[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1133 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1133

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment 
    of a residential support service program for special high-risk 
    populations of pregnant women and their children, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                June 17 (legislative day, June 15), 1993

Mr. Bradley (for himself, Mr. Hatch, Mr. Biden, Mrs. Boxer, Mr. Bryan, 
  Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Kerrey, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Moseley-
 Braun, Mr. Reid, Mr. Robb, Mr. Rockefeller, Mr. Simon, Mr. Wellstone, 
Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Campbell) introduced the following bill; which was 
 read twice and referred to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment 
    of a residential support service program for special high-risk 
    populations of pregnant women and their children, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) there has been substantial work done to identify 
        infants and children--
                    (A) who are born to young single mothers, substance 
                abusing women, homeless women, women who are 
                economically and educationally disadvantaged, and women 
                in unstable domestic situations; and
                    (B) born, in many instances, to women who are 
                involved, or at risk of becoming involved, with the 
                foster care or child justice system;
            (2) numerous nonresidential programs have been established 
        to improve infant and child outcomes for children born to poor, 
        young, and generally single mothers, and many of these programs 
        have been successful; and
            (3) residential programs have been demonstrated to be very 
        effective for, and are critically important to, special 
        populations of high-risk and disadvantaged pregnant women, 
        including--
                    (A) those who are addicted or at-risk for substance 
                abuse;
                    (B) those who are homeless;
                    (C) those in unstable domestic situations; and
                    (D) women with other high-risk characteristics, 
                such as previous or current involvement with the foster 
                care or child justice system.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to establish 
residential programs for special populations of high-risk and 
disadvantaged pregnant women and their children that will provide 
comprehensive support services to protect and enhance the first year of 
life of the children of such women and provide the mothers of such 
children with an opportunity for a proper maternal beginning. Such 
programs will target the women described in subsection (a)(3) and 
provide a more intensive array of the many services that are part of 
nonresidential programs, together with vocational, home management, and 
transitional housing assistance.

SEC. 2. RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

    Part B of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 243 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:

``SEC. 320A. RESIDENTIAL PROGRAMS FOR PREGNANT WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which grants shall be awarded to eligible entities to enable such 
entities to establish residential programs for special populations of 
high-risk and disadvantaged pregnant women and their children to 
provide the services described in subsection (d) to such women.
    ``(b) Eligible entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), an entity shall be a--
            ``(1) nonprofit transitional, homeless shelter or a 
        permanent housing program;
            ``(2) federally funded public housing organization;
            ``(3) housing organization that serves tenants living in 
        housing assisted under section 8 of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); and
            ``(4) community-based drug treatment center, domestic 
        violence shelter, or other health center; or
            ``(5) any other entity determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
subsection (a), an eligible entity shall prepare and submit to the 
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing 
such information as the Secretary may require, including--
            ``(1) a description of the manner in which the services 
        required under subsection (d) will be provided using amounts 
        made available under the grant;
            ``(2) information sufficient to demonstrate that the 
        applicant will assure the provision of the full array of 
        services described in subsection (d);
            ``(3) information sufficient to demonstrate that the 
        applicant has access to a suitable housing facility, as 
        described in subsection (f);
            ``(4) a description of the applicants plan for assuring 
        housing for all program participants and their children after 
        such participants complete the program;
            ``(5) information sufficient to demonstrate that the 
        applicant has linkages with public and other community agencies 
        that can assist in locating and facilitating appropriate 
        housing;
            ``(6) information demonstrating that the applicant has 
        established a relationship with child welfare agencies and 
        child protective services that will enable the applicant, where 
        appropriate, to--
                    ``(A) provide advocacy on behalf of substance 
                abusers and the children of substance abusers in child 
                protective services cases;
                    ``(B) provide services to help prevent the 
                unnecessary placement of children in substitute care; 
                and
                    ``(C) promote reunification of families or 
                permanent plans for the placement of the child; and
            ``(7) any other information determined appropriate by the 
        Secretary.
    ``(d) Services.--A residential program established under this 
section shall provide the following comprehensive services (which 
should be provided in the language and cultural context appropriate for 
the mother and her family):
            ``(1) Medical Services.--Medical services which shall 
        include--
                    ``(A) assessment and screening to determine the 
                medical needs of the mother and her family;
                    ``(B) referrals and linkages to--
                            ``(i) appropriate prenatal, obstetric and 
                        pediatric medical service providers in the 
                        community or referral to other providers as 
                        needed;
                            ``(ii) community health clinics; and
                            ``(iii) other public health service and 
                        community-based providers that would be likely 
                        to provide similar services;
                    ``(C) on-site provision of or referral to 
                appropriate community-based agencies for addiction and 
                substance abuse education, counseling, treatment, and 
                referral (to outpatient counseling upon discharge) 
                services as needed; and
                    ``(D) psychological services for mothers and 
                children, as needed.
            ``(2) Parenting, job counseling, and other services.--Other 
        services which shall include--
                    ``(A) assessment and screening to determine 
                parenting, job counseling, and social service needs of 
                the mother and her family;
                    ``(B) parenting skills counseling and education, 
                specifically focusing on techniques to stimulate 
                cognitive development in infants;
                    ``(C) access to schools for children and mothers 
                where appropriate;
                    ``(D) day care for children when their mothers are 
                attending other programs, as needed;
                    ``(E) job counseling and referral to existing job 
                training programs;
                    ``(F) structured re-entry counseling and other 
                related activities, including follow-up services;
                    ``(G) referrals and linkages to other needed 
                services;
                    ``(H) transitional housing assistance, as needed;
                    ``(I) transportation services with respect to an 
                educational institution or a job training site, as 
                needed; and
                    ``(J) case management throughout the duration of 
                the program, including assistance with applications for 
                assistance under titles IV and XIX of the Social 
                Security Act, the Food Stamp Act of 1977, after care 
                programs, and other service programs described in this 
                section.
    ``(e) Eligible Women.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive services 
        provided under a residential program established under this 
        section, an individual shall be a pregnant woman who is a 
        member of a special population of disadvantaged pregnant women, 
        including--
                    ``(A) women who are addicted or at-risk for 
                substance abuse;
                    ``(B) women who are homeless;
                    ``(C) women who are in unstable domestic 
                situations; and
                    ``(D) women who are referred to the program due to 
                other high-risk characteristics.
            ``(2) Admittance into program.--Women shall be admitted 
        into a residential program under this section upon a 
        determination of eligibility and may remain in such program 
        until their infant reaches 1 year of age. All children of 
        eligible pregnant women shall be admitted into the program and 
        shall be permitted to remain in the program so long as their 
        mother also remains in the program.
    ``(f) Suitable Housing Facilities.--
            ``(1) In general.--In meeting the requirement of subsection 
        (c)(3), an entity receiving a grant under this section shall 
        secure access to and the use of an appropriate facility, as 
        determined by the Secretary, for the housing of pregnant women 
        and their children in a home-like setting.
            ``(2) Limitation.--Amounts made available under a grant 
        awarded under this section may not be used for the 
        rehabilitation, construction, purchase, or leasing of property. 
        Such amounts may be used for residential support services, 
        including furniture, supplies, security, maintenance, 
        utilities, and administrative services.
    ``(g) Peer Review.--The Secretary shall provide for the 
establishment of a peer review panel to perform the initial review of 
applications submitted for assistance under this section and to make 
recommendations to the Secretary with respect to such applications.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, $250,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 1994 through 1996.''.

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