I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2073 

To increase the number of well-trained mental health service professionals 

(including those based in schools) providing clinical mental health care 

to children and adolescents, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2007 

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 

in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To increase the number of well-trained mental health service 

professionals (including those based in schools) providing 

clinical mental health care to children and adolescents, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Child Health Care Cri5 sis Relief Act of 2007’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The Center for Mental Health Services esti2 mates that 20 percent or 13,700,000 of the Nation’s 

3 children and adolescents have a diagnosable mental 

disorder, and about 2 4 ⁄3 of these children and adoles5 cents do not receive mental health care. 

6 (2) According to ‘‘Mental Health: A Report of 

7 the Surgeon General’’ in 1999, there are approxi8 mately 6,000,000 to 9,000,000 children and adoles9 cents in the United States (accounting for 9 to 13 

10 percent of all children and adolescents in the United 

11 States) who meet the definition for having a serious 

12 emotional disturbance. 

13 (3) According to the Center for Mental Health 

14 Services, approximately 5 to 9 percent of United 

15 States children and adolescents meet the definition 

16 for extreme functional impairment. 

17 (4) According to the Surgeon General’s Report, 

18 there are particularly acute shortages in the num19 bers of mental health service professionals serving 

20 children and adolescents with serious emotional dis21 orders. 

22 (5) According to the National Center for Edu23 cation Statistics in the Department of Education, 

24 there are approximately 479 students for each school 

25 counselor in United States schools, which ratio is alVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:43 May 01, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2073.IH H2073

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1 most double the recommended ratio of 250 students 

2 for each school counselor. 

3 (6) According to the Bureau of Health Profes4 sions in 2000, the demand for the services of child 

5 and adolescent psychiatry is projected to increase by 

6 100 percent by 2020. 

7 (7) The development and application of knowl8 edge about the impact of disasters on children, ado9 lescents, and their families has been impeded by crit10 ical shortages of qualified researchers and practi11 tioners specializing in this work. 

12 (8) According to the Bureau of the Census, the 

13 population of children and adolescents in the United 

14 States under the age of 18 is projected to grow by 

15 more than 40 percent in the next 50 years from 70 

16 million to more than 100 million by 2050. 

17 (9) There are approximately 7,000 child and 

18 adolescent psychiatrists in the United States. Only 

19 300 child and adolescent psychiatrists complete 

20 training each year. 

21 (10) According to the Department of Health 

22 and Human Services, minority representation is 

23 lacking in the mental health workforce. Although 12 

24 percent of the United States population is African25 American, only 2 percent of psychologists, 2 percent 


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1 of psychiatrists, and 4 percent of social workers are 

2 African-American providers. Moreover, there are 

3 only 29 Hispanic mental health professionals for 

4 every 100,000 Hispanics in the United States, com5 pared with 173 non-Hispanic white providers per 

6 100,000. 

7 (11) According to a 2006 study in the Journal 

8 of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent 

9 Psychiatry, the national shortage of child and ado10 lescent psychiatrists affects poor children and ado11 lescents living in rural areas the hardest. 

12 (12) According to the National Center for Men13 tal Health and Juvenile Justice, 70 percent of youth 

14 involved in State and local juvenile justice systems 

15 throughout the country suffer from mental dis16 orders, with at least 20 percent experiencing symp17 toms so severe that their ability to function is sig18 nificantly impaired. 

19 SEC. 3. LOAN REPAYMENTS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND GRANTS 

20 TO IMPROVE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MEN21 TAL HEALTH CARE. 

22 Part E of title VII of the Public Health Service Act 

23 (42 U.S.C. 294n et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subpart 3—Child and Adolescent Mental Health 

2 Care 

3 ‘‘SEC. 771. LOAN REPAYMENTS, SCHOLARSHIPS, AND 

4 GRANTS TO IMPROVE CHILD AND ADOLES5 CENT MENTAL HEALTH CARE. 

6 ‘‘(a) LOAN REPAYMENTS FOR CHILD AND ADOLES7 CENT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROFESSIONALS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

9 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

10 and Services Administration, may establish a pro11 gram of entering into contracts on a competitive 

12 basis with eligible individuals under which— 

13 ‘‘(A) the eligible individual agrees to be 

14 employed full-time for a specified period (which 

15 shall be at least 2 years) in providing mental 

16 health services to children and adolescents; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the Secretary agrees to make, during 

18 not more than 3 years of the period of employ19 ment described in subparagraph (A), partial or 

20 total payments on behalf of the individual on 

21 the principal and interest due on the under22 graduate and graduate educational loans of the 

23 eligible individual. 

