42 U.S.C. § 290aa : US Code - Section 290AA: Substance Abuse and Mental 

Health Services Administration

(a) Establishment 

 The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (hereafter 

 referred to in this subchapter as the "Administration") is an agency of the Service. 

(b) Agencies 

 The following entities are agencies of the Administration: 

 (1) The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. 

 (2) The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. 

 (3) The Center for Mental Health Services. 

(c) Administrator and Deputy Administrator 

 (1) Administrator 

The Administration shall be headed by an Administrator (hereinafter in this 

subchapter referred to as the "Administrator") who shall be appointed by the 

President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. 

 (2) Deputy Administrator 

The Administrator, with the approval of the Secretary, may appoint a Deputy 

Administrator and may employ and prescribe the functions of such officers and 

employees, including attorneys, as are necessary to administer the activities to 

be carried out through the Administration. 

(d) Authorities 

 The Secretary, acting through the Administrator, shall - 

 (1) supervise the functions of the agencies of the Administration in order to 

 assure that the programs carried out through each such agency receive 

 appropriate and equitable support and that there is cooperation among the 

 agencies in the implementation of such programs; 

 (2) establish and implement, through the respective agencies, a comprehensive 

 program to improve the provision of treatment and related services to individuals 

 with respect to substance abuse and mental illness and to improve prevention 

 services, promote mental health and protect the legal rights of individuals with 

 mental illnesses and individuals who are substance abusers; 

 (3) carry out the administrative and financial management, policy development 

 and planning, evaluation, knowledge dissemination, and public information 

 functions that are required for the implementation of this subchapter; 

 (4) assure that the Administration conduct and coordinate demonstration 

 projects, evaluations, and service system assessments and other activities 

 necessary to improve the availability and quality of treatment, prevention and 

 related services; 
(5) support activities that will improve the provision of treatment, prevention and 

related services, including the development of national mental health and 

substance abuse goals and model programs; 

(6) in cooperation with the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease 

Control and the Health Resources and Services Administration develop 

educational materials and intervention strategies to reduce the risks of HIV or 

tuberculosis among substance abusers and individuals with mental illness and to 

develop appropriate mental health services for individuals with such illnesses; 

(7) coordinate Federal policy with respect to the provision of treatment services 

for substance abuse utilizing anti-addiction medications, including methadone; 

(8) conduct programs, and assure the coordination of such programs with 

activities of the National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare 

Research and Quality, as appropriate, to evaluate the process, outcomes and 

community impact of treatment and prevention services and systems of care in 

order to identify the manner in which such services can most effectively be 

provided; 

(9) collaborate with the Director of the National Institutes of Health in the 

development of a system by which the relevant research findings of the National 

Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 

the National Institute of Mental Health, and, as appropriate, the Agency for 

Healthcare Research and Quality are disseminated to service providers in a 

manner designed to improve the delivery and effectiveness of treatment and 

prevention services; 

(10) encourage public and private entities that provide health insurance to 

provide benefits for substance abuse and mental health services; 

(11) promote the integration of substance abuse and mental health services into 

the mainstream of the health care delivery system of the United States; 

(12) monitor compliance by hospitals and other facilities with the requirements of 

sections 290dd-1 and 290dd-2 of this title; 

(13) with respect to grant programs authorized under this subchapter, assure 

that- 

(A) all grants that are awarded for the provision of services are subject to 

performance and outcome evaluations; and 

(B) all grants that are awarded to entities other than States are awarded 

only after the State in which the entity intends to provide services - 

 (i) is notified of the pendency of the grant application; and 

 (ii) is afforded an opportunity to comment on the merits of the 

 application; 

 (14) assure that services provided with amounts appropriated under this 

 subchapter are provided bilingually, if appropriate; 
 (15) improve coordination among prevention programs, treatment facilities and 

 nonhealth care systems such as employers, labor unions, and schools, and 

 encourage the adoption of employee assistance programs and student 

 assistance programs; 

(16) maintain a clearinghouse for substance abuse and mental health information 

to assure the widespread dissemination of such information to States, political 

subdivisions, educational agencies and institutions, treatment providers, and the 

general public; 

(17) in collaboration with the National Institute on Aging, and in consultation with 

the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and 

Alcoholism and the National Institute of Mental Health, as appropriate, promote 

and evaluate substance abuse services for older Americans in need of such 

services, and mental health services for older Americans who are seriously 

mentally ill; and 

(18) promote the coordination of service programs conducted by other 

departments, agencies, organizations and individuals that are or may be related 

to the problems of individuals suffering from mental illness or substance abuse, 

including liaisons with the Social Security Administration, Centers for Medicare & 

Medicaid Services, and other programs of the Department, as well as liaisons 

with the Department of Education, Department of Justice, and other Federal 

Departments and offices, as appropriate. 

