Saving Lives Through Increased Support for Mental- and Behavioral-Health Needs

Executive Order 13954 of October 3, 2020

Saving Lives Through Increased Support for
Mental- and Behavioral-Health Needs

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Purpose. My Administration is committed to
preventing the tragedy of suicide, ending the opioid
crisis, and improving mental and behavioral health.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, these urgent issues were
prioritized through significant initiatives, including
the President's Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a
National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS), expanded access
to medication-assisted treatment and life-saving
naloxone, and budget requests for significant
investments in the funding of evidence-based treatment
for mental- and behavioral-health needs.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal Government
has dedicated billions of dollars and thousands of
hours in resources to help Americans, including
approximately $425 million in emergency funds to
address mental and substance use disorders through the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration. The pandemic has also exacerbated
mental- and behavioral-health conditions as a result of
stress from prolonged lockdown orders, lost employment,
and social isolation. Survey data from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention show that during the
last week of June, 40.9 percent of Americans struggled
with mental-health or substance-abuse issues and 10.7
percent reported seriously considering suicide. We must
enhance the ability of the Federal Government, as well
as its State, local, and Tribal partners, to
appropriately address these ongoing mental- and
behavioral-health concerns.

Sec. 2. Policy. It is the policy of the United States
to prevent suicides, drug-related deaths, and poor
behavioral-health outcomes, particularly those that are
induced or made worse by prolonged State and local
COVID-19 shutdown orders. I am therefore issuing a
national call to action to:

    (a) Engage the resources of the Federal Government
to address the mental- and behavioral-health needs of
vulnerable Americans, including by:

(i) providing crisis-intervention services to treat those in immediate
life-threatening situations; and

(ii) increasing the availability of and access to quality continuing care
following initial crisis resolution to improve behavioral-health outcomes;

    (b) Permit and encourage safe in-person mentorship
programs; support-group participation; and attendance
at communal facilities, including schools, civic
centers, and houses of worship;
    (c) Increase the availability of telehealth and
online mental-health and substance-use tools and
services; and
    (d) Marshal public and private resources to address
deteriorating mental health, such as factors that
contribute to prolonged unemployment and social
isolation.

Sec. 3. Establishment of a Coronavirus Mental Health
Working Group. The Coronavirus Mental Health Working
Group (Working Group) is hereby established to
facilitate an “all-of-government” response to the
mental-health conditions induced or exacerbated by the
pandemic, including issues related to suicide
prevention. The Working Group will be co-chaired by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services, or his
designee, and the Assistant to the

President for Domestic Policy, or her designee. The
Working Group shall be composed of representatives from
the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice,
the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Labor,
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the
Department of Education, the Department of Veterans
Affairs, the Small Business Administration, the Office
of National Drug Control Policy, the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), and such representatives
of other executive departments, agencies, and offices
as the Co-Chairs may, from time to time, designate with
the concurrence of the head of the department, agency,
or office concerned. All members of the Working Group
shall be full-time, or permanent part-time, officers or
employees of the Federal Government.

Sec. 4. Responsibilities of the Coronavirus Mental
Health Working Group. (a) As part of the Working
Group's efforts, it shall consider the mental- and
behavioral-health conditions of those vulnerable
populations affected by the pandemic, including:
minorities, seniors, veterans, small business owners,
children, and individuals potentially affected by
domestic violence or physical abuse; those living with
disabilities; and those with a substance use disorder.
The Working Group shall examine existing protocols and
evidence-based programs that may serve as models to
better support these at-risk groups, including
implementation and broader application of the PREVENTS,
and the Department of Labor's Employer Assistance and
Resource Network on Disability Inclusion's Mental
Health Toolkit and Centralized Accommodation Programs.

    (b) Within 45 days of the date of this order, the
Working Group shall develop and submit to the President
a report that outlines a plan for improved service
coordination between all relevant public and private
stakeholders and executive departments and agencies
(agencies) to assist individuals in crisis so that they
receive effective treatment and recovery services.

Sec. 5. Grant Funding for States and Organizations that
Permit In-Person Treatment and Recovery Support
Activities for Mental and Behavioral Health. The heads
of agencies, in consultation with the Director of OMB,
shall:

    (a) Examine their existing grant programs that fund
mental-health, medical, or related services and,
consistent with applicable law, take steps to encourage
grantees to consider adopting policies, where
appropriate, that have been shown to improve mental
health and reduce suicide risk, including the
following:

(i) Safe in-person and telehealth participation in support groups for
people in recovery from substance use disorders, mental-health issues, or
other ailments that benefit from communal support; and peer-to-peer
services that support underserved communities;

(ii) Safe face-to-face therapeutic services, including group therapy, to
remediate poor behavioral health; and

(iii) Safe participation in communal support--both faith-based and
secular--including educational programs, civic activities, and in-person
religious services.

    (b) Maximize use of existing agency authorities to
award contracts or grants to community organizations or
other local entities to enhance mental-health and
suicide-prevention services, such as outreach,
education, and case management, to vulnerable
Americans.

Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.

    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    October 3, 2020.