Sec. 301. Interagency Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee
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Title V of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by section 101, is further amended by inserting after section 501 of such Act the following: The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders (in this section referred to as the Assistant Secretary ) shall establish a committee, to be known as the Interagency Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee (in this section referred to as the Committee ), to assist the Assistant Secretary in carrying out the Assistant Secretary’s duties.
The Committee shall— develop and annually update a summary of advances in serious mental illness research related to causes, prevention, treatment, early screening, diagnosis or rule out, intervention, and access to services and supports for individuals with serious mental illness; monitor Federal activities with respect to serious mental illness; make recommendations to the Assistant Secretary regarding any appropriate changes to such activities, including recommendations to the Director of NIH with respect to the strategic plan developed under paragraph (5); make recommendations to the Assistant Secretary regarding public participation in decisions relating to serious mental illness; develop and annually update a strategic plan for advancing— public utilization of effective mental health services; and compliance with treatment; develop and annually update a strategic plan for the conduct of, and support for, serious mental illness research, including proposed budgetary requirements; and submit to the Congress such strategic plan and any updates to such plan.
The Committee shall be composed of— the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders (or the Assistant Secretary’s designee), who shall serve as the Chair of the Committee; the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (or the Director’s designee); the Attorney General of the United States (or the Attorney General’s designee); the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or the Director’s designee); the Director of the National Institutes of Health (or the Director’s designee); the directors of such national research institutes of the National Institutes of Health as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders determines appropriate (or their designees); a member of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness; representatives, appointed by the Assistant Secretary, of Federal agencies that are outside of the Department of Health and Human Services and serve individuals with serious mental illness, including representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Defense, the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration; 4 members, of which— 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives; 1 shall be appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; and 1 shall be appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; and the additional members appointed under paragraph (2).
Not fewer than 14 members of the Committee, or 1/3 of the total membership of the Committee, whichever is greater, shall be composed of non-Federal public members to be appointed by the Assistant Secretary, of which— at least one such member shall be an individual in recovery from a diagnosis of serious mental illness who has benefitted from and is receiving medical treatment under the care of a licensed mental health professional; at least one such member shall be a parent or legal guardian of an individual with a history of serious mental illness who has either attempted suicide or is incarcerated for violence committed while experiencing a serious mental illness; at least one such member shall be a representative of a leading research, advocacy, and service organization for individuals with serious mental illness; at least one such member shall be— a licensed psychiatrist with experience treating serious mental illness; or a licensed clinical psychologist with experience treating serious mental illness; at least one member shall be a licensed mental health counselor or psychotherapist; at least one member shall be a licensed clinical social worker; at least one member shall be a licensed psychiatric nurse or nurse practitioner; at least one member shall be a mental health professional with a significant focus in his or her practice working with children and adolescents; at least one member shall be a mental health professional who spends a significant concentration of his or her professional time or leadership practicing community mental health; at least one member shall be a mental health professional with substantial experience working with mentally ill individuals who have a history of violence or suicide; at least one such member shall be a State certified mental health peer specialist; at least one member shall be a judge with experiences applying assisted outpatient treatment; at least one member shall be a law enforcement officer with extensive experience in interfacing with psychiatric and psychological disorders or individuals in mental health crisis; and at least one member shall be a corrections officer.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years thereafter, the Committee shall submit a report to the Congress— analyzing the efficiency, effectiveness, quality, coordination, and cost effectiveness of Federal programs and activities relating to the prevention of, or treatment or rehabilitation for, mental health or substance use disorders, including an accounting of the costs of such programs and activities, with administrative costs disaggregated from the costs of services and care provided; evaluating the impact on public health of projects addressing priority mental health needs of regional and national significance under sections 501, 509, 516, and 520A including measurement of public health outcomes such as— reduced rates of suicide, suicide attempts, substance abuse, overdose, overdose deaths, emergency hospitalizations, emergency room boarding, incarceration, crime, arrest, victimization, homelessness, and joblessness; increased rates of employment and enrollment in educational and vocational programs; and such other criteria as may be determined by the Assistant Secretary; formulating recommendations for the coordination and improvement of Federal programs and activities described in paragraph (2); identifying any such programs and activities that are duplicative; and summarizing all recommendations made, activities carried out, and results achieved pursuant to the workforce development strategy under section 501(b)(9) of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by section 101.
The following provisions shall apply with respect to the Committee: The Assistant Secretary shall provide such administrative support to the Committee as may be necessary for the Committee to carry out its responsibilities. Members of the Committee appointed under subsection (c)(2) shall serve for a term of 4 years, and may be reappointed for one or more additional 4-year terms. Any member appointed to fill a vacancy for an unexpired term shall be appointed for the remainder of such term.
A member may serve after the expiration of the member’s term until a successor has taken office. The Committee shall meet at the call of the chair or upon the request of the Assistant Secretary. The Committee shall meet not fewer than 2 times each year. All meetings of the Committee shall be public and shall include appropriate time periods for questions and presentations by the public. In carrying out its functions, the Committee may establish subcommittees and convene workshops and conferences.
Such subcommittees shall be composed of Committee members and may hold such meetings as are necessary to enable the subcommittees to carry out their duties. .