C.A.R.E. for Mental Health Professionals Act

This Act may be cited as the “Compacts, Access, and Responsible Expansion for Mental Health Professionals Act” or the “C.A.R.E. for Mental Health Professionals Act”.

(a) Establishment.— Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator, shall establish a grant program to be known as the Mental Health Licensure Portability Program to award grants to eligible entities for projects to—

(1) incentivize counselors to practice in States that have entered into interstate compacts for the purpose of expanding the workforce of credentialed mental health professionals; and

(2) develop, operate, or maintain interstate compact commissions authorized to effectuate the provisions of interstate compacts entered into by such States.

(b) Definitions.— In this Act:

(1) Administrator.— The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration.

(2) Commission.— The term “commission” means a joint interstate governmental agency comprised of States that have entered into an interstate compact for the purpose of implementing, facilitating, and effectuating provisions of such interstate compact.

(3) Counselor.— The term counselor means a licensed professional that is trained to give guidance to individuals, families, and groups with respect to personal, social, or psychological problems.

(4) Eligible entity.— The term eligible entity means a professional, psychiatric, psychological, social work, or pediatric counseling interstate compact commission or licensure board of a State that is participating in an occupational licensure interstate compact.

(5) Interstate compact.— The term compact means an occupational licensure agreement enacted by 2 or more States that is based on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications through criteria stipulated in such agreement, in which a State agrees to recognize the issuance of a license by another State to a counselor, psychiatrist, psychologist, or pediatric mental health professional.

(6) State.— The term State has the meaning given the term in section 6501 of title 31, United States Code.

(c) Authorization of appropriations.— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029.