ATTAIN Mental Health Act
The ATTAIN Mental Health Act would require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create an interactive, internet-based dashboard within two years that makes federal grant information related to mental health and substance use disorder programs more accessible to the public, including potential applicants. The dashboard must be accessible to people with disabilities (ADA-compliant), and the Secretary of HHS must seek input from a broad set of agencies, tribal entities, educational institutions, and other stakeholders to shape its design and features. The bill also requires an implementation plan within 180 days and ongoing maintenance so the dashboard stays up-to-date with current grant opportunities. In addition, the Secretary may incorporate data voluntarily provided by states (and tribes) and should include information about grant programs, their status, subgrant opportunities, and links to application pages.
Key Points
- 1Establishment and timeline
- 2- Creates an interactive, online dashboard to publicize federal grants for mental health and substance use disorder programs, to be up and running within 2 years of enactment.
- 3- The dashboard must be ADA-compliant (accessible to people with disabilities).
- 4- An implementation plan must be issued within 180 days, including plans to build on or improve existing publicly accessible websites.
- 5Stakeholder consultation
- 6- The Secretary must consult with multiple federal agencies (e.g., NIH, SAMHSA, IHS, HRSA, Education, Justice, HUD, Labor, VA, Defense, Homeland Security) and tribal and other relevant entities.
- 7- Consultation also includes potential dashboard users such as schools, colleges, local governments, nonprofits, health care providers, housing services, law enforcement, veterans services, and tribal organizations, as well as other entities the Secretary deems relevant.
- 8- Input focuses on dashboard elements like search functions, grant data, user-friendly design, and other useful features.
- 9Dashboard content and functionality
- 10- Lists each federal grant program (and state program equivalents) that funds mental health or SUD activities (prevention, treatment, recovery, support).
- 11- For the current fiscal year, indicates whether grant applications are open, closed, or awarded, and provides opening/closing/award dates (and subgrant details where applicable).
- 12- For programs with state-awarded funds (block grants), indicates subgrant status and whether new subgrant competitions may occur, if information from the state is available.
- 13- Provides identifying information for each program (authorization, reports, appropriations, grant numbers) and any subgrant names used by states.
- 14- Allows users to search by key categories and location, and provides links to program information pages and online applications.
- 15State data integration (voluntary)
- 16- The Secretary may accept and integrate data voluntarily provided by states about grant distributions.
- 17- For block grants or the distribution of funds to states/tribal entities where a specific recipient isn’t identified upfront, states may voluntarily share how funds will be or were distributed, including grant names and website links.