H.R. 3316 — Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act of 2025

This section establishes definitions for this Act, including (1) "AANHPI" as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander; and (2) "Secretary" (except as otherwise specified) as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

This section states congressional findings concerning the mental health crisis among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) individuals, including (1) the AANHPI community's status as one of the fastest-growing U.S. population groups, representing over 70 ethnicities and more than 100 languages and dialects; (2) low mental health service utilization by AANHPI individuals (35% of Asian adults with mental health challenges received treatment in 2023), with suicide as the leading cause of death for AANHPI youth ages 10-24 from 2018-2023; (3) barriers including stigma, limited culturally and linguistically appropriate services, and insufficient research; (4) the need to disaggregate AANHPI data for targeted solutions; and (5) required investments in outreach, services, workforce representation, and data collection.

This section establishes a national outreach and education strategy to promote behavioral health and reduce stigma associated with mental health and substance use disorders in the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) population. The Secretary, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and in coordination with the Director of the Office of Minority Health, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—and in consultation with relevant advocacy and behavioral health organizations—must develop and implement the strategy to (1) address diverse cultural and language needs of AANHPI populations; (2) be developmentally and age appropriate; (3) raise awareness of common mental illness symptoms within AANHPI subgroups (e.g., by gender, age, sexual orientation, culture, or ethnicity); (4) provide publicly accessible information on evidence-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate interventions and treatments; (5) engage AANHPI consumers and communities in materials development and implementation; and (6) promote a comprehensive public health approach addressing behavioral and physical health intersections. Beginning one year after enactment of the Stop Mental Health Stigma in Our Communities Act of 2025 and annually thereafter, the Secretary must submit to Congress, and make publicly available, reports on the strategy's progress in increasing AANHPI awareness of such disorders. The section authorizes $3 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and in coordination with the directors of the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Office of Minority Health, to conduct a systematic review of behavioral health among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) youth. The review assesses (1) the prevalence, risk factors, and root causes of mental health challenges, substance misuse, and mental health and substance use disorders; (2) the prevalence and methods of attempted suicide, nonfatal substance use overdose, and death by suicide or overdose; and (3) AANHPI youth receiving treatment for such disorders. Not later than one year after enactment, the Secretary must submit to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and make publicly available, a report on the review's findings that identifies barriers to behavioral health services, root causes, and recommendations for HHS actions, legislative or administrative changes, and other measures; all data must be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and other relevant factors consistent with privacy laws. This section authorizes $1.5 million for FY2026 to carry out these requirements.

This section directs the Secretary of HHS, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and in coordination with the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Secretary of Labor, and the Director of the Office of Minority Health, to conduct a systematic review of strategies to increase the behavioral health workforce identifying as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI). The review assesses (1) the total number of such U.S. behavioral health workers (i.e., licensed or certified providers of mental health or substance use disorder services, including social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, peer support specialists, and substance use disorder counselors), their licenses, practice locations, employers, cultural and linguistic capabilities, barriers to entering education programs or the workforce, and participation in federal workforce programs; and (2) data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and other factors consistent with privacy laws. Not later than one year after enactment, the Secretary must submit to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and publicly release, a report on the review's findings—including AANHPI workers' awareness of barriers to behavioral health care such as stigma, limited English proficiency, and lack of insurance—along with recommendations for Secretarial actions, legislative or administrative changes to improve AANHPI enrollment in workforce programs, and other steps. For this purpose, $1,500,000 is authorized for FY2026.