24 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—For purposes of 

25 this section, the term ‘eligible individual’ means an 

26 individual who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is receiving specialized training or 

2 clinical experience in child and adolescent men3 tal health in psychiatry, psychology, school psy4 chology, behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nurs5 ing, social work, school social work, marriage 

6 and family therapy, school counseling, or pro7 fessional counseling and has less than 1 year 

8 remaining before completion of such training or 

9 clinical experience; or 

10 ‘‘(B)(i) has a license or certification in a 

11 State to practice allopathic medicine, osteo12 pathic medicine, psychology, school psychology, 

13 psychiatric nursing, social work, school social 

14 work, marriage and family therapy, school 

15 counseling, or professional counseling; and 

16 ‘‘(ii)(I) is a mental health service profes17 sional who completed (but not before the end of 

18 the calendar year in which this section is en19 acted) specialized training or clinical experience 

20 in child and adolescent mental health described 

21 in subparagraph (A); or 

22 ‘‘(II) is a physician who graduated from 

23 (but not before the end of the calendar year in 

24 which this section is enacted) an accredited 


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1 child and adolescent psychiatry residency or fel2 lowship program in the United States. 

3 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY REQUIRE4 MENTS.—The Secretary may not enter into a con5 tract under this subsection with an eligible indi6 vidual unless— 

7 ‘‘(A) the individual is a United States cit8 izen or a permanent legal United States resi9 dent; and 

10 ‘‘(B) if the individual is enrolled in a grad11 uate program (including a medical residency or 

12 fellowship), the program is accredited, and the 

13 individual has an acceptable level of academic 

14 standing (as determined by the Secretary). 

15 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In entering into contracts 

16 under this subsection, the Secretary shall give pri17 ority to applicants who— 

18 ‘‘(A) are or will be working with high-pri19 ority populations; 

20 ‘‘(B) have familiarity with evidence-based 

21 methods and cultural competence in child and 

22 adolescent mental health services; 

23 ‘‘(C) demonstrate financial need; and 

24 ‘‘(D) are or will be working in the publicly 

25 funded sector, particularly in community mental 


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1 health programs described in section 

2 1913(b)(1). 

3 ‘‘(5) MEANINGFUL LOAN REPAYMENT.—If the 

4 Secretary determines that funds appropriated for a 

5 fiscal year to carry out this subsection are not suffi6 cient to allow a meaningful loan repayment to all ex7 pected applicants, the Secretary shall limit the num8 ber of contracts entered into under paragraph (1) to 

9 ensure that each such contract provides for a mean10 ingful loan repayment. 

11 ‘‘(6) AMOUNT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) MAXIMUM.—For each year that the 

13 Secretary agrees to make payments on behalf of 

14 an individual under a contract entered into 

15 under paragraph (1), the Secretary may agree 

16 to pay not more than $35,000 on behalf of the 

17 individual. 

18 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION.—In determining 

19 the amount of payments to be made on behalf 

20 of an eligible individual under a contract to be 

21 entered into under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

22 shall consider the eligible individual’s income 

23 and debt load. 

24 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI25 SIONS.—The provisions of sections 338E and 338F 


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1 shall apply to the program established under para2 graph (1) to the same extent and in the same man3 ner as such provisions apply to the National Health 

4 Service Corps Loan Repayment Program established 

5 in subpart III of part D of title III. 

6 ‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

9 2008 through 2012. 

10 ‘‘(b) SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS STUDYING TO

11 BECOME CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

12 SERVICE PROFESSIONALS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

14 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

15 and Services Administration, may establish a pro16 gram to award scholarships on a competitive basis to 

17 eligible students who agree to enter into full-time 

18 employment (as described in paragraph (4)(C)) as a 

19 child and adolescent mental health service profes20 sional after graduation or completion of a residency 

21 or fellowship. 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STUDENT.—For purposes of 

23 this subsection, the term ‘eligible student’ means a 

24 United States citizen or a permanent legal United 

25 States resident who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is enrolled or accepted to be enrolled 

2 in an accredited graduate program that in3 cludes specialized training or clinical experience 

4 in child and adolescent mental health in psy5 chology, school psychology, psychiatric nursing, 

6 behavioral pediatrics, social work, school social 

7 work, marriage and family therapy, school 

8 counseling, or professional counseling and, if 

9 enrolled, has an acceptable level of academic 

10 standing (as determined by the Secretary); or 

11 ‘‘(B)(i) is enrolled or accepted to be en12 rolled in an accredited graduate training pro13 gram of allopathic or osteopathic medicine in 

14 the United States and, if enrolled, has an ac15 ceptable level of academic standing (as deter16 mined by the Secretary); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) intends to complete an accredited 

18 residency or fellowship in child and adolescent 

19 psychiatry or behavioral pediatrics. 

