USE OF ARMED FORCES HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOLARSHIP AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO INCREASE NUMBER OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WITH SKILLS TO ASSIST IN PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH CARE.

SEC. 524. USE OF ARMED FORCES HEALTH PROFESSIONS SCHOLARSHIP AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM TO INCREASE NUMBER OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WITH SKILLS TO ASSIST IN PROVIDING MENTAL HEALTH CARE.(a) Additional Element Within Scholarship Program.—Section 2121(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—(1) by inserting “(1)” after “(a)”;(2) by striking “in the various health professions” and inserting “(A) in the various health professions or (B) as a health professional with specific skills to assist in providing mental health care to members of the armed forces”; and(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(2) Under the program of a military department, the Secretary of that military department shall allocate a portion of the total number of scholarships to members of the program described in paragraph (1)(B) for the purpose of assisting such members to pursue a degree at the masters and doctoral level in any of the following disciplines:“(A) Social work.“(B) Clinical psychology.“(C) Psychiatry.“(D) Other disciplines that contribute to mental health care programs in that military department.”.(b) Authorized Number of Members of the Program.—Section 2124 of such title is amended—(1) by striking “The number” and inserting “(a) Authorized Number of Members of the Program.—The number”;(2) by striking “6,000” and inserting “6,300”; and123 STAT. 2286(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(b) Mental Health Professionals.—Of the number of persons designated as members of the program at any time, 300 may be members of the program described in section 2121(a)(1)(B) of this title.”.