US Congress Senate Bill 711 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-7)
Status: Introduced on March 11 2015 - 25% progression, died in committee
Action: 2015-03-11 - Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Pending: Senate Health, Education, Labor, And Pensions Committee
Text: Latest bill text (Introduced) [PDF]

Mental Health First Act of 2015 Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to award grants to initiate and sustain mental health first aid training programs. Requires such a program to include training on: (1) the skills, resources, and knowledge necessary to assist individuals in crisis to connect with appropriate local mental health care services; (2) mental health resources, including the location of community mental health centers; and (3) protocols for referral to mental health resources. Sets forth the categories of individuals to be trained under the program, including first responders, law enforcement personnel, teachers and school administrators, human resources professionals, nurses and other primary care personnel, students enrolled in school, parents of students, and veterans and veteran stakeholders. Requires such programs to train individuals to accomplish safe de-escalation of crisis situations, recognition of the signs and symptoms of mental illness, and timely referral to mental health services in the early stages of developing mental disorders. Requires SAMHSA to ensure that grants are equitably distributed geographically, and to pay particular attention to the mental health training needs of rural areas.

Mental Health First Act of 2015

Sen. Kelly Ayotte [R-NH]	Sen. Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]	Sen. Chuck Grassley [R-IA]	Sen. Jack Reed [D-RI]
Sen. Marco Rubio [R-FL]	Sen. Michael Bennet [D-CO]	Sen. Rob Portman [R-OH]	Sen. Christopher Coons [D-DE]
Sen. Dean Heller [R-NV]	Sen. Heidi Heitkamp [D-ND]	Sen. Jeanne Shaheen [D-NH]	Sen. Christopher Murphy [D-CT]
Sen. Debbie Stabenow [D-MI]	Sen. Jon Tester [D-MT]	Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]	Sen. Dan Sullivan [R-AK]
Sen. Gary Peters [D-MI]	Sen. Charles Schumer [D-NY]	Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]

Date	Chamber	Action
2015-03-11	Senate	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

HB1877 (Related) 2016-09-27 - Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
HB4435 (Related) 2016-02-10 - Referred to the Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs.

Type	Source
Summary	https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/711/all-info
Text	https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s711/BILLS-114s711is.pdf