(e) Associate Administrator for Alcohol Prevention and Treatment Policy 

 (1) In general 

There may be in the Administration an Associate Administrator for Alcohol 

Prevention and Treatment Policy to whom the Administrator may delegate the 

functions of promoting, monitoring, and evaluating service programs for the 

prevention and treatment of alcoholism and alcohol abuse within the Center for 

Substance Abuse Prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and 

the Center for Mental Health Services, and coordinating such programs among 

the Centers, and among the Centers and other public and private entities. The 

Associate Administrator also may ensure that alcohol prevention, education, and 

policy strategies are integrated into all programs of the Centers that address 

substance abuse prevention, education, and policy, and that the Center for 

Substance Abuse Prevention addresses the Healthy People 2010 goals and the 

National Dietary Guidelines of the Department of Health and Human Services 

and the Department of Agriculture related to alcohol consumption. 

(2) Plan 

(A) The Administrator, acting through the Associate Administrator for 

Alcohol Prevention and Treatment Policy, shall develop, and periodically 

review and as appropriate revise, a plan for programs and policies to treat 

and prevent alcoholism and alcohol abuse. The plan shall be developed 
(and reviewed and revised) in collaboration with the Directors of the 

Centers of the Administration and in consultation with members of other 

Federal agencies and public and private entities. 

(B) Not later than 1 year after July 10, 1992, the Administrator shall submit 

to the Congress the first plan developed under subparagraph (A). 

 (3) Report 

(A) Not less than once during each 2 years, the Administrator, acting 

through the Associate Administrator for Alcohol Prevention and Treatment 

Policy, shall prepare a report describing the alcoholism and alcohol abuse 

prevention and treatment programs undertaken by the Administration and 

its agencies, and the report shall include a detailed statement of the 

expenditures made for the activities reported on and the personnel used in 

connection with such activities. 

(B) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall include a description of any 

revisions in the plan under paragraph (2) made during the preceding 2 

years. 

(C) Each report under subparagraph (A) shall be submitted to the 

Administrator for inclusion in the biennial report under subsection (k) of 

this section. 

(f) Associate Administrator for Women's Services 

 (1) Appointment 

 The Administrator, with the approval of the Secretary, shall appoint an Associate 

 Administrator for Women's Services. 

 (2) Duties 

 The Associate Administrator appointed under paragraph (1) shall - 

(A) establish a committee to be known as the Coordinating Committee for 

Women's Services (hereafter in this subparagraph referred to as the 

"Coordinating Committee"), which shall be composed of the Directors of 

the agencies of the Administration (or the designees of the Directors); 

(B) acting through the Coordinating Committee, with respect to women's 

substance abuse and mental health services - 

(i) identify the need for such services, and make an estimate each 

fiscal year of the funds needed to adequately support the services; 

(ii) identify needs regarding the coordination of services; 

(iii) encourage the agencies of the Administration to support such 

services; and 

(iv) assure that the unique needs of minority women, including 

Native American, Hispanic, African-American and Asian women, 

are recognized and addressed within the activities of the 

Administration; and 
(C) establish an advisory committee to be known as the Advisory 

Committee for Women's Services, which shall be composed of not more 

than 10 individuals, a majority of whom shall be women, who are not 

officers or employees of the Federal Government, to be appointed by the 

Administrator from among physicians, practitioners, treatment providers, 

and other health professionals, whose clinical practice, specialization, or 

professional expertise includes a significant focus on women's substance 

abuse and mental health conditions, that shall - 

(i) advise the Associate Administrator on appropriate activities to be 

undertaken by the agencies of the Administration with respect to 

women's substance abuse and mental health services, including 

services which require a multidisciplinary approach; 

(ii) collect and review data, including information provided by the 

Secretary (including the material referred to in paragraph (3)), and 

report biannually to the Administrator regarding the extent to which 

women are represented among senior personnel, and make 

recommendations regarding improvement in the participation of 

women in the workforce of the Administration; and 

(iii) prepare, for inclusion in the biennial report required pursuant to 

subsection (k) of this section, a description of activities of the 

Committee, including findings made by the Committee regarding - 

(I) the extent of expenditures made for women's substance 

abuse and mental health services by the agencies of the 

Administration; and 

(II) the estimated level of funding needed for substance 

abuse and mental health services to meet the needs of 

women; 

 (D) improve the collection of data on women's health by - 

(i) reviewing the current data at the Administration to determine its 

uniformity and applicability; 

(ii) developing standards for all programs funded by the 

Administration so that data are, to the extent practicable, collected 

and reported using common reporting formats, linkages and 

definitions; and 

(iii) reporting to the Administrator a plan for incorporating the 

standards developed under clause (ii) in all Administration 

programs and a plan to assure that the data so collected are 

accessible to health professionals, providers, researchers, and 

members of the public; and (E) shall establish, maintain, and 

operate a program to provide information on women's substance 

abuse and mental health services. 
 (3) Study 

(A) The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Personnel, 

shall conduct a study to evaluate the extent to which women are 

represented among senior personnel at the Administration. 

(B) Not later than 90 days after July 10, 1992, the Assistant Secretary for 

Personnel shall provide the Advisory Committee for Women's Services 

with a study plan, including the methodology of the study and any 

sampling frames. Not later than 180 days after July 10, 1992, the 

Assistant Secretary shall prepare and submit directly to the Advisory 

Committee a report concerning the results of the study conducted under 

subparagraph (A). 

