups from different racial, ethnic, cultural, geographic, religious, linguistic, and class backgrounds, and different genders and sexual orientations;
(3) knowledge and understanding of the concerns of the individuals and groups described in paragraph (2), especially individuals with mental disorder symptoms or diagnoses, particularly children and adolescents, and transitional-age youth;
(4) any internship or other field placement program assisted under the grant will prioritize cultural and linguistic competency; and
(5) the institution will provide to the Secretary such data, assurances, and information as the Secretary may require.
(c) Institutional requirement
For grants awarded under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a), at least 4 of the grant recipients shall be historically black colleges or universities or other minority-serving institutions.
(d) Priority
In selecting grant recipients under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to—
(1) programs that have demonstrated the ability to train psychology, psychiatry, and social work professionals to work in integrated care settings for purposes of recipients under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a); and
(2) programs for paraprofessionals that emphasize the role of the family and the lived experience of the consumer and family-paraprofessional partnerships for purposes of recipients under subsection (a)(4).
(e) Report to Congress
Not later than 4 years after December 13, 2016, the Secretary shall include in the biennial report submitted to Congress under section 290aa(m) of this title an assessment on the effectiveness of the grants under this section in—
(1) providing graduate students support for experiential training (internship or field placement);
(2) recruiting students interested in behavioral health practice;
(3) recruiting students in accordance with subsection (b)(1);
(4) developing and implementing interprofessional training and integration within primary care;
(5) developing and implementing accredited field placements and internships; and
(6) collecting data on the number of students trained in behavioral health care and the number of available accredited internships and field placements.
(f) Authorization of appropriations
For each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000, to be allocated as follows:
(1) For grants described in subsection (a)(1), $15,000,000.
(2) For grants described in subsection (a)(2), $15,000,000.
(3) For grants described in subsection (a)(3), $10,000,000.
(4) For grants described in subsection (a)(4), $10,000,000.

History

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title VII, §756, as added Pub. L. 111–148, title V, §5306(a)(3), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 626; amended Pub. L. 114–255, div. B, title IX, §9021, Dec. 13, 2016, 130 Stat. 1248; Pub. L. 115–271, title VII, §7073(b), Oct. 24, 2018, 132 Stat. 4032; Pub. L. 117–328, div. FF, title I, §1311(a), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5696; Pub. L. 119–44, title II, §203, Dec. 1, 2025, 139 Stat. 680.)

Editorial Notes

Editorial Notes

Codification
Pub. L. 111–148, title V, §5306(a)(3), Mar. 23, 2010, 124 Stat. 626, which directed the amendment of part D of title VII by inserting section 756 after section 755, without specifying the act to be amended, was executed by inserting section 756 after section 755 of act July 1, 1944, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Prior Provisions
A prior section 756 of act July 1, 1944, was renumbered section 757 and is classified to section 294f of this title.
Another prior section 756 of act July 1, 1944, was renumbered section 338G, transferred to section 254q of this title, and subsequently repealed by Pub. L. 100–177.
Another prior section 756 of act July 1, 1944, was classified to section 294f of this title prior to repeal by Pub. L. 94–484.

Amendments
2025—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 119–44 substituted "fiscal years 2026 through 2030" for "fiscal years 2023 through 2027".
2022—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 117–328, §1311(a)(1)(A), inserted "(which may include master's and doctoral level programs)" after "occupational therapy".
Subsec. (a)(4). Pub. L. 117–328, §1311(a)(1)(B), inserted ", including training to increase skills and capacity to meet the needs of children and adolescents who have experienced trauma" after "workers".
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 117–328, §1311(a)(2), substituted "For each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027" for "For each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023" in introductory provisions.
2018—Subsec. (a)(1). Pub. L. 115–271, §7073(b)(1)(A), inserted ", trauma," after "focus on child and adolescent mental health".
Subsec. (a)(2), (3). Pub. L. 115–271, §7073(b)(1)(B), inserted "trauma-informed care and" before "substance use disorder prevention and treatment services".
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 115–271, §7073(b)(2), substituted "2019 through 2023" for "2018 through 2022" in introductory provisions.
2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(1), struck out "of higher education" after "eligible institutions" in introductory provisions, added pars. (1) to (4), and struck out former pars. (1) to (4) which read as follows:
"(1) baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degree programs of social work, as well as the development of faculty in social work;
"(2) accredited master's, doctoral, internship, and post-doctoral residency programs of psychology for the development and implementation of interdisciplinary training of psychology graduate students for providing behavioral and mental health services, including substance abuse prevention and treatment services;
"(3) accredited institutions of higher education or accredited professional training programs that are establishing or expanding internships or other field placement programs in child and adolescent mental health in psychiatry, psychology, school psychology, behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nursing, social work, school social work, substance abuse prevention and treatment, marriage and family therapy, school counseling, or professional counseling; and
"(4) State-licensed mental health nonprofit and for-profit organizations to enable such organizations to pay for programs for preservice or in-service training of paraprofessional child and adolescent mental health workers."
Subsec. (b)(1), (2). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(2)(B), (C), added par. (1) and redesignated former par. (1) as (2). Former par. (2) redesignated (3).
Subsec. (b)(3). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(2)(B), (D), redesignated par. (2) as (3) and substituted "paragraph (2), especially individuals with mental disorder symptoms or diagnoses, particularly children and adolescents, and transitional-age youth" for "subsection (a)". Former par. (3) redesignated (4).
Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(2)(B), (E), redesignated par. (3) as (4) and inserted "and" at end. Former par. (4) redesignated (5).
Subsec. (b)(5). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(2)(A), (B), (F), redesignated par. (4) as (5), substituted period for "; and" at end, and struck out former par. (5) which read as follows: "with respect to any violation of the agreement between the Secretary and the institution, the institution will pay such liquidated damages as prescribed by the Secretary by regulation."
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(3), substituted "awarded under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (a)" for "authorized under subsection (a)(1)".
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(4), amended subsec. (d) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) related to priority in selecting grant recipients in social work, graduate psychology, and training programs in child and adolescent mental health.
Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 114–255, §9021(5), added subsecs. (e) and (f) and struck out former subsec. (e) which authorized appropriations for fiscal years 2010 through 2013.