,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bdgf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #be1     
#bjbc,mr4 ,padilla 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,menendez7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,health1           
,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions  ,a   
,,bill  ,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 population1 and   
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,mental  
,health for ,latinos ,act of #bjbc4  #b4
 ,hispanic and ,latino behavioral and   
mental health outreach and education    
strategy ,part ,d of title ,v of the    
,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db      
,u4,s4,c4 #bij;dd et seq47 is amended by
 adding at the end the following new    
section3  #eec4 ,behavioral and mental  
health outreach and education strategy  

7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary1 acting 
through the ,assistant ,secretary1      
shall1 in coordination with advocacy and
 behavioral and mental health           
organizations serving populations of    
,hispanic and ,latino individuals or    
communities1 develop and implement an   
outreach and education strategy to      
promote behavioral and mental health and
 reduce stigma associated with mental   
health conditions and substance abuse   
among the ,hispanic and ,latino         
populations4 ,such strategy shall-- 7#a7
 be designed to-- 7,a7 meet the diverse 
cultural and language needs of the      
various ,hispanic and ,latino           
populations2 and  7,b7 be               
developmentally and age-appropriate2    
7#b7 increase awareness of symptoms of  
mental illnesses common among such      
populations1 taking into account        
differences within subgroups1 such as   
gender1 gender identity1 age1 sexual    
orientation1 or race or ethnicity1 of   
such populations2  7#c7 provide         

information on evidence-based1          
culturally and linguistically           
appropriate and adapted interventions   
and treatments2  7#d7 ensure full       
participation of1 and engage1 both      
consumers and community members in the  
development and implementation of       
materials2  7#e7 seek to broaden the    
perspective among both individuals in   
,hispanic and ,latino communities and   
stakeholders serving such communities to
 use a comprehensive public health      
approach to promoting behavioral health 
that addresses a holistic view of health
 by focusing on the intersection between
 behavioral and physical health2 and    
7#f7 address the impact of the          
,,sars-,co,v-#b pandemic on the mental  
and behavioral health of the ,hispanic  
and ,latino populations4  7b7 ,reports  
,beginning not later than #a year after 
the date of the enactment of this       
section and annually thereafter1 the    
,secretary1 acting through the          
,assistant ,secretary1 shall submit to  

,congress1 and make publicly available1 
a report on the extent to which the     
strategy developed and implemented under
 subsection 7a7 improved behavioral and 
mental health outcomes associated with  
mental health conditions and substance  
abuse among ,hispanic and ,latino       
populations4  7c7 ,authorization of     
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #a1jjj1jjj for fiscal year      
#bjbd4  4