Sec. 6606. Study and report on strategies on the AANHPI behavioral health workforce shortage
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The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use (referred to in this section as the Secretary ), in coordination with the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Secretary of Labor, and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, shall conduct a study on strategies for increasing the behavioral health professional workforce that identify as AANHPI. Such study required under paragraph
(1)shall consider— the total number of licensed behavioral health providers in the United States who identify as AANHPI; with respect to each such provider, information regarding the current type of license, geographic area of practice, and type of employer (such as hospital, Federally-qualified health center, school, or private practice); information regarding the cultural and linguistic capabilities of such providers, including languages spoken proficiently; and the relevant barriers to enrollment in behavioral health professional education programs and entering the behavioral workforce for AANHPI individuals. Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and make publicly available, a report on the findings of the study conducted under subsection (a), including— identification of AANHPI licensed behavioral health providers’ knowledge and awareness of the barriers to quality behavioral health care services faced by AANHPI individuals, including stigma, limited English proficiency, and lack of health insurance coverage; recommendations for actions to be taken by the Secretary to increase the number of AANHPI licensed behavioral health professionals; recommendations for legislative or administrative action to improve the enrollment of AANHPI individuals in behavioral health professional education programs; and such other recommendations as the Secretary determines appropriate. Any data included in the study or report under this section shall be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and other relevant factors, in a manner that protects personal privacy and that is consistent with applicable Federal and State privacy law. In this section the term licensed behavioral health provider means any individual licensed to provide mental health or substance use disorder services, including in the professions of social work, psychology, psychiatry, marriage and family therapy, mental health counseling, and substance use disorder counseling. For purposes of carrying out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated $1,500,000 for fiscal year 2025.