(C) The Secretary shall prepare and provide to the Advisory Committee for 

Women's Services any additional data as requested. 

 (4) Definition 

 For purposes of this subsection, the term "women's substance abuse and mental 

 health conditions", with respect to women of all age, ethnic, and racial groups, 

 means all aspects of substance abuse and mental illness - 

(A) unique to or more prevalent among women; or 

(B) with respect to which there have been insufficient services involving 

women or insufficient data. 

(g) Services of experts 

 (1) In general 

The Administrator may obtain (in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, but 

without regard to the limitation in such section on the number of days or the 

period of service) the services of not more than 20 experts or consultants who 

have professional qualifications. Such experts and consultants shall be obtained 

for the Administration and for each of its agencies. 

(2) Compensation and expenses 

 (A) Experts and consultants whose services are obtained under paragraph 

 (1) shall be paid or reimbursed for their expenses associated with 

 traveling to and from their assignment location in accordance with sections 

 5724, 5724a(a), 5724a(c), and 5726(c) of title 5. 

 (B) Expenses specified in subparagraph (A) may not be allowed in 

 connection with the assignment of an expert or consultant whose services 

 are obtained under paragraph (1), unless and until the expert or consultant 

 agrees in writing to complete the entire period of assignment or one year, 

 whichever is shorter, unless separated or reassigned for reasons 

 beyond the control of the expert or consultant that are acceptable to the 

 Secretary. If the expert or consultant violates the agreement, the money 

 spent by the United States for the expenses specified in subparagraph (A) 

 is recoverable from the expert or consultant as a debt of the United States. 
 The Secretary may waive in whole or in part a right of recovery under this 

 subparagraph. 

(h) Peer review groups 

 The Administrator shall, without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing 

 appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of 

 chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification 

 and General Schedule pay rates, establish such peer review groups and program 

 advisory committees as are needed to carry out the requirements of this 

 subchapter and appoint and pay members of such groups, except that officers 

 and employees of the United States shall not receive additional compensation for 

 services as members of such groups. The Federal Advisory Committee Act shall 

 not apply to the duration of a peer review group appointed under this subsection. 

(i) Voluntary services 

 The Administrator may accept voluntary and uncompensated services. 

(j) Administration 

 The Administrator shall ensure that programs and activities assigned under this 

 subchapter to the Administration are fully administered by the respective Centers 

 to which such programs and activities are assigned. 

(k) Report concerning activities and progress Not later than February 10, 1994, and 

 once every 2 years thereafter, the Administrator shall prepare and submit to the 

 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, and to 

 the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate, the report 

 containing - 

 (1) a description of the activities carried out by the Administration; 

 (2) a description of any measurable progress made in improving the availability 

 and quality of substance abuse and mental health services; 

 (3) a description of the mechanisms by which relevant research findings of the 

 National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and 

 Alcoholism, and the National Institute of Mental Health have been disseminated 

 to service providers or otherwise utilized by the Administration to further the 

 purposes of this subchapter; and 

 (4) any report required in this subchapter to be submitted to the Administrator (!1) 

 for inclusion in the report under this subsection. 

(l) Applications for grants and contracts 

 With respect to awards of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts under 

 this subchapter, the Administrator, or the Director of the Center involved, as the 

 case may be, may not make such an award unless - 

 (1) an application for the award is submitted to the official involved; 

 (2) with respect to carrying out the purpose for which the award is to be provided, 

 the application provides assurances of compliance satisfactory to such official; 

 and 
 (3) the application is otherwise in such form, is made in such manner, and 

 contains such agreements, assurances, and information as the official 

 determines to be necessary to carry out the purpose for which the award is to be 

 provided. 

(m) Emergency response 

 (1) In general 

Notwithstanding section 290aa-3 of this title and except as provided in paragraph 

(2), the Secretary may use not to exceed 2.5 percent of all amounts appropriated 

under this subchapter for a fiscal year to make noncompetitive grants, contracts 

or cooperative agreements to public entities to enable such entities to address 

emergency substance abuse or mental health needs in local communities. 

(2) Exceptions 

Amounts appropriated under part C of this subchapter shall not be subject to 

paragraph (1). 

(3) Emergencies 

The Secretary shall establish criteria for determining that a substance abuse or 

mental health emergency exists and publish such criteria in the Federal Register 

prior to providing funds under this subsection. 

(n) Limitation on the use of certain information No information, if an establishment or 

 person supplying the information or described in it is identifiable, obtained in the 

 course of activities undertaken or supported under section 290aa-4 of this title 

 may be used for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was supplied 

 unless such establishment or person has consented (as determined under 

 regulations of the Secretary) to its use for such other purpose. Such information 

 may not be published or released in other form if the person who supplied the 

 information or who is described in it is identifiable unless such person has 

 consented (as determined under regulations of the Secretary) to its publication or 

 release in other form. 

(o) Authorization of appropriations 

 For the purpose of providing grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts 

 under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for fiscal 

 year 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2002 

 and 2003.