MINDS Act

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1570 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mental Health in International 
Development and Humanitarian Settings Act'' or the ``MINDS Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an 
        estimated 1,000,000,000 individuals worldwide have a mental 
        health or substance use disorder, and The Lancet estimates that 
        nearly 130,000,000 additional cases of major depressive and 
        anxiety disorders globally in 2020 resulted from the COVID-19 
        pandemic.
            (2) According to WHO, depression is among the primary 
        causes of illness and disability in adolescents. One-half of 
        mental health disorders emerge by age 14, and 14 percent of 
        children and adolescents worldwide experience mental health 
        conditions, the majority of whom do not seek care, receive 
        care, or have access to care.
            (3) According to the United Nations, more than 1 out of 
        every 5 individuals in conflict-affected areas has a mental 
        health disorder. Roughly 1,500,000,000, or 2 out of every 3 of 
        the world's children under 18 years of age live in countries 
        affected by conflict, and more than 1 out of every 6 children 
        live in conflict zones. A greater number of children live in 
        areas affected by armed conflict and war now than at any other 
        point this century. The mental health burden in conflict-
        affected contexts is twice the global average.
            (4) According to the World Health Organization, risk 
        factors that increase susceptibility to mental health disorders 
        include poverty and hunger, chronic health conditions, trauma 
        or maltreatment, social exclusion and discrimination, and 
        exposure to and displacement by war or conflict. These risk 
        factors, along with demographic risk factors, manifest at all 
        stages in life. Preliminary research already illustrates that 
        the COVID-19 pandemic has increased communities', families', 
        and individuals' risk factors for multiple types of adversity 
        and compounded preexisting conditions and vulnerabilities.
            (5) According to a Lancet Commission report, allocations 
        for mental health have never risen above 1 percent of health-
        related global development assistance. Estimates indicate that 
        child and adolescent mental health receives just 0.1 percent of 
        health-related global development assistance.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) helping to ensure that individuals have the opportunity 
        to thrive and reach their fullest potential is a critical 
        component of effective and sustainable international 
        development efforts;
            (2) mental health is integral and essential to overall 
        health outcomes and other development objectives;
            (3) mental health is an issue of critical and growing 
        importance for United States development and humanitarian 
        assistance programs that requires coordinated efforts to ensure 
        that programming funded by the United States Government is 
        evidence-based, culturally competent, and trauma-informed;
            (4) the relevant United States Government development and 
        humanitarian assistance strategies should include a mental 
        health and psychosocial support component;
            (5) the redesign of the United States Agency for 
        International Development reflects the nexus between 
        humanitarian and development interventions and should be 
        applied to all mental health and psychosocial support efforts 
        of United States development and humanitarian assistance 
        programs; and
            (6) ongoing efforts to improve social service workforce 
        development and local capacity building are essential to 
        expanding mental health and psychosocial support activities 
        across all United States development and humanitarian 
        assistance programs.

SEC. 3. COORDINATOR FOR MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.

    Section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152f) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (f) as subsection (g); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
    ``(f) Coordinator for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of State, is authorized to designate a Mental Health 
        and Psychosocial Support Coordinator (referred to in this 
        section as the `MHPSS Coordinator').
            ``(2) Specific duties.--The duties of the MHPSS Coordinator 
        shall include--
                    ``(A) establishing and chairing the Mental Health 
                and Psychosocial Support Working Group authorized under 
                section 4 of the Mental Health in International 
                Development and Humanitarian Settings Act;
                    ``(B) guiding, overseeing, and directing mental 
                health and psychosocial support programming and 
                integration across United States development and 
                humanitarian assistance programs;
                    ``(C) serving as the main point of contact on 
                mental health and psychosocial support in the Bureau 
                for Global Health, Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, 
                regional bureaus, the Office of Education, the 
                Inclusive Development Hub in the Bureau of Development, 
                Democracy, and Innovation, and other bureaus as 
                appropriate, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS 
                Relief, and other interagency or presidential 
                initiatives;
                    ``(D) promoting best practices, coordination, and 
                reporting in mental health and psychosocial support 
                programming across United States development and 
                humanitarian assistance programs;
                    ``(E) providing direction, guidance, and oversight 
                on the integration of mental health and psychosocial 
                support in United States development and humanitarian 
                assistance programs; and
                    ``(F) participating in the Advancing Protection and 
                Care for Children in Adversity Interagency Working 
                Group.
            ``(3) Focus populations.--The MHPSS Coordinator should, as 
        appropriate, prioritize populations with increased risk factors 
        for developing mental health disorders, including--
                    ``(A) adult caretakers and children, as well as 
                families and adults who are long-term caretakers;
                    ``(B) children and others who are separated from a 
                family unit; and
                    ``(C) other specific populations in need of mental 
                health and psychosocial support, such as crisis 
                affected communities, displaced populations, gender-
                based violence survivors, and individuals and 
                households coping with the consequences of diseases, 
                such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19.''.

