Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (hereafter referred to in this subchapter as the “Administration”) is an agency of the Service. The following Centers are agencies of the Administration: The Administration shall be headed by an official to be known as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use (hereinafter in this subchapter referred to as the “Assistant Secretary”) who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Assistant Secretary, with the approval of the Secretary, may appoint a Deputy Assistant Secretary and may employ and prescribe the functions of such officers and employees, including attorneys, as are necessary to administer the activities to be carried out through the Administration. The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary, shall— with respect to grant programs authorized under this subchapter or part B of subchapter XVII, or grant programs otherwise funded by the Administration— require that all grants that are awarded to entities other than States are awarded only after the State in which the entity intends to provide services— after providing an opportunity for public input, set standards for grant programs under this subchapter for mental and substance use disorders services and prevention programs, which standards may address— There may be in the Administration an Associate Administrator for Alcohol Prevention and Treatment Policy to whom the Assistant Secretary may delegate the functions of promoting, monitoring, and evaluating service programs for the prevention and treatment of alcoholism and alcohol abuse within the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and the Center for Mental Health Services, and coordinating such programs among the Centers, and among the Centers and other public and private entities. The Associate Administrator also may ensure that alcohol prevention, education, and policy strategies are integrated into all programs of the Centers that address substance abuse prevention, education, and policy, and that the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention addresses the Healthy People 2010 goals and the National Dietary Guidelines of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture related to alcohol consumption. The Assistant Secretary, with the approval of the Secretary, shall appoint an Associate Administrator for Women’s Services who shall report directly to the Assistant Secretary. The Associate Administrator appointed under paragraph (1) shall— acting through the Coordinating Committee, with respect to women’s substance abuse and mental health services— establish an advisory committee to be known as the Advisory Committee for Women’s Services, which shall be composed of not more than 10 individuals, a majority of whom shall be women, who are not officers or employees of the Federal Government, to be appointed by the Assistant Secretary from among physicians, practitioners, treatment providers, and other health professionals, whose clinical practice, specialization, or professional expertise includes a significant focus on women’s substance abuse and mental health conditions, that shall— prepare, for inclusion in the biennial report required pursuant to subsection (m), a description of activities of the Committee, including findings made by the Committee regarding— improve the collection of data on women’s health by— Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to preclude the Secretary from establishing within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration an Office of Women’s Health. For purposes of this subsection, the term “women’s substance abuse and mental health conditions”, with respect to women of all age, ethnic, and racial groups, means all aspects of substance abuse and mental illness— The Assistant Secretary, with the approval of the Secretary, shall appoint a Chief Medical Officer to serve within the Administration. The Assistant Secretary shall select the Chief Medical Officer from among individuals who— The Chief Medical Officer shall— The Assistant Secretary may obtain (in accordance with section 3109 of title 5, but without regard to the limitation in such section on the number of days or the period of service) the services of not more than 20 experts or consultants who have professional qualifications. Such experts and consultants shall be obtained for the Administration and for each of its agencies. The Assistant Secretary shall, without regard to the provisions of title 5 governing appointments in the competitive service, and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title, relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, establish such peer review groups and program advisory committees as are needed to carry out the requirements of this subchapter and appoint and pay members of such groups, except that officers and employees of the United States shall not receive additional compensation for services as members of such groups. Chapter 10 of title 5 shall not apply to the duration of a peer review group appointed under this subsection. The Assistant Secretary may accept voluntary and uncompensated services. The Assistant Secretary shall ensure that programs and activities assigned under this subchapter to the Administration are fully administered by the respective Centers to which such programs and activities are assigned. Not later than September 30, 2018, and every 4 years thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall develop and carry out a strategic plan in accordance with this subsection for the planning and operation of activities carried out by the Administration, including evidence-based programs. In developing and carrying out the strategic plan under this subsection, the Assistant Secretary shall take into consideration the findings and recommendations of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation under section 6021(d) of the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Reform Act of 2016 and the report of the Interdepartmental Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee under section 290aa–0b of this title. Not later than September 30, 2018, and every 4 years thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall— The strategic plan developed under paragraph (1) shall— identify opportunities to collaborate with the Health Resources and Services Administration to develop or improve— Not later than September 30, 2020, and every 2 years thereafter, the Assistant Secretary shall prepare and submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, and post on the Internet website of the Administration, a report containing at a minimum— a description of the manner in which the Administration coordinates and partners with other Federal agencies and departments related to mental and substance use disorders, including activities related to— a description of the activities carried out under section 290aa–0(e) of this title, with respect to mental and substance use disorders, including— With respect to awards of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts under this subchapter, the Assistant Secretary, or the Director of the Center involved, as the case may be, may not make such an award unless— Notwithstanding section 290aa–3 of this title and except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary may use not to exceed 2.5 percent of all amounts appropriated under this subchapter for a fiscal year to make noncompetitive grants, contracts or cooperative agreements to public entities to enable such entities to address emergency substance abuse or mental health needs in local communities. Amounts appropriated under part C shall not be subject to paragraph (1). The Secretary shall establish criteria for determining that a substance abuse or mental health emergency exists and publish such criteria in the Federal Register prior to providing funds under this subsection. Amounts made available for carrying out this subsection shall remain available through the end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year for which such amounts are appropriated. No information, if an establishment or person supplying the information or described in it is identifiable, obtained in the course of activities undertaken or supported under section 290aa–4 of this title may be used for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was supplied unless such establishment or person has consented (as determined under regulations of the Secretary) to its use for such other purpose. Such information may not be published or released in other form if the person who supplied the information or who is described in it is identifiable unless such person has consented (as determined under regulations of the Secretary) to its publication or release in other form. For the purpose of providing grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003.