II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1452 To promote mental wellness and resilience and prevent and heal mental health, behavioral health, and psychosocial conditions through develop- mentally and culturally appropriate community programs, and award grants for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding commu- nity-based mental wellness and resilience programs, and for other pur- poses. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 4, 2023 Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To promote mental wellness and resilience and prevent and heal mental health, behavioral health, and psychosocial conditions through developmentally and culturally appro- priate community programs, and award grants for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding commu- nity-based mental wellness and resilience programs, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1452 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Mental 2 Wellness and Resilience Act of 2023’’. 3 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY MENTAL 4 WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE PROGRAMS. 5 Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended 6 by inserting after section 317V, as added by section 2201 7 of the PREVENT Pandemics Act (Public Law 117–328) 8 the following: 9 ‘‘SEC. 317W. GRANT PROGRAM FOR COMMUNITY MENTAL 10 WELLNESS AND RESILIENCE PROGRAMS. 11 ‘‘(a) GRANTS.— 12 ‘‘(1) PLANNING GRANTS.— 13 ‘‘(A) AWARDS.—The Secretary, acting 14 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 15 Control and Prevention, in consultation with 16 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 17 Substance Use and the Administrator of the 18 Health Resources and Services Administration, 19 shall award grants to eligible organizations— 20 ‘‘(i) to organize a resilience coordi- 21 nating network; 22 ‘‘(ii) to perform assessments of need 23 with respect to community mental wellness 24 and resilience; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1452 IS ‘‘(iii) to prepare an application for a 1 grant under paragraph (2). 2 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 3 under subparagraph (A), with respect to any el- 4 igible organization seeking such a grant shall 5 not exceed $250,000. 6 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION DE- 7 FINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘eligible 8 organization’ means an organization that— 9 ‘‘(i) is a nonprofit or community- 10 based entity eligible to be a part of the re- 11 silience coordinating network under sub- 12 section (c); and 13 ‘‘(ii) has documented support from at 14 least 3 other such entities. 15 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM GRANTS.— 16 ‘‘(A) AWARDS.—The Secretary, acting 17 through the Director of the Centers for Disease 18 Control and Prevention, in consultation with 19 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and 20 Substance Use and the Administrator of the 21 Health Resources and Services Administration, 22 shall carry out a program of awarding grants to 23 resilience coordinating networks, on a competi- 24 tive basis, for the purpose of establishing, oper- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1452 IS ating, or expanding community mental wellness 1 and resilience programs. 2 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 3 under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 4 $500,000 each year over a period not to exceed 5 4 years. 6 ‘‘(C) RURAL SET ASIDE.— 7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds ap- 8 propriated to carry out this section for a 9 fiscal year, 20 percent of such funds shall 10 be reserved to award grants to community 11 mental wellness and resilience programs in 12 rural areas. 13 ‘‘(ii) RURAL AREA DESCRIBED.—For 14 purposes of clause (i), a rural area is a re- 15 gion outside of an urban or suburban area. 16 ‘‘(iii) INCLUSION.—For purposes of 17 clause (ii), a rural area may include indi- 18 viduals and organizations from multiple 19 towns in the county or region involved. 20 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A program carried 21 out using funds awarded under subsection (a)(2) shall 22 take a public health approach to mental health prevention 23 and promotion, using the best available evidence, to 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1452 IS strengthen the entire community’s psychological and emo- 1 tional wellness and resilience, including by— 2 ‘‘(1) collecting and analyzing information from 3 residents of the community as well as quantitative 4 data to identify— 5 ‘‘(A) protective factors that enhance and 6 sustain the community’s capacity for mental 7 wellness and resilience; and 8 ‘‘(B) risk factors that undermine such ca- 9 pacity; 10 ‘‘(2) strengthening such protective factors and 11 addressing such risk factors; 12 ‘‘(3) building awareness, skills, tools, and lead- 13 ership in the community to— 14 ‘‘(A) facilitate using a public health ap- 15 proach to mental health; and 16 ‘‘(B) detect, prevent, and heal mental 17 health, behavioral health, and psychosocial con- 18 ditions among all adults and youth; and 19 ‘‘(4) developing, implementing, and continually 20 evaluating and improving a comprehensive strategic 21 plan for carrying out the activities described in para- 22 graphs (1), (2) and (3) that includes utilizing devel- 23 opmentally, linguistically, and culturally appropriate 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1452 IS evidence-based, evidence-informed, promising-best, 1 or indigenous practices for— 2 ‘‘(A) engaging residents in building social 3 connections, including across cultural, geo- 4 graphic, and economic boundaries; 5 ‘‘(B) enhancing local economic, social, and 6 environmental conditions, including with respect 7 to the build environment; 8 ‘‘(C) becoming trauma-informed and learn- 9 ing simple self-administrable mental wellness 10 and resilience skills; 11 ‘‘(D) engaging in community activities that 12 strengthen mental wellness and resilience; 13 ‘‘(E) partaking in nonclinical group and 14 community-minded prevention and recovery pro- 15 grams; and 16 ‘‘(F) other activities to promote mental 17 wellness and resilience and prevent or heal indi- 18 vidual and community traumas. 19 ‘‘(c) RESILIENCE COORDINATING NETWORK.— 20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In this section, the term 21 ‘resilience coordinating network’ means a network 22 that is composed of 1 or more representatives from 23 at least 5 of the categories listed in paragraph (2). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1452 IS ‘‘(2) CATEGORIES.