20 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In awarding scholarships 

21 under this subsection, the Secretary shall give— 

22 ‘‘(A) highest priority to applicants who 

23 previously received a scholarship under this 

24 subsection and satisfy the criteria described in 

25 subparagraph (B); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) second highest priority to applicants 

2 who— 

3 ‘‘(i) demonstrate a commitment to 

4 working with high-priority populations; 

5 ‘‘(ii) have familiarity with evidence6 based methods in child and adolescent 

7 mental health services; 

8 ‘‘(iii) demonstrate financial need; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) are or will be working in the 

10 publicly funded sector, particularly in com11 munity mental health programs described 

12 in section 1913(b)(1). 

13 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

14 award a scholarship to an eligible student under this 

15 subsection only if the eligible student agrees— 

16 ‘‘(A) to complete any graduate training 

17 program, internship, residency, or fellowship 

18 applicable to that eligible student under para19 graph (2); 

20 ‘‘(B) to maintain an acceptable level of 

21 academic standing (as determined by the Sec22 retary) during the completion of such graduate 

23 training program, internship, residency, or fel24 lowship; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) to be employed full-time after gradua2 tion or completion of a residency or fellowship, 

3 for at least the number of years for which a 

4 scholarship is received by the eligible student 

5 under this subsection, in providing mental 

6 health services to children and adolescents. 

7 ‘‘(5) USE OF SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS.—A scholar8 ship awarded to an eligible student for a school year 

9 under this subsection may be used only to pay for 

10 tuition expenses of the school year, other reasonable 

11 educational expenses (including fees, books, and lab12 oratory expenses incurred by the eligible student in 

13 the school year), and reasonable living expenses, as 

14 such tuition expenses, reasonable educational ex15 penses, and reasonable living expenses are deter16 mined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(6) AMOUNT.—The amount of a scholarship 

18 under this subsection shall not exceed the total 

19 amount of the tuition expenses, reasonable edu20 cational expenses, and reasonable living expenses de21 scribed in paragraph (5). 

22 ‘‘(7) APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROVI23 SIONS.—The provisions of sections 338E and 338F 

24 shall apply to the program established under para25 graph (1) to the same extent and in the same manVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:43 May 01, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2073.IH H2073

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1 ner as such provisions apply to the National Health 

2 Service Corps Scholarship Program established in 

3 subpart III of part D of title III. 

4 ‘‘(8) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

6 this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

7 2008 through 2012. 

8 ‘‘(c) CLINICAL TRAINING GRANTS FOR PROFES9 SIONALS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

11 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

12 and Services Administration, in cooperation with the 

13 Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental 

14 Health Services Administration, may establish a pro15 gram to award grants on a competitive basis to ac16 credited institutions of higher education to establish 

17 or expand internships or other field placement pro18 grams for students receiving specialized training or 

19 clinical experience in child and adolescent mental 

20 health in psychiatry, psychology, school psychology, 

21 behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nursing, social 

22 work, school social work, marriage and family ther23 apy, school counseling, or professional counseling. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

2 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to appli3 cants that— 

4 ‘‘(A) have demonstrated the ability to col5 lect data on the number of students trained in 

6 child and adolescent mental health and the pop7 ulations served by such students after gradua8 tion; 

9 ‘‘(B) have demonstrated familiarity with 

10 evidence-based methods in child and adolescent 

11 mental health services; and 

12 ‘‘(C) have programs designed to increase 

13 the number of professionals serving high-pri14 ority populations. 

15 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

16 award a grant to an applicant under this subsection 

17 only if the applicant agrees that— 

18 ‘‘(A) any internship or other field place19 ment program assisted under the grant will 

20 prioritize cultural competency; 

21 ‘‘(B) students benefitting from any assist22 ance under this subsection will be United States 

23 citizens or permanent legal United States resi24 dents; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the institution will provide to the Sec2 retary such data, assurances, and information 

3 as the Secretary may require; and 

4 ‘‘(D) with respect to any violation of the 

5 agreement between the Secretary and the insti6 tution, the institution will pay such liquidated 

7 damages as prescribed by the Secretary by reg8 ulation. 

