SPECIALIZED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

SEC. 116. SPECIALIZED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES. (a) Improvement to Specialized Mental Health Services.—The Secretary, in furtherance of the responsibilities of the Secretary under section 1706(b) of title 38, United States Code, shall carry out a program to expand and improve the provision of specialized mental health services to veterans. The Secretary shall establish the program in consultation with the Committee on Care of Severely 113 STAT. 1560 Chronically Mentally Ill Veterans established pursuant to section 7321 of title 38, United States Code. (b) Covered Programs.—For purposes of this section, the term “specialized mental health services” includes programs relating to— (1) the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder; and (2) substance use disorders. (c) Funding.—(1)In carrying out the program described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall identify, from funds available to the Department for medical care, an amount of not less than $15,000,000 to be available to carry out the program and to be allocated to facilities of the Department pursuant to subsection (d). (2) In identifying available amounts pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that, after the allocation of those funds under subsection (d), the total expenditure for programs relating to (A) the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder, and (B) substance use disorders is not less than $15,000,000 in excess of the baseline amount. (3) For purposes of paragraph (2), the baseline amount is the amount of the total expenditures on such programs for the most recent fiscal year for which final expenditure amounts are known, adjusted to reflect any subsequent increase in applicable costs to deliver such services in the Veterans Health Administration, as determined by the Committee on Care of Severely Chronically Mentally Ill Veterans. (d) Allocation of Funds to Department Facilities.—The Secretary shall allocate funds identified pursuant to subsection (c)(1) to individual medical facilities of the Department as the Secretary determines appropriate based upon proposals submitted by those facilities for the use of those funds for improvements to specialized mental health services. (e) Report.—Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives a report describing the implementation of this section. The Secretary shall include in the report information on the allocation of funds to facilities of the Department under the program and a description of the improvements made with those funds to specialized mental health services for veterans.