Sponsors (10)
The bill funds culturally tailored behavioral-health outreach and community-engaged materials for Hispanic and Latino communities with federal reporting to track outcomes, but its modest, short-term funding and added administrative reporting risk limiting scale and long-term impact.
Hispanic and Latino individuals will receive culturally and linguistically tailored information on mental health and substance-use conditions, improving awareness and access to appropriate care.
Community members and consumers from Hispanic and Latino communities will be engaged in developing outreach materials, increasing relevance, trust, and uptake of behavioral health information.
Promotes integrated behavioral and physical health approaches, improving coordination of care and more holistic outcomes for people served and for health systems that treat them.
The FY2026 authorization is only $1 million, a modest amount that may limit the scale and reach of outreach and implementation activities.
If funding is not sustained beyond FY2026, programs and outreach started under this authorization could be short-lived, reducing long-term impact for Hispanic and Latino communities.
Reporting requirements create administrative burdens for HHS that could divert staff time and resources from program delivery if additional resources are not provided.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires HHS to implement a culturally tailored outreach and education strategy to promote behavioral and mental health and reduce stigma among Hispanic and Latino populations, with annual reporting and $1M authorized for FY2026.
Official title: To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for a behavioral and mental health outreach and education strategy to reduce stigma associated with mental health among the Hispanic and Latino population, and for other purposes.
Introduced July 23, 2025 by Andrea Salinas · Last progress July 23, 2025
Requires HHS, through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, to develop and carry out a culturally and linguistically tailored outreach and education strategy to promote behavioral and mental health and reduce stigma among Hispanic and Latino populations, coordinated with advocacy and behavioral health organizations. The law directs HHS to produce annual reports to Congress on the strategy’s impact beginning within one year and authorizes $1,000,000 for FY2026 to implement the provision.