I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2736 
To provide for a Youth Mental Health Research Network. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 11, 2015 
Mr. FATTAH (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
A BILL 
To provide for a Youth Mental Health Research Network. 
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 ‘‘Youth Mental Health 
Research Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) More than 100 million Americans currently 
have some sort of brain-related condition. Millions of 
Americans, many of whom are currently school chil-
dren, have some sort of developmental delay, autism, 
or learning disability. 
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(2) Moreover, many Americans suffer from 
some form of psychotic disorder, including schizo-
phrenia and affective psychotic disorders. 
(3) These brain disorders usually result in sig-
nificant life-long disability, and psychotic disorders 
in particular, despite advances in treatment, rank 
among the top causes of disability worldwide. 
(4) Neuroscience research has the potential to 
dramatically improve the quality of life for people 
facing brain disease and injury, and to significantly 
improve our understanding of learning. 
(5) Because of the impact on the health and 
economy of the country, the Federal Government 
has taken a special interest in promoting neuro-
science and mental health research. Several Federal 
agencies, including the National Science Foundation, 
National Institutes of Health (NIH), Veterans Ad-
ministration, and Department of Defense oversee re-
search on the brain and nervous system. 
(6) In December 2011, Congress directed the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish 
an Interagency Working Group on Neuroscience 
(IWGN). The IWGN is currently convening rep-
resentatives across the Federal Government to make 
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recommendations about the future of neuroscience 
research. 
(7) Given the findings about the role of mental 
illness in multiple shootings across the Nation, in-
cluding Newton, Connecticut, Aurora, Colorado, and 
other communities experiencing similar tragedies, 
the Federal Government has an interest in pursuing 
research on the early detection, intervention, and 
prevention of psychosis. 
(8) In line with this, the Federal Government 
is looking for new ways of increasing the Nation’s 
knowledge of the underlying causes of psychosis. 
(9) The United States commitment to fur-
thering the early detection of mental illness in youth 
was seen in its participation in two public/private re-
search programs that studied the earliest stages of 
psychotic illness, namely— 
(A) the North American Prodrome Longi-
tudinal Study (NAPLS); and 
(B) the Recovery After an Initial Schizo-
phrenia Episode (RAISE) initiative. 
SEC. 3. YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH NETWORK. 
(a) YOUTH
MENTAL
HEALTH
RESEARCH
NET-
WORK.— 
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(1) NETWORK.—The Director of the National 
Institutes of Health may provide for the establish-
ment of a Youth Mental Health Research Network 
for the conduct or support of— 
(A) youth mental health research; and 
(B) youth mental health intervention serv-
ices. 
(2) COLLABORATION BY INSTITUTES AND CEN-
TERS.—The Director of NIH shall carry out this 
Act acting— 
(A) through the Director of the National 
Institute of Mental Health; and 
(B) in collaboration with other appropriate 
national research institutes and national centers 
that carry out activities involving youth mental 
health research. 
(3) MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out para-
graph (1), the Director of NIH may award co-
operative agreements, grants, and contracts to 
State, local, and tribal governments and private 
nonprofit entities for— 
(i) conducting, or entering into con-
sortia with other entities to conduct— 
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(I) basic, clinical, behavioral, or 
translational research to meet unmet 
needs for youth mental health re-
search; or 
(II) training for researchers in 
youth mental health research tech-
niques; 
(ii) providing, or partnering with non- 
research institutions or community-based 
groups with existing connections to youth 
to provide, youth mental health interven-
tion services; and 
(iii) collaborating with the National 
Institute of Mental Health to make use of, 
and build on, the scientific findings and 
clinical techniques of the Institute’s earlier 
programs, 
studies, 
and 
demonstration 
projects. 
(B) RESEARCH.—The Director of NIH 
shall ensure that— 
(i) each recipient of an award under 
subparagraph (A)(i) conducts or supports 
at least one category of research described 
in subparagraph (A)(i)(I) and collectively 
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such recipients conduct or support all such 
categories of research; and 
(ii) one or more such recipients pro-
vide training described in subparagraph 
(A)(i)(II). 
(C) NUMBER
OF
AWARD
RECIPIENTS.— 
The Director of NIH may make awards under 
this paragraph for not more than 70 entities. 
(D) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Any 
support received by an entity under subpara-
graph (A) shall be used to supplement, and not 
supplant, other public or private support for ac-
tivities authorized to be supported under this 
paragraph. 
(E) DURATION OF SUPPORT.—Support of 
an entity under subparagraph (A) may be for a 
period of not to exceed 5 years. Such period 
may be extended by the Director of NIH for 
additional periods of not more than 5 years. 
(4) COORDINATION.—The Director of NIH 
shall— 
(A) as appropriate, provide for the coordi-
nation of activities (including the exchange of 
information and regular communication) among 
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the recipients of awards under this subsection; 
and 
(B) require the periodic preparation and 
submission to the Director of reports on the ac-
tivities of each such recipient. 
(b) INTERVENTION SERVICES FOR, AND RESEARCH 
ON, SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—In making awards under 
subsection (a)(3), the Director of NIH shall ensure 
that an appropriate number of such awards are 
awarded to entities that agree to— 
(A) focus primarily on the early detection 
and intervention of severe mental illness in 
young people; 
(B) conduct or coordinate one or more 
multisite clinical trials of therapies for, or ap-
proaches to, the prevention, diagnosis, or treat-
ment of early severe mental illness in a commu-
nity setting; 
(C) rapidly and efficiently disseminate sci-
entific findings resulting from such trials; and 
(D) adhere to the guidelines, protocols, 
and practices used in the North American Pro-
drome Longitudinal Study (NAPLS) and the 
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Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode 
(RAISE) initiative. 
(2) DATA COORDINATING CENTER.— 
(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—In connection with 
awards to entities described in paragraph (1), 
the Director of NIH shall establish a data co-
ordinating center for the following purposes: 
(i) To distribute the scientific findings 
referred to in paragraph (1)(C). 
(ii) To provide assistance in the de-
sign and conduct of collaborative research 
projects and the management, analysis, 
and storage of data associated with such 
projects. 
(iii) To organize and conduct multisite 
monitoring activities. 
(iv) To provide assistance to the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and Prevention in 
the establishment of patient registries. 
(B) REPORTING.—The Director of NIH 
shall— 
(i) require the data coordinating cen-
ter established under subparagraph (A) to 
provide regular reports to the Director of 
NIH on research conducted by entities de-
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scribed in paragraph (1), including infor-
mation on enrollment in clinical trials and 
the allocation of resources with respect to 
such research; and 
(ii) as appropriate, incorporate infor-
mation reported under clause (i) into the 
Director’s biennial reports under section 
403 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 283). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘Director 
of NIH’’, ‘‘national center’’, and ‘‘national research insti-
tute’’ have the meanings given to such terms in section 
401 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 281). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 
out this Act, there is authorized to be appropriated 
$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020. 
Æ 
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