Community Mental Wellness and Resilience Act of 2025
The Community Mental Wellness and Resilience Act of 2025 would create a new grant program within the Public Health Service Act to fund community-based efforts to promote mental wellness, resilience, and prevention of mental health, behavioral health, and psychosocial problems. The act would authorize planning grants (up to $250,000) to help eligible nonprofit or community-based organizations organize a resilience coordinating network, assess community needs, and prepare applications for larger program grants. It would also authorize competitive program grants (up to $500,000 per year for up to four years) to resilience coordinating networks to establish or expand community mental wellness programs, with a 20% rural set-aside. A key feature is a public health approach that emphasizes prevention, data collection, and culturally appropriate practices, plus a broad, multi-sector “resilience coordinating network” drawn from at least five different partner categories (e.g., schools, faith groups, health professionals, community organizations, businesses, etc.). The Secretary of Health and Human Services would provide technical assistance, and a congressionally mandated report on outcomes would be due by 2030. The act authorizes $36 million for fiscal years 2026–2030 and limits use of funds for technical assistance to no more than 5%.
Key Points
- 1Creation of a new grant program (317W) to fund community mental wellness and resilience efforts, including planning grants to form a resilience coordinating network and assess needs, and program grants to operate or expand programs.
- 2Planning grants capped at $250,000; program grants capped at $500,000 per year for up to four years; a rural set-aside of 20% of annual funds to support rural communities.
- 3A resilience coordinating network must include representatives from at least five categories (e.g., schools, youth programs, faith groups, health professionals, businesses, community safety, social justice, etc.) to ensure broad, cross-sector collaboration.
- 4Programs must use a public health approach to mental health—focusing on prevention, risk and protective factors, community engagement, data collection, and culturally and developmentally appropriate practices.
- 5The program requires a comprehensive strategic plan and ongoing evaluation, with implementation of evidence-based, evidence-informed, promising-best, or indigenous practices.
- 6Technical assistance from the Secretary (and partners) to help with grant applications and sharing best practices; a formal report to Congress by December 31, 2030 detailing outputs, outcomes, and best practices.
- 7Authorization of appropriations of $36 million for 2026–2030, with no more than 5% of annual funds used for technical assistance.