9 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall re10 quire that any application for a grant under this 

11 subsection include a description of the applicant’s 

12 experience working with child and adolescent mental 

13 health issues. 

14 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

15 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

17 2008 through 2012. 

18 ‘‘(d) PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION GRANTS FOR PARA19 PROFESSIONALS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

21 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

22 and Services Administration, in cooperation with the 

23 Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental 

24 Health Services Administration, may establish a pro25 gram to award grants on a competitive basis to 


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1 State-licensed mental health nonprofit and for-profit 

2 organizations (including accredited institutions of 

3 higher education) to enable such organizations to 

4 pay for programs for preservice or in-service training 

5 of paraprofessional child and adolescent mental 

6 health workers. 

7 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub8 section, the term ‘paraprofessional child and adoles9 cent mental health worker’ means an individual who 

10 is not a mental health service professional, but who 

11 works at the first stage of contact with children and 

12 families who are seeking mental health services. 

13 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

14 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to appli15 cants that— 

16 ‘‘(A) have demonstrated the ability to col17 lect data on the number of paraprofessional 

18 child and adolescent mental health workers 

19 trained by the applicant and the populations 

20 served by these workers after the completion of 

21 the training; 

22 ‘‘(B) have familiarity with evidence-based 

23 methods in child and adolescent mental health 

24 services; 


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1 ‘‘(C) have programs designed to increase 

2 the number of paraprofessional child and ado3 lescent mental health workers serving high-pri4 ority populations; and 

5 ‘‘(D) provide services through a community 

6 mental health program described in section 

7 1913(b)(1). 

8 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

9 award a grant to an organization under this sub10 section only if the organization agrees that— 

11 ‘‘(A) any training program assisted under 

12 the grant will prioritize cultural competency; 

13 ‘‘(B) the organization will provide to the 

14 Secretary such data, assurances, and informa15 tion as the Secretary may require; and 

16 ‘‘(C) with respect to any violation of the 

17 agreement between the Secretary and the orga18 nization, the organization will pay such liq19 uidated damages as prescribed by the Secretary 

20 by regulation. 

21 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall re22 quire that any application for a grant under this 

23 subsection include a description of the applicant’s 

24 experience working with paraprofessional child and 

25 adolescent mental health workers. 


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1 ‘‘(6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2008 through 2012. 

5 ‘‘(e) CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH

6 PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Administrator of the Health Resources 

9 and Services Administration, may establish a pro10 gram to increase the number of well-trained child 

11 and adolescent mental health service professionals in 

12 the United States by awarding grants on a competi13 tive basis to accredited institutions of higher edu14 cation to enable the institutions to establish or ex15 pand accredited graduate child and adolescent men16 tal health programs. 

17 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

18 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to appli19 cants that— 

20 ‘‘(A) demonstrate familiarity with the use 

21 of evidence-based methods in child and adoles22 cent mental health services; 

23 ‘‘(B) provide experience in and collabora24 tion with community-based child and adolescent 

25 mental health services; 


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1 ‘‘(C) have included normal child develop2 ment curricula; and 

3 ‘‘(D) demonstrate commitment to working 

4 with high-priority populations. 

5 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds received as a 

6 grant under this subsection may be used to establish 

7 or expand any accredited graduate child and adoles8 cent mental health program in any manner deemed 

9 appropriate by the Secretary, including by improving 

10 the course work, related field placements, or faculty 

11 of such program. 

12 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

13 award a grant to an accredited institution of higher 

14 education under this subsection only if the institu15 tion agrees that— 

16 ‘‘(A) any child and adolescent mental 

17 health program assisted under the grant will 

18 prioritize cultural competency; 

19 ‘‘(B) the institution will provide to the Sec20 retary such data, assurances, and information 

21 as the Secretary may require; and 

22 ‘‘(C) with respect to any violation of the 

23 agreement between the Secretary and the insti24 tution, the institution will pay such liquidated 


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1 damages as prescribed by the Secretary by reg2 ulation. 

3 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

4 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

5 this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2008 through 2012. 

7 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 ‘‘(1) SPECIALIZED TRAINING OR CLINICAL EX9 PERIENCE IN CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL

10 HEALTH.—The term ‘specialized training or clinical 

11 experience in child and adolescent mental health’ 

12 means training and clinical experience that— 

13 ‘‘(A) is part of or occurs after completion 

14 of an accredited graduate program in the 

15 United States for training mental health service 

16 professionals; 

17 ‘‘(B) consists of at least 500 hours of 

18 training or clinical experience in treating chil19 dren and adolescents; and 

20 ‘‘(C) is comprehensive, coordinated, devel21 opmentally appropriate, and of high quality to 

22 address the unique ethnic and cultural diversity 

23 of the United States population. 

