
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 38USC7320]

 
                      TITLE 38--VETERANS' BENEFITS
 
              PART V--BOARDS, ADMINISTRATIONS, AND SERVICES
 
 CHAPTER 73--VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION--ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS
 
           SUBCHAPTER II--GENERAL AUTHORITY AND ADMINISTRATION
 
Sec. 7320. Centers for mental illness research, education, and 
        clinical activities
        
    (a) The purpose of this section is to provide for the improvement of 
the provision of health-care services and related counseling services to 
eligible veterans suffering from mental illness (especially mental 
illness related to service-related conditions) through--
        (1) the conduct of research (including research on improving 
    mental health service facilities of the Department and on improving 
    the delivery of mental health services by the Department);
        (2) the education and training of health care personnel of the 
    Department; and
        (3) the development of improved models and systems for the 
    furnishing of mental health services by the Department.

    (b)(1) The Secretary shall establish and operate centers for mental 
illness research, education, and clinical activities. Such centers shall 
be established and operated by collaborating Department facilities as 
provided in subsection (c)(1). Each such center shall function as a 
center for--
        (A) research on mental health services;
        (B) the use by the Department of specific models for furnishing 
    services to treat serious mental illness;
        (C) education and training of health-care professionals of the 
    Department; and
        (D) the development and implementation of innovative clinical 
    activities and systems of care with respect to the delivery of such 
    services by the Department.

    (2) The Secretary shall, upon the recommendation of the Under 
Secretary for Health, designate the centers under this section. In 
making such designations, the Secretary shall ensure that the centers 
designated are located in various geographic regions of the United 
States. The Secretary may designate a center under this section only 
if--
        (A) the proposal submitted for the designation of the center 
    meets the requirements of subsection (c);
        (B) the Secretary makes the finding described in subsection (d); 
    and
        (C) the peer review panel established under subsection (e) makes 
    the determination specified in subsection (e)(3) with respect to 
    that proposal.

    (3) Not more than five centers may be designated under this section.
    (4) The authority of the Secretary to establish and operate centers 
under this section is subject to the appropriation of funds for that 
purpose.
    (c) A proposal submitted for the designation of a center under this 
section shall--
        (1) provide for close collaboration in the establishment and 
    operation of the center, and for the provision of care and the 
    conduct of research and education at the center, by a Department 
    facility or facilities in the same geographic area which have a 
    mission centered on care of the mentally ill and a Department 
    facility in that area which has a mission of providing tertiary 
    medical care;
        (2) provide that no less than 50 percent of the funds 
    appropriated for the center for support of clinical care, research, 
    and education will be provided to the collaborating facility or 
    facilities that have a mission centered on care of the mentally ill; 
    and
        (3) provide for a governance arrangement between the 
    collaborating Department facilities which ensures that the center 
    will be established and operated in a manner aimed at improving the 
    quality of mental health care at the collaborating facility or 
    facilities which have a mission centered on care of the mentally 
    ill.

    (d) The finding referred to in subsection (b)(2)(B) with respect to 
a proposal for designation of a site as a location of a center under 
this section is a finding by the Secretary, upon the recommendation of 
the Under Secretary for Health, that the facilities submitting the 
proposal have developed (or may reasonably be anticipated to develop) 
each of the following:
        (1) An arrangement with an accredited medical school that 
    provides education and training in psychiatry and with which one or 
    more of the participating Department facilities is affiliated under 
    which medical residents receive education and training in psychiatry 
    through regular rotation through the participating Department 
    facilities so as to provide such residents with training in the 
    diagnosis and treatment of mental illness.
        (2) An arrangement with an accredited graduate program of 
    psychology under which students receive education and training in 
    clinical, counseling, or professional psychology through regular 
    rotation through the participating Department facilities so as to 
    provide such students with training in the diagnosis and treatment 
    of mental illness.
        (3) An arrangement under which nursing, social work, counseling, 
    or allied health personnel receive training and education in mental 
    health care through regular rotation through the participating 
    Department facilities.
        (4) The ability to attract scientists who have demonstrated 
    achievement in research--
            (A) into the evaluation of innovative approaches to the 
        design of mental health services; or
            (B) into the causes, prevention, and treatment of mental 
        illness.

        (5) The capability to evaluate effectively the activities of the 
    center, including activities relating to the evaluation of specific 
    efforts to improve the quality and effectiveness of mental health 
    services provided by the Department at or through individual 
    facilities.