SEC. 4. MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT WORKING GROUP.

    The Administrator, in cooperation with the Mental Health and 
Psychosocial Support Coordinator (designated pursuant to subsection (f) 
of section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, as added by 
section 3), shall establish the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support 
Working Group, which shall include senior representatives from the 
relevant USAID bureaus, the Department of State, and other Federal 
departments and agencies, as appropriate, to ensure continuity and 
integration of mental health and psychosocial support across United 
States development and humanitarian assistance programs.

SEC. 5. INTEGRATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT.

    (a) Statement of Policy.--It is the policy of the United States to 
integrate mental health and psychosocial support across all relevant 
United States development and humanitarian assistance programs.
    (b) Implementation of Policy.--The Administrator and the Secretary 
of State should--
            (1) require all USAID and Department of State regional 
        bureaus and missions to advance the policy described in 
        subsection (a) through relevant development and humanitarian 
        assistance efforts, including by building local capacity to 
        inform, design and implement mental health and psychosocial 
        support programming;
            (2) ensure that all USAID and Department of State mental 
        health and psychosocial support programming--
                    (A) is evidence-based and culturally competent;
                    (B) responds to all types of childhood adversity; 
                and
                    (C) includes trauma-specific interventions in 
                accordance with the recognized principles of a trauma-
                informed approach, whenever applicable; and
            (3) integrate the principles of Advancing Protection and 
        Care for Children in Adversity Strategy.

SEC. 6. CONSULTATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Consultation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Administrator, in coordination with the 
Secretary of State, shall consult with the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations 
of the Senate regarding--
            (1) the progress made in carrying out section 5(b); and
            (2) any barriers preventing the full integration of the 
        strategy referred to in section 5(b)(3).
    (b) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter for 5 fiscal years, the 
Administrator and the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Coordinator (designated pursuant 
to subsection (f) of section 135 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 
as added by section 3) and the Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget, as necessary and appropriate, shall submit to the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on--
            (1) the amount of funding under United States development 
        and humanitarian assistance programs obligated and expended 
        during the most recently concluded fiscal year on mental health 
        and psychosocial support programming;
            (2) how USAID and the Department of State are working to 
        integrate mental health and psychosocial programming, including 
        child-specific programming, into their development and 
        humanitarian assistance programs across relevant sectors, 
        including health, education, nutrition, and protection;
            (3) the metrics of success of the Advancing Protection and 
        Care for Children in Adversity Strategy and progress made 
        towards achieving broader mental health outcomes;
            (4) where trauma-specific strategies are being implemented, 
        and how best practices for trauma-informed programming are 
        being shared across programs;
            (5) barriers preventing full integration of child mental 
        health and psychosocial support into programs for children and 
        youth and recommendations for modifications or expansion;
            (6) barriers to the expansion of mental health and 
        psychosocial support programming in conflict and humanitarian 
        settings and how such barriers are being addressed;
            (7) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health 
        and psychosocial support programming; and
            (8) funding data, including a list of programs to which 
        USAID and the Department of State have obligated funds during 
        the most recently concluded fiscal year to improve access to, 
        and the quality of, mental health and psychosocial support 
        programming in development and humanitarian contexts.

SEC. 7. SUNSET.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall terminate on 
the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
        Administrator of USAID.
            (2) USAID.--The term ``USAID'' means the United States 
        Agency for International Development.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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