II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 711 

To amend section 520J of the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants 

for mental health first aid training programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 11, 2015 

Ms. AYOTTE (for herself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. REED, Mr. 

RUBIO, Mr. BENNET, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. COONS, Mr. HELLER, Ms. 

HEITKAMP, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; which was 

read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend section 520J of the Public Health Service Act 

to authorize grants for mental health first aid training 

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 First 

5 Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING GRANTS. 

7 Section 520J of the Public Health Service Act (42 

8 U.S.C. 290bb–41) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 520J. MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING GRANTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through the 

3 Administrator, shall award grants to States, political sub4 divisions of States, Indian tribes, tribal organizations, and 

5 nonprofit private entities to initiate and sustain mental 

6 health first aid training programs. 

7 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for funding 

9 under subsection (a), a mental health first aid train10 ing program shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) be designed to train individuals in the 

12 categories listed in paragraph (2) to accomplish 

13 the objectives described in paragraph (3); 

14 ‘‘(B) ensure that training is conducted by 

15 trainers that are properly licensed and 

16 credentialed by nonprofit entities as designated 

17 by the Secretary; and 

18 ‘‘(C) include— 

19 ‘‘(i) at a minimum— 

20 ‘‘(I) a core live training course 

21 for individuals in the categories listed 

22 in paragraph (2) on the skills, re23 sources, and knowledge to assist indi24 viduals in crisis to connect with ap25 propriate local mental health care 

26 services; 


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1 ‘‘(II) training on mental health 

2 resources, including the location of 

3 community mental health centers de4 scribed in section 1913(c), in the 

5 State and local community; and 

6 ‘‘(III) training on action plans 

7 and protocols for referral to such re8 sources; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) where feasible, continuing edu10 cation and updated training for individuals 

11 in the categories listed in paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(2) CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUAL TO BE

13 TRAINED.—The categories of individuals listed in 

14 this paragraph are the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) Emergency services personnel and 

16 other first responders. 

17 ‘‘(B) Police officers and other law enforce18 ment personnel. 

19 ‘‘(C) Teachers and school administrators. 

20 ‘‘(D) Human resources professionals. 

21 ‘‘(E) Nurses and other primary care per22 sonnel. 

23 ‘‘(F) Students enrolled in an elementary 

24 school, a secondary school, or an institution of 

25 higher education. 


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1 ‘‘(G) The parents of students described in 

2 subparagraph (F). 

3 ‘‘(H) Veterans and veteran stakeholders, 

4 including family members and caregivers, mem5 bers of veteran peer support networks, and vet6 eran service organizations. 

7 ‘‘(I) Other individuals, audiences or train8 ing populations as determined appropriate by 

9 the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(3) OBJECTIVES OF TRAINING.—To be eligible 

11 for funding under subsection (a), a mental health 

12 first aid training program shall be designed to train 

13 individuals in the categories listed in paragraph (2) 

14 to accomplish each of the following objectives (as ap15 propriate for the individuals to be trained, taking 

16 into consideration their age): 

17 ‘‘(A) Safe de-escalation of crisis situations. 

18 ‘‘(B) Recognition of the signs and symp19 toms of mental illness, including such common 

20 psychiatric conditions as schizophrenia, bipolar 

21 disorder, major clinical depression, and anxiety 

22 disorders. 

23 ‘‘(C) Timely referral to mental health serv24 ices in the early stages of developing mental 

25 disorders in order to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) avoid more costly subsequent be2 havioral health care; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) enhance the effectiveness of men4 tal health services. 

5 ‘‘(c) DISTRIBUTION OF AWARDS.—In awarding 

6 grants under this section, the Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) ensure that grants are equitably distrib8 uted among the geographical regions of the United 

9 States; and 

10 ‘‘(2) pay particular attention to the mental 

11 health training needs of populations and target audi12 ences residing in rural areas. 

13 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—A State, political subdivision of 

14 a State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or nonprofit pri15 vate entity that desires a grant under this section shall 

16 submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

17 such manner, and containing such information as the Sec18 retary may require, including a plan for the rigorous eval19 uation of activities that are carried out with funds received 

20 under such grant. 

21 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.—A State, political subdivision of 

22 a State, Indian tribe, tribal organization, or nonprofit pri23 vate entity that receives a grant under this section shall 

24 prepare and submit an evaluation to the Secretary at such 

25 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 


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1 the Secretary may reasonably require, including an evalua2 tion of activities carried out with funds received under 

3 such grant and a process and outcome evaluation. 

4 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

5 carry out this section, there are authorized to be appro6 priated $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2016, and such sums 

7 as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2017 and 

8 2018.’’. 

Æ 


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