    (e)(1) In order to provide advice to assist the Secretary and the 
Under Secretary for Health to carry out their responsibilities under 
this section, the official within the central office of the Veterans 
Health Administration responsible for mental health and behavioral 
sciences matters shall establish a peer review panel to assess the 
scientific and clinical merit of proposals that are submitted to the 
Secretary for the designation of centers under this section.
    (2) The panel shall consist of experts in the fields of mental 
health research, education and training, and clinical care. Members of 
the panel shall serve as consultants to the Department.
    (3) The panel shall review each proposal submitted to the panel by 
the official referred to in paragraph (1) and shall submit to that 
official its views on the relative scientific and clinical merit of each 
such proposal. The panel shall specifically determine with respect to 
each such proposal whether that proposal is among those proposals which 
have met the highest competitive standards of scientific and clinical 
merit.
    (4) The panel shall not be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee 
Act (5 U.S.C. App.).
    (f) Clinical and scientific investigation activities at each center 
established under this section--
        (1) may compete for the award of funding from amounts 
    appropriated for the Department of Veterans Affairs medical and 
    prosthetics research account; and
        (2) shall receive priority in the award of funding from such 
    account insofar as funds are awarded to projects and activities 
    relating to mental illness.

    (g) The Under Secretary for Health shall ensure that at least three 
centers designated under this section emphasize research into means of 
improving the quality of care for veterans suffering from mental illness 
through the development of community-based alternatives to institutional 
treatment for such illness.
    (h) The Under Secretary for Health shall ensure that information 
produced by the research, education and training, and clinical 
activities of centers established under this section that may be useful 
for other activities of the Veterans Health Administration is 
disseminated throughout the Veterans Health Administration. Such 
dissemination shall be made through publications, through programs of 
continuing medical and related education provided through regional 
medical education centers under subchapter VI of chapter 74 of this 
title, and through other means. Such programs of continuing medical 
education shall receive priority in the award of funding.
    (i) The official within the central office of the Veterans Health 
Administration responsible for mental health and behavioral sciences 
matters shall be responsible for supervising the operation of the 
centers established pursuant to this section and shall provide for 
ongoing evaluation of the centers and their compliance with the 
requirements of this section.
    (j)(1) There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of 
Veterans Affairs for the basic support of the research and education and 
training activities of centers established pursuant to this section 
amounts as follows:
        (A) $3,125,000 for fiscal year 1998.
        (B) $6,250,000 for each of fiscal years 1999 through 2001.

    (2) In addition to funds appropriated for a fiscal year pursuant to 
the authorization of appropriations in paragraph (1), the Under 
Secretary for Health shall allocate to such centers from other funds 
appropriated for that fiscal year generally for the Department of 
Veterans Affairs medical care account and the Department of Veterans 
Affairs medical and prosthetics research account such amounts as the 
Under Secretary for Health determines appropriate to carry out the 
purposes of this section.

(Added Pub. L. 104-262, title III, Sec. 334(a)(1), Oct. 9, 1996, 110 
Stat. 3200.)

                       References in Text

    The Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(4), 
is Pub. L. 92-463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770, as amended, which is set 
out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.


              Annual Reports On and Designation of Centers

    Section 334(b), (c) of Pub. L. 104-262 provided that:
    ``(b) Annual Reports.--Not later than February 1 of each of 1999, 
2000, 2001, and 2002, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to 
the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of 
Representatives a report on the status and activities during the 
previous fiscal year of the centers for mental illness research, 
education, and clinical activities established pursuant to section 7320 
of title 38, United States Code (as added by subsection (a)). Each such 
report shall include the following:
        ``(1) A description of the activities carried out at each center 
    and the funding provided for such activities.
        ``(2) A description of the advances made at each of the 
    participating facilities of the center in research, education and 
    training, and clinical activities relating to mental illness in 
    veterans.
        ``(3) A description of the actions taken by the Under Secretary 
    for Health pursuant to subsection (h) of that section (as so added) 
    to disseminate information derived from such activities throughout 
    the Veterans Health Administration.
        ``(4) The Secretary's evaluations of the effectiveness of the 
    centers in fulfilling the purposes of the centers.
    ``(c) Implementation.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
designate at least one center under section 7320 of title 38, United 
States Code, not later than January 1, 1998.''
