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

The order establishes the Coronavirus Mental Health Working Group, co-chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, and composed of representatives from eleven named departments and offices. The Working Group must develop and submit a report to the President within 45 days outlining a plan for improved coordination between public and private stakeholders to help individuals in crisis reach treatment and recovery services. The order also directs all agency heads, in consultation with the OMB Director, to review their existing grant programs funding mental health and medical services, and to encourage grantees to adopt policies supporting safe in-person and telehealth support groups, face-to-face therapy, and community and faith-based participation.

The order does not create new funding or new legal rights; it is expressly subject to existing appropriations and applicable law. No regulation is changed. All concrete impact on mental health services depends on future decisions by agencies, grantees, and the Working Group's recommendations.

Senior officials and career staff across eleven federal departments and offices assigned to the Working Group; state, local, and tribal governments and nonprofit organizations receiving federal mental health grants; and vulnerable populations including veterans, seniors, minorities, children, small business owners, and people with substance use disorders.

Federal grantees providing mental health and substance-use services may face new pressure to allow in-person support groups and community activities. Americans struggling with pandemic-induced mental health crises gain a stated federal coordination priority, though any concrete service changes depend on future agency and grantee decisions.

The Working Group is the order's main mechanism: it coordinates across agencies and produces a report within 45 days that the President can act on. In parallel, agency heads work with OMB to audit existing grant programs and nudge grantees toward evidence-based mental health policies — but the nudge is permissive ("encourage," "consider"), not mandatory. No new money flows; implementation is capped by existing appropriations. The standard no-rights-created clause bars legal enforcement by third parties.