S.Amdt. 4723

1. Adds SEC. 718. EXPANSION OF EMBEDDING OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS IN OPERATIONAL UNITS OF THE ARMY THROUGH MOBILE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TEAMS at the end of subtitle B of title VII

   Adds a section

   In S. 3454 · Placed on Calendar Senate

   (e) Proficiency.--The Secretary of Defense may, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, establish standards or requirements for the completion of training developed and implemented under subsection (a) and for proficiency in the matters covered by such training for all recipients of such training.

   Inserted: SEC. 718. EXPANSION OF EMBEDDING OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROVIDERS IN OPERATIONAL UNITS OF THE ARMY THROUGH MOBILE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TEAMS.

   Inserted: (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:

   Inserted: (1) The Final Report of the Department of Defense Task Force on the Prevention of Suicide by Members of the Armed Forces, published in August 2010, states that "Service Members and behavioral health providers report overwhelmingly positive experiences with embedded mental health providers in operational units; however, the practice is underutilized." The report further states that embedded behavioral health providers help members of the Armed Forces retain functionality in stressful environments, improve their psychological and emotional fitness, expedite their return to duty when exposed to traumatic events, and reduce stigma associated with behavioral healthcare, and calls for an expansion of the practice of embedding behavioral health providers in operational units.

   Inserted: (2) An evaluation of the pilot Mobile Behavioral Health Service (MBHS) at Fort Carson, Colorado, determined that the level of support for the Mobile Behavioral Health Service among soldiers and key unit leaders at Fort Carson and the positive effect of the Mobile Behavioral Health Teams on inpatient psychiatric admissions, off-post referrals, unit risk behaviors, soldiers characterized as non-deployable for behavioral health reasons, and potential cost savings of the Mobile Behavioral Health Service warranted replication of this model at other Army installations.

   Inserted: (b) In General.--By not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall put in place at not less than four Army installations with a brigade combat team selected by the Secretary for purposes of this section a Mobile Behavioral Health Team (MBHT) for purposes of facilitating early identification and treatment of behavioral health concerns among members of such combat teams and mitigating both inpatient psychiatric admissions and the necessity of referrals off-post for mental health care among such members.

   Inserted: (c) Elements of MBHT.--The Secretary shall consider utilizing a model for each Mobile Behavioral Health Team put in place under subsection (b) that includes the assignment of credentialed behavioral health providers exclusively to a single battalion within a brigade combat team to identify behavioral health problems early and with more accuracy, to remove barriers to care, and to improve treatment outcomes.

   Inserted: (d) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives a report on the actions taken under this section. The report shall include a comprehensive description of the activities of the Mobile Behavioral Health Teams put in place under this section and an assessment of the effectiveness of such teams in meeting the purposes of such teams as described in subsections (b) and (c).

   Original wording

   At the end of subtitle B of title VII, add the following:

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As printed