24 ‘‘(2) HIGH-PRIORITY POPULATION.—The term 

25 ‘high-priority population’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a population in which there is a sig2 nificantly greater incidence than the national 

3 average of— 

4 ‘‘(i) children who have serious emo5 tional disturbances; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) children who are racial, ethnic, 

7 or linguistic minorities; or 

8 ‘‘(B) a population consisting of individuals 

9 living in a high-poverty urban or rural area. 

10 ‘‘(3) MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE PROFES11 SIONAL.—The term ‘mental health service profes12 sional’ means an individual with a graduate or post13 graduate degree from an accredited institution of 

14 higher education in psychiatry, psychology, school 

15 psychology, behavioral pediatrics, psychiatric nurs16 ing, social work, school social work, marriage and 

17 family counseling, school counseling, or professional 

18 counseling.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. AMENDMENTS TO SOCIAL SECURITY ACT TO IM20 PROVE CHILD AND ADOLESCENT MENTAL 

21 HEALTH CARE. 

22 (a) INCREASING NUMBER OF CHILD AND ADOLES23 CENT PSYCHIATRY RESIDENTS PERMITTED TO BE PAID

24 UNDER THE MEDICARE GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION

25 PROGRAM.—Section 1886(h)(4)(F) of the Social Security 


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1 Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(h)(4)(F)) is amended by adding 

2 at the end the following new clause: 

3 ‘‘(iii) INCREASE ALLOWED FOR TRAIN4 ING IN CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHI5 ATRY.—In applying clause (i), there shall 

6 not be taken into account such additional 

7 number of full-time equivalent residents in 

8 the field of allopathic or osteopathic medi9 cine who are residents or fellows in child 

10 and adolescent psychiatry as the Secretary 

11 determines reasonable to meet the need for 

12 such physicians as demonstrated by the 

13 1999 report of the Department of Health 

14 and Human Services entitled ‘Mental 

15 Health: A Report of the Surgeon Gen16 eral’.’’. 

17 (b) EXTENSION OF MEDICARE BOARD ELIGIBILITY

18 PERIOD FOR RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS IN CHILD AND

19 ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRY.—Section 1886(h)(5)(G) of 

20 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395ww(h)(5)(G)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and (v)’’ and in23 serting ‘‘(v), and (vi)’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

25 clause: 


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1 ‘‘(vi) CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSY2 CHIATRY TRAINING PROGRAMS.—In the 

3 case of an individual enrolled in a child 

4 and adolescent psychiatry residency or fel5 lowship program approved by the Sec6 retary, the period of board eligibility and 

7 the initial residency period shall be the pe8 riod of board eligibility for the specialty of 

9 general psychiatry, plus 2 years for the 

10 subspecialty of child and adolescent psychi11 atry.’’. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to residency training years begin14 ning on or after July 1, 2008. 

15 SEC. 5. CHILD MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL REPORT. 

16 (a) STUDY.—The Administrator of the Health Re17 sources and Services Administration (in this section re18 ferred to as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall study and make 

19 findings and recommendations on— 

20 (1) the distribution and need for child mental 

21 health service professionals, including with respect to 

22 specialty certifications, practice characteristics, pro23 fessional licensure, practice types, locations, edu24 cation, and training; and 


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1 (2) a comparison of such distribution and need, 

2 including identification of disparities, on a State-by3 State basis. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

5 of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall sub6 mit to the Congress and make publicly available a report 

7 on the results of the study required by subsection (a), in8 cluding with respect to findings and recommendations on 

9 disparities among the States. 

10 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

11 (a) TRANSMISSION.—The Secretary of Health and 

12 Human Services shall transmit a report described in sub13 section (b) to the Congress— 

14 (1) not later than 3 years after the date of the 

15 enactment of this Act; and 

16 (2) not later than 5 years after the date of the 

17 enactment of this Act. 

18 (b) CONTENTS.—The reports transmitted to the Con19 gress under subsection (a) shall address each of the fol20 lowing: 

21 (1) The effectiveness of the amendments made 

22 by, and the programs carried out under, this Act in 

23 increasing the number of child and adolescent men24 tal health service professionals and paraprofessional 

25 child and adolescent mental health workers. 


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1 (2) The demographics of the individuals served 

2 by such increased number of child and adolescent 

3 mental health service professionals and paraprofes4 sional child and adolescent mental health workers. 

Æ 


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