H.R. 6226 — Latino Youth Mental Health Empowerment Act

This section states congressional findings on mental health challenges among Hispanic and Latino youth, including that at least 78% suffer from at least one adverse childhood experience, approximately 60% report poor mental health, 42% experience persistent sadness or hopelessness, and 18% of high school students have seriously contemplated suicide. The findings also note lower utilization of mental health services due to factors such as lower health insurance rates, language and cultural barriers, and lack of parental education on mental health.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), within one year of enactment, to study prior HHS mental health education and outreach campaigns and their most effective messaging within the Latino community. The section further establishes a national culturally and linguistically competent awareness and outreach campaign—developed using the study results, in coordination with the Office of Minority Health, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, and Secretary of Education, and in consultation with relevant advocacy organizations—to promote mental health awareness, combat stigma, and increase access to screening, intervention, and treatment for Hispanic and Latino youth. The campaign targets parents, caregivers, youth, teachers, school personnel, and school clinic staff and includes (1) awareness efforts addressing mental illness symptoms, prevalence, misconceptions, social determinants of health, stigma, and evidence-based options tailored to population subgroups (e.g., by gender, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, geography, immigration status, and adverse childhood experiences); and (2) outreach via mental health materials (including suicide prevention hotline information), in-person and virtual workshops at schools and community centers, youth mental health first aid training, agency-school partnerships, and on-site screenings and consultations. The section authorizes $5 million for each of FY2026 through 2030.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 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, Office of Minority Health, and the Surgeon General, to conduct a study on mental health among Hispanic and Latino youth. The study assesses (1) prevalence and risk factors of mental health and substance use disorders; (2) prevalence of attempted suicide and suicide deaths; (3) prevalence of treatment; (4) awareness and utilization of the 9-8-8 National Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Hotline and other hotlines; (5) awareness, utilization, and availability of mobile crisis care teams; and (6) awareness, utilization, and availability of crisis centers. The section requires a report on the study—disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and other factors, consistent with privacy laws—to be submitted to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and made publicly available, within one year of enactment. The report identifies barriers to mental health services and provides recommendations to improve services, outreach, treatment, suicide prevention, hotline utilization, and access to mobile crisis teams and crisis centers for Hispanic and Latino youth. This section authorizes $1,000,000 for FY2026 to carry out the study and report.

This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (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 Director of the Office of Minority Health, the Surgeon General, and the Secretary of Labor, to conduct a study on strategies for increasing the mental health professional workforce identifying as Hispanic or Latino. The study must address (1) the total number of licensed clinical and non-clinical mental health providers identifying as Hispanic or Latino; (2) for each such provider, license type, geographic location of practice, and employer type (e.g., hospital, federally qualified health center, elementary or secondary school, or private practice); (3) languages spoken by such providers and proficiency levels; and (4) current enrollment of Hispanic or Latino individuals in mental health professional education programs. This section further requires HHS to submit a report on the study's findings—including an assessment of such providers' awareness of barriers to mental health care for Hispanic or Latino individuals, recommendations to increase their numbers and education program enrollment, and other recommendations—to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and to make the report publicly available, within one year of enactment; requires study and report data to be disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, geographic region, disability status, and other relevant factors consistent with privacy laws; defines "clinical and non-clinical mental health provider"; and authorizes $1,000,000 for FY2026.