Federal grants help states let mental health workers practice across state lines
S. 5137 — CARE for Mental Health Professionals Act · Filed by Angus King (I-ME) · Introduced Jul 27, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill creates a $4 million per year grant program. It runs from 2027 to 2030. States use the money to create interstate compacts. These compacts let counselors, psychiatrists, and psychologists work in other states. Pediatric mental health professionals can also work across state lines. Workers do not need a new license in each state. The grants go to state licensing boards and interstate commissions.
Who it affects
People who need mental health care benefit from more professionals. Mental health professionals can work in more states. State licensing boards and interstate commissions get grant money.
One thing to notice
The bill does not set minimum standards for how compacts must work. Each state decides its own rules when it joins.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
- Jul 27, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Jul 27, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- interstate compacts — Agreements between states that let professionals licensed in one state work in another
- licensing boards — State groups that decide who can work as a doctor or counselor
- mental health professionals — Counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and doctors who help people with mental health
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (2,321 characters) on Aug 1, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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