MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS ACT (References in black brackets [] are to title 42, United States Code) AN ACT To improve the provision of mental health services and otherwise promote mental health throughout the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1. This Act may be cited as the "Mental Health Systems Act". TABLE OF CONTENTS Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. Sec. 2. Findings. TITLE I-GENERAL PROVISIONS Sec. 102. Definitions. TITLE IV-ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR MINORITY CONCERNS Sec. 401. Associate Director for Minority Concerns. TITLE V-MENTAL HEALTH RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY Sec. 501. Bill of rights. TITLE VI-RAPE PREVENTION AND CONTROL Sec. 601. Rape prevention and control. TITLE VII-EXTENSION OF COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTERS ACT Sec. 701. One-year extension of Community Mental Health Centers Act. TITLE VIII-MISCELLANEOUS Sec. 802. Report on shelter and basic living needs of chronically mentally ill individuals. Sec. 803. Obligated service for mental health traineeships. Sec. 804. Conforming amendments. Sec. 805. Special pay for Public Health Service physicians and dentists. TITLE IX-MECHANIZED CLAIMS PROCESSING AND INFORMATION Sec. 901. Mechanized claims processing and information retrieval systems. FINDINGS SEC. 2. [9401] The Congress finds (1) despite the significant progress that has been made in making community mental health services available and in improving residential mental health facilities since the original community mental health centers legislation was enacted in 1963, unserved and underserved populations remain and there are certain groups in the population, such as chronically men tally ill individuals, children and youth, elderly individuals, racial and ethnic minorities, women, poor persons, and persons in rural areas, which often lack access to adequate private and public mental health services and support services; (2) the process of transferring or diverting chronically mentally ill individuals from unwarranted or inappropriate institutionalized settings to their home communities has frequently not been accompanied by a process of providing those individuals with the mental health and support services they need in community-based settings; (3) the shift in emphasis from institutional care to community-based care has not always been accompanied by a process of affording training, retraining, and job placement for employees affected by institutional closure and conversion; (4) the delivery of mental health and support services is typically uncoordinated within and among local, State, and Federal entities; (5) mentally ill persons are often inadequately served by (A) programs of the Department of Health and Human Services such as medicare, medicaid, supplemental security income, and social services, and (B) programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Labor, and other Federal agencies; (6) health care systems often lack general health care personnel with adequate mental health care training and often lack mental health care personnel and consequently many individuals with some level of mental disorder do not receive appropriate mental health care; (7) present knowledge of methods to prevent mental illness through discovery and elimination of its causes and through early detection and treatment is too limited; (8) a comprehensive and coordinated array of appropriate private and public mental health and support services for all people in need within specific geographic areas, based upon a cooperative local-State-Federal partnership, remains the most effective and humane way to provide a majority of mentally ill individuals with mental health care and needed support; and (9) because of the rising demand for mental health services and the wide disparity in the distribution of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, social workers, and psychiatric nurses, there is a shortage in the medical specialty of psychiatry and there are also shortages among the other health personnel who provide mental health services. TITLE I-GENERAL PROVISIONS DEFINITIONS SEC. 102. [9412] For purposes of this Act: (1) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. (2) The term "State" includes (in addition to the fifty States) the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. (3) The term "nonprofit", as applied to any entity, means an entity which is owned and operated by one or more corporations or associations no part of the net earnings of which inures or may lawfully inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or person. TITLE IV-ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR MINORITY CONCERNS ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR MINORITY CONCERNS SEC. 401. [Amends section 455 of the Public Health Service Act.] TITLE V-MENTAL HEALTH RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY BILL OF RIGHTS SEC. 501. [9501] It is the sense of the Congress that each State should review and revise, if necessary, its laws to ensure that mental health patients receive the protection and services they require; and in making such review and revision should take into account the recommendations of the President's Commission on Mental Health and the following: (1) A person admitted to a program or facility for the purpose of receiving mental health services should be accorded the following: (A) The right to appropriate treatment and related services in a setting and under conditions that— (i) are the most supportive of such person's personal liberty; and (ii) restrict such liberty only to the extent necessary consistent with such person's treatment needs, applicable requirements of law, and applicable judicial orders. (B) The right to an individualized, written, treatment or service plan (such plan to be developed promptly after admission of such person), the right to treatment