Update: Bipartisan Group of Senators Introduce the Campus Care and Counseling Act

Since 2002, APA Education advocacy staff has worked with other APA directorates and other relevant associations to promote a bill to amend the Higher Education Act that would address the mental and behavioral health needs of our nation's college students.

On March 12, Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Mike DeWine (R-OH) along with Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) introduced S. 2215, the Campus Care and Counseling Act. This legislation is the companion bill to HR 3593, introduced last November by Reps. Danny K. Davis (D-IL) and Tom Osborne (R-NE). APA first proposed this program to Congress and the Administration in December of 2002 as part of our recommendations for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.

The legislation authorizes competitive grants to "treatment providers" at institutions of higher education, such as:

college counseling centers
college and university psychological services centers
mental health centers
psychology training clinics
evidence-based, mental health and substance abuse screening programs
other entities that provide mental and behavioral health services on campus

The purpose of the legislation is to increase access to and enhance the range of, mental and behavioral health services for students with the goal of ensuring college students have the support necessary to successfully complete their studies.

It authorizes $10 million for activities such as:

prevention, screening, early intervention, assessment, treatment, management and education of mental and behavioral health problems of enrolled students on campus
education of families
hiring appropriately trained staff
strengthening and expanding mental and behavioral health training opportunities in internship and residency programs, such as psychology doctoral and post doctoral training
supporting the use of evidence-based and emerging best-practice
evaluating and disseminating outcomes of mental and behavioral health services so as to provide information and training to other entities around the nation serving students enrolled at institutions of higher education

There is strong evidence documenting the growing and changing need for psychological services on college campus. The Campus Care and Counseling Act (S.2215) can yield significant positive benefits in important accountability areas such as retention, graduation rates - and other indicators of general college success. Addressing the social and emotional needs (e.g. depression, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse) of college-going students will help further efforts to improve the health and welfare of our next generation of leaders.

The American Psychological Association urges you to contact your Senators today and encourage them to become co-sponsors of S. 2215 introduced by Senators Jack Reed and Mike DeWine. If you live in Rhode Island, Ohio, New York or Oregon please call Senator Reed (RI), Senator DeWine (OH), Senator Clinton(NY) or Senator Smith(OR) and thank them for their support in introducing this important legislation.