The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, may award grants on a competitive basis to institutions of higher education to enhance services for students with mental and behavioral health problems that can lead to school failure, such as depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts, so that students will successfully complete their studies.
The Secretary may not make a grant to an institution of higher education under this section unless the institution agrees to use the grant only for—
(1) educational seminars;
(2) the operation of hot lines;
(3) preparation of informational material;
(4) preparation of educational materials for families of students to increase awareness of potential mental and behavioral health issues of students enrolled at the institution of higher education;
(5) training programs for students and campus personnel to respond effectively to students with mental and behavioral health problems that can lead to school failure, such as depression, substance abuse, and suicide attempts; or
(6) the creation of a networking infrastructure to link colleges and universities that do not have mental health services with health care providers who can treat mental and behavioral health problems.
Any institution of higher education receiving a grant under this section may carry out activities under the grant through—
(1) college counseling centers;
(2) college and university psychological service centers;
(3) mental health centers;
(4) psychology training clinics; or
(5) institution of higher education supported, evidence-based, mental health and substance abuse programs.
An institution of higher education desiring a grant under this section shall prepare and submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, the application shall include the following:
(1) A description of identified mental and behavioral health needs of students at the institution of higher education.
(2) A description of Federal, State, local, private, and institutional resources currently available to address the needs described in paragraph (1) at the institution of higher education.
(3) A description of the outreach strategies of the institution of higher education for promoting access to services, including a proposed plan for reaching those students most in need of mental health services.
(4) A plan to evaluate program outcomes, including a description of the proposed use of funds, the program objectives, and how the objectives will be met.
(5) An assurance that the institution will submit a report to the Secretary each fiscal year on the activities carried out with the grant and the results achieved through those activities.
The Secretary may make a grant under this section to an institution of higher education only if the institution agrees to make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) non-Federal contributions in an amount that is not less than $1 for each $1 of Federal funds provided in the grant, toward the costs of activities carried out with the grant (as described in subsection (b) of this section) and other activities by the institution to reduce student mental and behavioral health problems.
Non-Federal contributions required under paragraph (1) may be in cash or in kind. Amounts provided by the Federal Government, or services assisted or subsidized to any significant extent by the Federal Government, may not be included in determining the amount of such non-Federal contributions.
The Secretary may waive the requirement established in paragraph (1) with respect to an institution of higher education if the Secretary determines that extraordinary need at the institution justifies the waiver.
For each fiscal year that grants are awarded under this section, the Secretary shall conduct a study on the results of the grants and submit to the Congress a report on such results that includes the following:
(1) An evaluation of the grant program outcomes, including a summary of activities carried out with the grant and the results achieved through those activities.
(2) Recommendations on how to improve access to mental and behavioral health services at institutions of higher education, including efforts to reduce the incidence of suicide and substance abuse.
In this section, the term "institution of higher education" has the meaning given such term in section 1001 of title 20.
For the purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2005, $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2006, and $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2007.
(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title V, §520E–2, as added Pub. L. 108–355, §3(d), Oct. 21, 2004, 118 Stat. 1413.)
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Last modified: October 26, 2015