I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1570 

To enhance mental health and psychosocial support within United States 

development and humanitarian assistance programs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2023 

Ms. WILD (for herself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, 

Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. MOULTON, Mrs. MCBATH, and Ms. TITUS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To enhance mental health and psychosocial support within 

United States development and humanitarian assistance 

programs. 

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 ‘‘Mental Health in 

5 International Development and Humanitarian Settings 

6 Act’’ or the ‘‘MINDS Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

8 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1570 IH

1 (1) According to the World Health Organiza2 tion (WHO), an estimated 1,000,000,000 individuals 

3 worldwide have a mental health or substance use 

4 disorder, and The Lancet estimates that nearly 

5 130,000,000 additional cases of major depressive 

6 and anxiety disorders globally in 2020 resulted from 

7 the COVID–19 pandemic. 

8 (2) According to WHO, depression is among 

9 the primary causes of illness and disability in adoles10 cents. One-half of mental health disorders emerge by 

11 age 14, and 14 percent of children and adolescents 

12 worldwide experience mental health conditions, the 

13 majority of whom do not seek care, receive care, or 

14 have access to care. 

15 (3) According to the United Nations, more than 

16 1 out of every 5 individuals in conflict-affected areas 

17 has a mental health disorder. Roughly 

18 1,500,000,000, or 2 out of every 3 of the world’s 

19 children under 18 years of age live in countries af20 fected by conflict, and more than 1 out of every 6 

21 children live in conflict zones. A greater number of 

22 children live in areas affected by armed conflict and 

23 war now than at any other point this century. The 

24 mental health burden in conflict-affected contexts is 

25 twice the global average. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1570 IH

1 (4) According to the World Health Organiza2 tion, risk factors that increase susceptibility to men3 tal health disorders include poverty and hunger, 

4 chronic health conditions, trauma or maltreatment, 

5 social exclusion and discrimination, and exposure to 

6 and displacement by war or conflict. These risk fac7 tors, along with demographic risk factors, manifest 

8 at all stages in life. Preliminary research already il9 lustrates that the COVID–19 pandemic has in10 creased communities’, families’, and individuals’ risk 

11 factors for multiple types of adversity and com12 pounded preexisting conditions and vulnerabilities. 

13 (5) According to a Lancet Commission report, 

14 allocations for mental health have never risen above 

15 1 percent of health-related global development as16 sistance. Estimates indicate that child and adoles17 cent mental health receives just 0.1 percent of 

18 health-related global development assistance. 

19 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con20 gress that— 

21 (1) helping to ensure that individuals have the 

22 opportunity to thrive and reach their fullest poten23 tial is a critical component of effective and sustain24 able international development efforts; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1570 IH

1 (2) mental health is integral and essential to 

2 overall health outcomes and other development ob3 jectives; 

4 (3) mental health is an issue of critical and 

5 growing importance for United States development 

6 and humanitarian assistance programs that requires 

7 coordinated efforts to ensure that programming 

8 funded by the United States Government is evi9 dence-based, culturally competent, and trauma-in10 formed; 

11 (4) the relevant United States Government de12 velopment and humanitarian assistance strategies 

13 should include a mental health and psychosocial sup14 port component; 

15 (5) the redesign of the United States Agency 

16 for International Development reflects the nexus be17 tween humanitarian and development interventions 

18 and should be applied to all mental health and psy19 chosocial support efforts of United States develop20 ment and humanitarian assistance programs; and 

21 (6) ongoing efforts to improve social service 

22 workforce development and local capacity building 

23 are essential to expanding mental health and psycho24 social support activities across all United States de25 velopment and humanitarian assistance programs. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1570 IH

1 SEC. 3. COORDINATOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHO2 SOCIAL SUPPORT. 

3 Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

4 (22 U.S.C. 2152f) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub6 section (g); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(f) COORDINATOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND PSY10 CHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

12 United States Agency for International Develop13 ment, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is 

14 authorized to designate a Mental Health and Psy15 chosocial Support Coordinator (referred to in this 

16 section as the ‘MHPSS Coordinator’). 

17 ‘‘(2) SPECIFIC DUTIES.—The duties of the 

18 MHPSS Coordinator shall include— 

19 ‘‘(A) establishing and chairing the Mental 

20 Health and Psychosocial Support Working 

21 Group authorized under section 4 of the Mental 

22 Health in International Development and Hu23 manitarian Settings Act; 

24 ‘‘(B) guiding, overseeing, and directing 

25 mental health and psychosocial support pro26 gramming and integration across United States 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1570 IH

1 development and humanitarian assistance pro2 grams; 

3 ‘‘(C) serving as the main point of contact 

4 on mental health and psychosocial support in 

5 the Bureau for Global Health, Bureau for Hu6 manitarian Assistance, regional bureaus, the 

7 Office of Education, the Inclusive Development 

8 Hub in the Bureau of Development, Democ9 racy, and Innovation, and other bureaus as ap10 propriate, the President’s Emergency Plan for 

11 AIDS Relief, and other interagency or presi12 dential initiatives; 

13 ‘‘(D) promoting best practices, coordina14 tion, and reporting in mental health and psy15 chosocial support programming across United 