based on such plan, the right to periodic review and reassessment of treatment and related service needs, and the right to appropriate revision of such plan, including any revision necessary to provide a description of mental health services that may be needed after such person is discharged from such program or facility. (C) The right to ongoing participation, in a manner appropriate to such person's capabilities, in the planning of mental health services to be provided such person (including the right to participate in the development and periodic revision of the plan described in subparagraph (B)), and, in connection with such participation, the right to be provided with a reasonable explanation, in terms and language appropriate to such person's condition and ability to understand, of— (i) such person's general mental condition and, if such program or facility has provided a physical examination, such person's general physical condition; (ii) the objectives of treatment; (iii) the nature and significant possible adverse effects of recommended treatments; (iv) the reasons why a particular treatment is considered appropriate; (v) the reasons why access to certain visitors may not be appropriate; and (vi) any appropriate and available alternative treatments, services, and types of providers of mental health services. (D) The right not to receive a mode or course of treatment, established pursuant to the treatment plan, in the absence of such person's informed, voluntary, written consent to such mode or course of treatment, except treatment (i) during an emergency situation if such treatment is pursuant to or documented contemporaneously by the written order of a responsible mental health professional; or (ii) as permitted under applicable law in the case of a person committed by a court to a treatment program or facility. (E) The right not to participate in experimentation in the absence of such person's informed, voluntary, written consent, the right to appropriate protections in connection with such participation, including the right to a reasonable explanation of the procedure to be followed, the benefits to be expected, the relative advantages of alternative treatments, and the potential discomforts and risks, and the right and opportunity to revoke such consent. (F) The right to freedom from restraint or seclusion, other than as a mode or course of treatment or restraint or seclusion during an emergency situation if such restraint or seclusion is pursuant to or documented contemporaneously by the written order of a responsible mental health professional. (G) The right to a humane treatment environment that affords reasonable protection from harm and appropriate privacy to such person with regard to personal needs. (H) The right to confidentiality of such person's records. (I) The right to access, upon request, to such person's mental health care records, except such person may be refused access to (i) information in such records provided by a third party under assurance that such information shall remain confidential; and (ii) specific material in such records if the health professional responsible for the mental health services concerned has made a determination in writing that such access would be detrimental to such person's health, except that such material may be made available to a similarly licensed health professional selected by such person and such health professional may, in the exercise of professional judgment, provide such person with access to any or all parts of such material or otherwise disclose the information contained in such material to such person. (J) The right, in the case of a person admitted on a residential or inpatient care basis, to converse with others privately, to have convenient and reasonable access to the telephone and mails, and to see visitors during regularly scheduled hours, except that, if a mental health professional treating such person determines that denial of access to a particular visitor is necessary for treatment purposes, such mental health professional may, for a specific, limited, and reasonable period of time, deny such access if such mental health professional has ordered such denial in writing and such order has been incorporated in the treatment plan for such person. An order denying such access should include the reasons for such denial. (K) The right to be informed promptly at the time of admission and periodically thereafter, in language and terms appropriate to such person's condition and ability to understand, of the rights described in this section. (L) The right to assert grievances with respect to infringement of the rights described in this section, including the right to have such grievances considered in a fair, timely, and impartial grievance procedure provided for or by the program or facility. (M) Notwithstanding subparagraph (J), the right of access to (including the opportunities and facilities for private communication with) any available (i) rights protection service within the program or facility; (ii) rights protection service within the State mental health system designed to be available to such person; and (iii) qualified advocate; for the purpose of receiving assistance to understand, exercise, and protect the rights described in this section and in other provisions of law. (N) The right to exercise the rights described in this section without reprisal, including reprisal in the form of denial of any appropriate, available treatment. (0) The right to referral as appropriate to other providers of mental health services upon discharge. (2)(A) The rights described in this section should be in addition to and not in derogation of any other statutory or constitutional rights. (B) The rights to confidentiality of and access to records as provided in subparagraphs (H) and (I) of paragraph (1) should remain applicable to records pertaining to a person after such person's discharge from a program or facility. |