I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1331 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to reduce health inequities experienced by individuals who are members of historically racial and ethnic 

minority groups under State plans under the community mental health 

services block grant program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 

Mr. CA ́RDENAS (for himself, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, and Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to reduce health 

inequities experienced by individuals who are members 

of historically racial and ethnic minority groups under 

State plans under the community mental health services 

block grant program, 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 ‘‘Strengthening Mental 

5 Health Supports for BIPOC Communities Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REDUCING HEALTH INEQUITIES EXPERIENCED BY 

2 HISTORICALLY RACIAL AND ETHNIC MINORI3 TIES UNDER STATE PLANS UNDER COMMU4 NITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BLOCK 

5 GRANT PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1942(a) of the Public 

7 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–52(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

9 end; 

10 (2) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para11 graph (5); and 

12 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(2) services provided by the State to adults 

15 with a serious mental illness and children with a se16 rious emotional disturbance who are members of his17 torically racial and ethnic minority groups, includ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(A) the extent to which such services are 

20 provided to such adults and children; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the outcomes experienced by such 

22 adults and children as a result of the provision 

23 of such services, including with respect to— 

24 ‘‘(i) diversions from hospitalization 

25 and criminal justice system involvement; 


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•HR 1331 IH

1 ‘‘(ii) treatment for first episode psy2 chosis or undefined psychosis; 

3 ‘‘(iii) reductions in suicide and in4 creased utilization of appropriate treat5 ments and interventions for suicidal idea6 tion; 

7 ‘‘(iv) response through crisis services, 

8 including mobile crisis services; 

9 ‘‘(v) treatment of individuals who are 

10 experiencing homelessness or housing inse11 curity and individuals residing in rural 

12 communities; and 

13 ‘‘(vi) increased patient family and 

14 caregiver engagement and education on se15 rious mental illness to reduce social stigma 

16 and promote healthy social support for pa17 tients; 

18 ‘‘(3) any outreach by the State to, and the hir19 ing of, providers of mental health services from mul20 tiple disciplines (such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, 

21 peer support provider, or social worker) who are 

22 members of historically racial and ethnic minority 

23 groups; 

24 ‘‘(4) any outreach by the State to providers 

25 from multiple disciplines of mental health services— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to provide training on culturally ef2 fective, culturally affirming, and linguistically 

3 competent services; and 

4 ‘‘(B) to increase awareness of community5 defined practices by practitioners of historically 

6 racial and ethnic minority groups; and’’. 

7 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub8 section (a) shall apply with respect to funding agreements 

9 entered into under section 1911 or 1921 of the Public 

10 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300x; 42 U.S.C. 300x–21) 

11 on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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