16 States development and humanitarian assist17 ance programs; 

18 ‘‘(E) providing direction, guidance, and 

19 oversight on the integration of mental health 

20 and psychosocial support in United States de21 velopment and humanitarian assistance pro22 grams; and 

23 ‘‘(F) participating in the Advancing Pro24 tection and Care for Children in Adversity 

25 Interagency Working Group. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 1570 IH

1 ‘‘(3) FOCUS POPULATIONS.—The MHPSS Co2 ordinator should, as appropriate, prioritize popu3 lations with increased risk factors for developing 

4 mental health disorders, including— 

5 ‘‘(A) adult caretakers and children, as well 

6 as families and adults who are long-term care7 takers; 

8 ‘‘(B) children and others who are sepa9 rated from a family unit; and 

10 ‘‘(C) other specific populations in need of 

11 mental health and psychosocial support, such as 

12 crisis affected communities, displaced popu13 lations, gender-based violence survivors, and in14 dividuals and households coping with the con15 sequences of diseases, such as Ebola, HIV/ 

16 AIDS, and COVID–19.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT 

18 WORKING GROUP. 

19 The Administrator, in cooperation with the Mental 

20 Health and Psychosocial Support Coordinator (designated 

21 pursuant to subsection (f) of section 135 of the Foreign 

22 Assistance Act of 1961, as added by section 3), shall es23 tablish the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support 

24 Working Group, which shall include senior representatives 

25 from the relevant USAID bureaus, the Department of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 1570 IH

1 State, and other Federal departments and agencies, as ap2 propriate, to ensure continuity and integration of mental 

3 health and psychosocial support across United States de4 velopment and humanitarian assistance programs. 

5 SEC. 5. INTEGRATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHO6 SOCIAL SUPPORT. 

7 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

8 United States to integrate mental health and psychosocial 

9 support across all relevant United States development and 

10 humanitarian assistance programs. 

11 (b) IMPLEMENTATION OF POLICY.—The Adminis12 trator and the Secretary of State should— 

13 (1) require all USAID and Department of State 

14 regional bureaus and missions to advance the policy 

15 described in subsection (a) through relevant develop16 ment and humanitarian assistance efforts, including 

17 by building local capacity to inform, design and im18 plement mental health and psychosocial support pro19 gramming; 

20 (2) ensure that all USAID and Department of 

21 State mental health and psychosocial support pro22 gramming— 

23 (A) is evidence-based and culturally com24 petent; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 1570 IH

1 (B) responds to all types of childhood ad2 versity; and 

3 (C) includes trauma-specific interventions 

4 in accordance with the recognized principles of 

5 a trauma-informed approach, whenever applica6 ble; and 

7 (3) integrate the principles of Advancing Pro8 tection and Care for Children in Adversity Strategy. 

9 SEC. 6. CONSULTATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

10 (a) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator, 

12 in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall consult 

13 with the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 

14 Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations 

15 of the Senate regarding— 

16 (1) the progress made in carrying out section 

17 5(b); and 

18 (2) any barriers preventing the full integration 

19 of the strategy referred to in section 5(b)(3). 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 

22 5 fiscal years, the Administrator and the Secretary of 

23 State, in consultation with the Mental Health and Psycho24 social Support Coordinator (designated pursuant to sub25 section (f) of section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 1570 IH

1 of 1961, as added by section 3) and the Director of the 

2 Office of Management and Budget, as necessary and ap3 propriate, shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Af4 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

5 on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on— 

6 (1) the amount of funding under United States 

7 development and humanitarian assistance programs 

8 obligated and expended during the most recently 

9 concluded fiscal year on mental health and psycho10 social support programming; 

11 (2) how USAID and the Department of State 

12 are working to integrate mental health and psycho13 social programming, including child-specific pro14 gramming, into their development and humanitarian 

15 assistance programs across relevant sectors, includ16 ing health, education, nutrition, and protection; 

17 (3) the metrics of success of the Advancing 

18 Protection and Care for Children in Adversity Strat19 egy and progress made towards achieving broader 

20 mental health outcomes; 

21 (4) where trauma-specific strategies are being 

22 implemented, and how best practices for trauma-in23 formed programming are being shared across pro24 grams; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 1570 IH

1 (5) barriers preventing full integration of child 

2 mental health and psychosocial support into pro3 grams for children and youth and recommendations 

4 for modifications or expansion; 

5 (6) barriers to the expansion of mental health 

6 and psychosocial support programming in conflict 

7 and humanitarian settings and how such barriers 

8 are being addressed; 

9 (7) the impact of the COVID–19 pandemic on 

10 mental health and psychosocial support program11 ming; and 

12 (8) funding data, including a list of programs 

13 to which USAID and the Department of State have 

14 obligated funds during the most recently concluded 

15 fiscal year to improve access to, and the quality of, 

16 mental health and psychosocial support program17 ming in development and humanitarian contexts. 

18 SEC. 7. SUNSET. 

19 This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, 

20 shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act. 

22 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 

24 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis25 trator’’ means the Administrator of USAID. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 1570 IH

1 (2) USAID.—The term ‘‘USAID’’ means the 

2 United States Agency for International Develop3 ment. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS