I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 6375 
To provide assistance to adolescents and young adults with serious mental 
health disorders as they transition to adulthood. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2008 
Mr. STARK (for himself and Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide assistance to adolescents and young adults with 
serious mental health disorders as they transition to 
adulthood. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Transition 
Act of 2008’’. 
SEC. 2. HEALTHY TRANSITIONING FOR YOUTH. 
Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 520K. HEALTHY TRANSITIONING FOR YOUTH. 
‘‘(a) PLANNING GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta-
tion with the agencies described in subsection (c)(3), 
shall award grants or cooperative agreements to 
States to develop plans for the statewide coordina-
tion of services to assist adolescents and young 
adults with a serious mental health disorder in ac-
quiring the skills, knowledge, and resources nec-
essary to ensure their healthy transition to success-
ful adult roles and responsibilities. 
‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible for a grant 
or cooperative agreement under this subsection, a 
State shall submit to the Secretary an application, 
at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require. 
‘‘(3) PLAN.—Not later than 18 months after 
the receipt of a grant or cooperative agreement 
under this subsection, a State shall submit to the 
Secretary a State plan that shall include— 
‘‘(A) reliable estimates on the number of 
adolescents and young adults with serious men-
tal health disorders in the State; 
‘‘(B) information on the youth targeted 
under this Act, including— 
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‘‘(i) the number of adolescents and 
young adults with serious mental health 
disorders in the State and the number of 
such individuals who are currently being 
served in the State; 
‘‘(ii) the number of such individuals 
who are receiving mental health services 
provided by State agencies other than the 
agency responsible for mental health serv-
ices in the State; 
‘‘(iii) the number of youth with seri-
ous mental health disorders who are in-
volved in the juvenile justice system in the 
State; 
‘‘(iv) the number of youth with seri-
ous mental health disorders who are in-
volved in the child protection system in the 
State; 
‘‘(v) the number of youth with serious 
mental health disorders who have plans in 
effect under the Individuals with Disabil-
ities Education Act in the State; 
‘‘(vi) the number of youth with seri-
ous mental health disorders who are in-
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volved in vocational rehabilitation in the 
State; 
‘‘(vii) the range of ages served by the 
programs described in clauses (i) through 
(vi); and 
‘‘(viii) a description of the overall 
transition coordination that is currently 
provided by the State or local authorities 
and programs in the State; 
‘‘(C) an identification of the skills, knowl-
edge, and resources that adolescents and young 
adults with serious mental health disorders in 
the State will need to ensure their successful 
and healthy transition into adult roles and re-
sponsibilities; 
‘‘(D) an identification of the obstacles that 
adolescents and young adults with serious men-
tal health disorders in the State encounter while 
transitioning into adult roles and responsibil-
ities, including breaks in service or programs 
caused by eligibility and program criteria dif-
ferences between the child and adult mental 
health systems and the lack of local access to 
mental health and transition services; 
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‘‘(E) an identification of the current level, 
type, quality, effectiveness, and availability of 
services, including evidence-based practices, 
available in the State that are uniquely de-
signed for adolescents and young adults with a 
serious mental health disorder to ensure a 
healthy transition to successful adult roles and 
responsibilities; 
‘‘(F) an identification of adolescents and 
young adults with a serious emotional disorder 
who have a low likelihood of a healthy and suc-
cessful transition due to the severity of their ill-
ness, and an identification of how the State will 
provide treatment and other support services to 
this population; 
‘‘(G) an analyses of the strengths, weak-
nesses, and gaps of the current system in the 
State, including the availability of lack of men-
tal health professionals trained to treat adoles-
cents and young adults with a serious mental 
health disorder, as well as barriers, to address 
the needs of adolescents and young adults with 
a serious mental health disorder with an appro-
priate array of effective services and supports; 
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‘‘(H) a description of how the State will 
improve the system of care to ensure successful 
and healthy transitions; 
‘‘(I) a description of how the State will co-
ordinate the services of State and non-State 
agencies that serve adolescents and young 
adults with a serious mental health disorder; 
‘‘(J) a description of how the State will 
provide a system of coordinated service delivery 
under the grant or cooperative agreement that 
will address the effective services, supports, and 
unique needs of adolescents and young adults 
with a serious mental disorder, including those 
who have been placed in out of home settings 
such as the juvenile justice system or those who 
are or were involved in the child protection sys-
tems; 
‘‘(K) a description of how the State will co-
ordinate efforts under the grant or cooperative 
agreement with existing services and systems in 
the State that focus on life skills necessary for 
a healthy transition including health, employ-
ment and pre-employment training, transpor-
tation, housing, recreation, mental health serv-
ices, substance abuse, vocational rehabilitation 
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services for persons with disabilities, and train-
ing for adolescents, young adults and adults, 
consumers and their families; 
‘‘(L) a description of how the State will 
work to build workforce capacity to serve the 
population described in subparagraph (J); 
‘‘(M) a description of how the State will 
reach out to the target population pre-transi-
tion, during transition, and post-transition; 
‘‘(N) a description of how the State is cur-
rently utilizing and leveraging (and how the 
State will use and leverage) Federal funding 
streams to care for the target population, in-
cluding funding through Medicaid, the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development, the 
Department of Labor though supported employ-
ment, the Early and Periodic Screening, Diag-
nosis, and Treatment Program, and other pro-
grams, and including an outline of the barriers 
the State faces in making Federal funding flow 
to the targeted population in a coordinated 
manner; 
‘‘(O) a description of how the State will in-
volve adolescents and young adults with serious 
mental health disorders and their families and 
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guardians in the service design, planning, and 
implementation of the plan under the grant or 
cooperative agreement; 
‘‘(P) an implementation subplan that shall 
be designed to recognize the challenges of im-
plementing a program between communities at 
a statewide level and how the State will over-
come those challenges; 
‘‘(Q) a description of how the State plans 
to evaluate outcomes under the program funded 
under the grant or cooperative agreement; 
‘‘(R) a designation of the State office that 
will be the lead agency responsible for admin-
istering the program under the grant or cooper-
ative agreement; 
‘‘(S) a description of how the State will en-
sure that the activities planned under the grant 
or cooperative agreement will remain sustain-
able at the end of the cycle of Federal funding 
under this section; and 
‘‘(T) any other information determined ap-
propriate by the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) DURATION OF SUPPORT.—The duration of 
a grant or cooperative agreement under this sub-
section shall not exceed 2 fiscal years. 
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