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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§300u–7 Office of Adolescent Health

Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER XV — HEALTH INFORMATION AND HEALTH PROMOTION › § 300u–7

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates an Office of Adolescent Health inside the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. The office must be led by a director chosen by the Secretary. The Secretary, working through that director, must coordinate HHS activities about preventing disease, promoting health, giving teen health services, and teaching about when to use health care. The office must design, fund, and evaluate programs; watch health trends; support research; and train health workers who serve teens, especially nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and social workers. It must work with private groups, run projects on prevention and fitness, and can give grants for demonstrations such as provider training and programs to cut teen dating violence. Congress authorized $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 for those demonstration grants. The office must also run a National Information Clearinghouse on Adolescent Health and create a national plan for improving teen health that follows the Secretary’s health objectives for the year 2000 and is sent to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate. Adolescent health is defined three ways: illnesses unique to or worse in teens; conditions where risks or treatments differ or are unknown for teens; and conditions with too little clinical research or data about teens. The Secretary must set up a Federal Interagency Work Group on Teen Dating Violence and, no later than 120 days after March 15, 2022, appoint members from agencies like ACF, CDC, HRSA, Education, Justice, and others. The Work Group must consult experts, victims, and family members of teens killed by dating partners; review federal efforts; recommend ways to improve state, Tribal, and local responses and federal programs; suggest school education for middle and high school students; and send an annual report with recommendations to the Secretary, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §300u–7

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

(a)In general
There is established an Office of Adolescent Health within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, which office shall be headed by a director appointed by the Secretary. The Secretary shall carry out this section acting through the Director of such Office.
(b)Duties
With respect to adolescent health, the Secretary shall—
(1)coordinate all activities within the Department of Health and Human Services that relate to disease prevention, health promotion, preventive health services, and health information and education with respect to the appropriate use of health care, including coordinating—
(A)the design of programs, support for programs, and the evaluation of programs;
(B)the monitoring of trends;
(C)projects of research (including multidisciplinary projects) on adolescent health; and
(D)the training of health providers who work with adolescents, particularly nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and social workers;
(2)coordinate the activities described in paragraph (1) with similar activities in the private sector; and
(3)support projects, conduct research, and disseminate information relating to preventive medicine, health promotion, and physical fitness and sports medicine.
(c)Certain demonstration projects
(1)In general
In carrying out subsection (b)(3), the Secretary may make grants to carry out demonstration projects for the purpose of improving adolescent health, including—
(A)projects to train health care providers in providing services to adolescents; and
(B)projects to reduce the incidence of violence among adolescents, particularly violence related to teen dating, which shall include projects to develop and implement educational program to increase abuse awareness and prevention.
(2)Authorization of appropriations
For the purpose of carrying out paragraph (1), there are authorized to be appropriated $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
(d)Information clearinghouse
In carrying out subsection (b), the Secretary shall establish and maintain a National Information Clearinghouse on Adolescent Health to collect and disseminate to health professionals and the general public information on adolescent health.
(e)National plan
In carrying out subsection (b), the Secretary shall develop a national plan for improving adolescent health. The plan shall be consistent with the applicable objectives established by the Secretary for the health status of the people of the United States for the year 2000, and shall be periodically reviewed, and as appropriate, revised. The plan, and any revisions in the plan, shall be submitted to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate.
(f)Adolescent health
For purposes of this section, the term “adolescent health”, with respect to adolescents of all ethnic and racial groups, means all diseases, disorders, and conditions (including with respect to mental health)—
(1)unique to adolescents, or more serious or more prevalent in adolescents;
(2)for which the factors of medical risk or types of medical intervention are different for adolescents, or for which it is unknown whether such factors or types are different for adolescents; or
(3)with respect to which there has been insufficient clinical research involving adolescents as subjects or insufficient clinical data on adolescents.
(g)Interagency Work Group
(1)Establishment
The Secretary shall establish the Federal Interagency Work Group on Teen Dating Violence (referred to in this section as the “Work Group”).
(2)In general
(A)Composition
Not later than 120 days after March 15, 2022, the Secretary shall appoint representatives to the Work Group from the Administration for Children and Families, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and other Federal agencies as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
(B)Consultation
The Work Group shall consult with—
(i)experts at the State, Tribal, and local levels with relevant backgrounds in reducing and preventing the incidence of teen dating violence;
(ii)victims of teen dating violence; and
(iii)family members of teens who were killed by a dating partner.
(3)Duties
The Work Group shall—
(A)examine all Federal efforts directed towards reducing and preventing teen dating violence;
(B)identify strategies, resources, and supports to improve State, Tribal, and local responses to the incidence of teen dating violence;
(C)make recommendations to Congress for improving Federal programs and efforts and coordination across such programs and efforts to reduce and prevent teen dating violence; and
(D)make recommendations for educating middle and high school students on teen dating violence.
(4)Annual report to Secretary
The Work Group shall annually prepare and submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives, a report on the activities carried out by the Work Group under subsection (c), including recommendations to reduce and prevent teen dating violence.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 300u–7, act
July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XVII, § 1708, as added Nov. 10, 1978, Pub. L. 95–626, title V, § 502, 92 Stat. 3594; amended
July 10, 1979, Pub. L. 96–32, § 6(l), 93 Stat. 84, related to project grants for physical fitness improvement and research projects, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 98–551, § 2(c), Oct. 30, 1984, 98 Stat. 2816.

Amendments

2022—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 117–103, § 1315(b)(1), added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which related to grants to carry out certain demonstration projects and authorizations of appropriations for fiscal years 1993 through 1997. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 117–103, § 1315(b)(2), added subsec. (g).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Change of Name

Committee on Education and Labor of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Education and the Workforce of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023. Committee on Labor and Human Resources of Senate changed to Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of Senate by Senate Resolution No. 20, One Hundred Sixth Congress, Jan. 19, 1999. Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives treated as referring to Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives by section 1(a) of Pub. L. 104–14, set out as a note preceding section 21 of Title 2, The Congress. Committee on Commerce of House of Representatives changed to Committee on Energy and Commerce of House of Representatives, and jurisdiction over matters relating to securities and exchanges and insurance generally transferred to Committee on Financial Services of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Seventh Congress, Jan. 3, 2001.

Effective Date

of 2022 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 117–103 not effective until Oct. 1 of the first fiscal year beginning after Mar. 15, 2022, see section 4(a) of div. W of Pub. L. 117–103, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 6851 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 300u–7

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110