—The categories listed in 1 this paragraph are the following: 2 ‘‘(A) Grassroots groups, community-based 3 organizations, neighborhood associations, and 4 volunteer civic organizations. 5 ‘‘(B) Elementary and secondary schools, 6 high-needs schools, institutions of higher edu- 7 cation, including community colleges, job-train- 8 ing programs, and other education or training 9 agencies or organizations. 10 ‘‘(C) Youth serving organizations, such as 11 youth after-school and summer programs. 12 ‘‘(D) Parental, family, and early childhood 13 education programs. 14 ‘‘(E) Faith and spirituality organizations. 15 ‘‘(F) Senior care organizations. 16 ‘‘(G) Climate change mitigation and adap- 17 tation, and environmental conservation, groups 18 and organizations. 19 ‘‘(H) Social and environmental justice 20 groups and organizations. 21 ‘‘(I) Disaster preparedness and emergency 22 response groups and organizations. 23 ‘‘(J) Businesses and business associations. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1452 IS ‘‘(K) Organizations involved with commu- 1 nity safety, security, and the justice system. 2 ‘‘(L) Social work, mental health, behavioral 3 health, substance use, physical health, public 4 health, and other professionals, groups, organi- 5 zations, agencies, and institutions in the human 6 health and social services fields. 7 ‘‘(M) The general public, including individ- 8 uals who have experienced adverse mental 9 health or behavioral health conditions who can 10 represent and engage with populations relevant 11 to the community. 12 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 13 provide, directly or through grants to, or contracts with 14 public or private entities, to eligible organizations and re- 15 silience coordinating networks technical assistance— 16 ‘‘(1) in developing applications for grants under 17 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a); and 18 ‘‘(2) by sharing best practices learned from re- 19 silience coordinating networks. 20 ‘‘(e) REPORT.— 21 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—Not later than December 22 31, 2028, the Secretary shall submit a report to 23 Congress on the results of the grants under sub- 24 section (a)(1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1452 IS ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Such report shall include a 1 summary of the best practices used by grantees in 2 establishing, operating, or expanding community 3 mental wellness and resilience programs, and the 4 outputs and outcomes achieved. 5 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 ‘‘(1) The term ‘public health approach to men- 7 tal health’ refers to methods that— 8 ‘‘(A) take a population-level approach to 9 promote mental wellness and resilience to pre- 10 vent problems before they emerge, intervene be- 11 fore they become more severe, and heal them 12 when they do appear, not merely treating indi- 13 viduals one at a time after symptoms of pathol- 14 ogy appear; and 15 ‘‘(B) address mental health and psycho- 16 social problems by— 17 ‘‘(i) identifying and strengthening ex- 18 isting protective factors, and forming new 19 ones, that buffer people from and enhance 20 their capacity for psychological, emotional, 21 and behavioral wellness and resilience for 22 adversities; 23 ‘‘(ii) taking a holistic systems perspec- 24 tive that recognizes that most mental 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1452 IS health, behavioral health, and psychosocial 1 conditions result from numerous inter- 2 related personal, family, social, economic, 3 and environmental factors that require 4 multipronged community-based interven- 5 tions; and 6 ‘‘(iii) using the best available evidence 7 to take action and implement strategies 8 that support mental health prevention and 9 recovery efforts. 10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘community’ means people, 11 groups, and organizations that reside in or work 12 within a specific geographic area, such as a city, 13 neighborhood, subdivision, or urban, suburban, or 14 rural locale. 15 ‘‘(3) The term ‘community trauma’ means a 16 traumatic event or events that are shared by a com- 17 munity and that have lasting adverse effects on the 18 health and well-being of the community. 19 ‘‘(4) The term ‘protective factors’ means 20 strengths, skills, resources, and characteristics 21 that— 22 ‘‘(A) are associated with a lower likelihood 23 of negative outcomes of adversities; or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1452 IS ‘‘(B) reduce the impact on people of toxic 1 stresses or a traumatic experience. 2 ‘‘(5) The term ‘mental wellness’ means a state 3 of well-being in which an individual experiences posi- 4 tive emotional functioning, pursues self-defined 5 goals, establishes and maintains meaningful relation- 6 ships, and feels a sense of meaning and purpose. At 7 the individual level, well-being is based on funda- 8 mental social, cognitive, and emotional skills that 9 help individuals react, cope, and adapt in healthy 10 ways to stress, uncertainty, adversity, trauma, and 11 change. At the community level, well-being is influ- 12 enced by the social, economic, educational, and envi- 13 ronmental factors and conditions that either enhance 14 or diminish well-being within the community. 15 ‘‘(6) The term ‘psychosocial problem’ refers to 16 social and environmental structures and processes 17 that adversely effect and influence an individual’s 18 mental state. 19 ‘‘(7) The term ‘resilience’ means that people de- 20 velop cognitive, psychological, emotional capabilities 21 and social connections that enable them to calm 22 their body, mind, emotions, and behaviors during 23 toxic stresses or traumatic experiences in ways that 24 enable them to— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1452 IS ‘‘(A) respond without negative con- 1 sequences for themselves or others; and 2 ‘‘(B) use the experiences as catalysts to de- 3 velop a constructive new sense of meaning, pur- 4 pose, and hope. 5 ‘‘(8) The term ‘toxic stress’ means exposure to 6 prolonged, severe, and stressful situations with no 7 period of recovery or support. 8 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To carry out this section, 10 there is authorized to be appropriated $36,000,000 11 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 12 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Of the amount made avail- 13 able to carry out this section for a fiscal year, not 14 more than 5 percent of such funds may be used to 15 carry out subsection (d).’’. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:28 May 14, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1452.IS S1452 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB