C.A.R.E. for Mental Health Professionals Act

Bill: 117-s-4058
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. King, Angus S., Jr. [I-ME]
Introduced: 2022-04-07
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Health personnel

Intergovernmental relations

Licensing and registrations

Mental health
Latest action: action_date: 2022-04-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:
action_date: 2022-04-07
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Compacts, Access, and Responsible Expansion for Mental Health Professionals Act or the C.A.R.E. for Mental Health Professionals Act</strong></p> <p>This bill establishes a grant program to promote interstate licensure compacts for mental health professionals. These are licensure agreements enacted by two or more states to mutually recognize the licenses of counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, or pediatric mental health professionals.</p> <p>The Health Resources and Services Administration must award grants to interstate compact commissions or professional licensing boards. Recipients may use grants for projects to (1) incentivize mental health professionals to practice in states with interstate licensure compacts, and (2) develop or maintain interstate compact commissions.</p>

tv_txt: II 117th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4058 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 7, 2022 Mr. King introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, to establish a grant program to be known as the Mental Health Licensure Portability Program to award grants to eligible entities, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Compacts, Access, and Responsible Expansion for Mental Health Professionals Act or the C.A.R.E. for Mental Health Professionals Act . 2. Mental Health Licensure Portability Program (a) Establishment Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator, shall establish a grant program to be known as the Mental Health Licensure Portability Program to award grants to eligible entities for projects to— (1) incentivize counselors to practice in States that have entered into interstate compacts for the purpose of expanding the workforce of credentialed mental health professionals; and (2) develop, operate, or maintain interstate compact commissions authorized to effectuate the provisions of interstate compacts entered into by such States. (b) Definitions In this Act: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration. (2) Commission The term commission means a joint interstate governmental agency comprised of States that have entered into an interstate compact for the purpose of implementing, facilitating, and effectuating provisions of such interstate compact. (3) Counselor The term counselor means a licensed professional that is trained to give guidance to individuals, families, and groups with respect to personal, social, or psychological problems. (4) Eligible entity The term eligible entity means a professional, psychiatric, psychological, or pediatric counseling interstate compact commission or licensure board of a State that is participating in an occupational licensure interstate compact. (5) Interstate compact The term compact means an occupational licensure agreement enacted by 2 or more States that is based on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications through criteria stipulated in such agreement, in which a State agrees to recognize the issuance of a license by another State to a counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist, or pediatric mental health professional. (6) State The term State has the meaning given the term in section 6501 of title 31, United States Code. (c) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Administrator to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2026.