Title 42The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73

§290aa–5 Grants for the benefit of homeless individuals

Title 42 › Chapter CHAPTER 6A— - PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III–A— - SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION › Part Part A— - Organization and General Authorities › § 290aa–5

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The federal Secretary must give grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to community public and private nonprofit groups so they can provide mental health and substance use disorder services to homeless people. The Secretary must consult the Interagency Council on the Homeless. When picking who gets money, the Secretary must prefer groups that meet five kinds of priorities, including integrated primary care with mental health and addiction treatment, strong work with runaway or street youth, experience serving homeless people with substance use or mental health problems, providing housing for people in treatment or recovery, and helping homeless veterans. The program cannot block services for homeless people who have a substance use disorder but not a mental health disorder. The Secretary must not pay any group that bars people from mental health care because they might have a substance use problem or that bars people from substance use treatment because they might have a mental illness. No group can get funding under this program for more than 5 years. The law authorizes $41,304,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to run the program.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §290aa–5

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall award grants, contracts and cooperative agreements to community-based public and private nonprofit entities for the purposes of providing mental health and substance use disorder services for homeless individuals. In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall consult with the Interagency Council on the Homeless 11 See Change of Name note below., established under section 11311 of this title.
(b)In awarding grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give a preference to—
(1)entities that provide integrated primary health, substance use disorder, and mental health services to homeless individuals;
(2)entities that demonstrate effectiveness in serving runaway, homeless, and street youth;
(3)entities that have experience in providing substance use disorder and mental health services to homeless individuals;
(4)entities that demonstrate experience in providing housing for individuals in treatment for or in recovery from mental illness or a substance use disorder; and
(5)entities that demonstrate effectiveness in serving homeless veterans.
(c)In awarding grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall not—
(1)prohibit the provision of services under such subsection to homeless individuals who are suffering from a substance use disorder and are not suffering from a mental health disorder; and
(2)make payments under subsection (a) to any entity that has a policy of—
(A)excluding individuals from mental health services due to the existence or suspicion of a substance use disorder; or
(B)has a policy of excluding individuals from substance use disorder services due to the existence or suspicion of mental illness.
(d)No entity may receive a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a) for more than 5 years.
(e)There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $41,304,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 290bb–1a of this title prior to renumbering by Pub. L. 102–321.

Prior Provisions

A prior section 290aa–5, act
July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title V, § 507, formerly § 506, as added Apr. 26, 1983, Pub. L. 98–24, § 2(b)(7), 97 Stat. 178; amended Nov. 20, 1985, Pub. L. 99–158, § 3(c), 99 Stat. 879; renumbered § 507 and amended Oct. 27, 1986, Pub. L. 99–570, title IV, §§ 4004(a), 4007, 100 Stat. 3207–109, 3207–115, which related to peer review of biomedical and behavioral research and development grants, was renumbered section 504 of act
July 1, 1944, by Pub. L. 102–321 and transferred to section 290aa–3 of this title. A prior section 506 of act
July 1, 1944, which was classified to section 224 of this title, was successively renumbered by subsequent acts, and transferred, see section 238c of this title.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 117–328 substituted “2023 through 2027” for “2018 through 2022”. 2016—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 114–255, § 9001(1), substituted “substance use disorder” for “substance abuse”. Subsec. (b)(1), (3). Pub. L. 114–255, § 9001(2)(A), substituted “substance use disorder” for “substance abuse”. Subsec. (b)(4). Pub. L. 114–255, § 9001(2)(B), substituted “a substance use disorder” for “substance abuse”. Subsec. (c)(1). Pub. L. 114–255, § 9001(3)(A), substituted “substance use disorder” for “substance abuse disorder”. Subsec. (c)(2)(A). Pub. L. 114–255, § 9001(3)(B)(i), substituted “a substance use disorder” for “substance abuse”. Subsec. (c)(2)(B). Pub. L. 114–255, § 9001(3)(B)(ii), substituted “substance use disorder” for “substance abuse”. Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 114–255, § 9001(4), substituted “$41,304,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022” for “, $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003”. 2000—Pub. L. 106–310 amended section catchline and text generally, substituting present provisions for provisions, in subsec. (a), authorizing Secretary to make grants for benefit of homeless individuals through the Administrator of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, in subsec. (b), relating to preferences for grants to entities providing integrated primary health, substance abuse, and mental health services, in subsec. (c), relating to services for certain individuals, in subsec. (d), relating to 5-year grants with renewals, and in subsec. (e), authorizing appropriations for fiscal years 1993 and 1994. Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–400 made technical amendment to reference in original act which appears in text as reference to section 11311 of this title. 1992—Pub. L. 102–321 amended section generally, substituting provisions relating to grants for benefit of homeless individuals for provisions relating to alcohol abuse and alcoholism demonstration projects. 1987—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 100–77 added subsec. (c), redesignated former subsec. (c) as (d), and substituted “subsection (a) or (c)” for “subsection (a)”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Interagency Council on the Homeless changed to United States Interagency Council on Homelessness by Pub. L. 108–199, div. G, title II, § 216, Jan. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 394.

Effective Date

of 1992 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–321 effective Oct. 1, 1992, with provision for programs providing financial assistance, see section 801(c), (d) of Pub. L. 102–321, set out as a note under section 236 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 290aa–5

Title 42The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73