Sec. 104. Coordination with Federal departments and agencies
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Each department or agency of the Federal Government providing mental health services shall— cooperate with the efforts of the Director under this title; provide such assistance, statistics, studies, reports, information, and advice as the Director may request, to the extent permitted by law; adjust department or agency staff job descriptions and performance measures to support collaboration and implementation of the Strategy; and assign department or agency liaisons to the Office to oversee and implement interagency coordination.
The Director, in collaboration with the heads of Federal departments and agencies providing mental health services, shall strengthen the coordination of Federal mental health services in order to maximize the access of individuals with mental illness, particularly individuals with serious mental illness, to community-based mental health services, strengthen the impact of mental health services, and meet the comprehensive needs of individuals with mental illness, particularly individuals with serious mental illness and children and adolescents with a serious emotional disturbance, by, where appropriate— facilitating the development of shared grant application processes; offering joint training and technical assistance efforts; improving opportunities for individuals with mental illness to maintain services as they transition from systems of care; aligning— grantee reporting requirements; definitions; eligibility requirements; research; evaluation efforts; and data collection; making recommendations with respect to the legislative changes necessary to achieve the interagency alignment and coordination necessary to facilitate the delivery of a comprehensive array of mental health services; and taking other steps necessary to improve collaboration between Federal departments and agencies providing mental health services.
The Director, in consultation with the heads of Federal departments and agencies, may oversee the development and administration of initiatives involving multiple Federal departments and agencies, including initiatives that involve the integration of funding from different Federal departments and agencies to the extent permitted by law. With respect to an initiative that involves the integration of funding from different Federal departments and agencies, the Federal department or agency principally involved in such an initiative, as determined by the Director, may be designated by the Director to act for all involved departments or agencies in administering funds for the initiative to the extent permitted by law.
Initiatives developed under this subsection may involve nongovernmental entities to the extent permitted by law. There is established within the Office the National Mental Health Council (hereinafter referred to in this title as the Council ). The members of the Council shall include— the President; the Director; the Secretary of Health and Human Services; the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health; the Attorney General of the United States; the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; the Assistant Secretary–Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior; the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Director of the National Institutes of Health; the directors of such national research institutes of the National Institutes of Health as the Director determines appropriate; representatives, appointed by the Director, of Federal agencies that are outside of the Department of Health and Human Services and serve individuals with mental illness, such as the Department of Education; the Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; the Secretary of Defense; and other Federal officials as directed by the President.
The Chairperson of the Council shall be the President. Members of the Council may select a designee to perform duties under this subsection, but it is the sense of Congress that such members should refrain from doing so whenever possible. The full membership of the Council shall meet at the call of the Chairperson, but at least once each year. The Chairperson may call additional meetings composed of less than the full membership of the Council as needed. The first meeting of the Council shall be not more than four months after the date of the enactment of this title.
At least two meetings of the Council each year shall be opened to the participation of members of the National Mental Health Advisory Board. The Council shall— assist the Director to coordinate the mental health services provided by Federal departments and agencies and to coordinate Federal interagency mental health services; assist the Director in the development, coordination, implementation, evaluation, and promulgation of the Strategy; assist the Director in soliciting and documenting ongoing input and recommendations with respect to mental health services and mental health outcomes from State, local, and tribal governments, nongovernmental entities, and individuals with mental illness, particularly individuals with serious mental illness and children and adolescents with a serious emotional disturbance; and ensure that members of the Council oversee the implementation of those sections of the Strategy for which each such member’s department or agency is responsible, as determined by the Director, and to report to the Director on such implementation and the results thereof.