[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4439 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4439

 To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program for the 
            prevention of suicide among Latina adolescents.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2000

  Mrs. Napolitano (for herself, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Serrano, Mr. 
 Rodriguez, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Gonzalez, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Pastor, 
  Mr. Hill of Indiana, Mr. Larson, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Blagojevich, Ms. 
Berkley, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Crowley, Mr. Moore, Mrs. Jones of 
  Ohio, Mr. Baird, Mr. Baca, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Reyes, Mr. 
Abercrombie, Mr. Martinez, Ms. Carson, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Menendez, Mr. 
 Becerra, Mr. Underwood, Mr. Romero-Barcelo, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Waters, 
Mr. Horn, Mr. Calvert, Mrs. Bono, Mr. Bilbray, Mr. Filner, Mr. Berman, 
 and Mr. Dreier) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                       the Committee on Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program for the 
            prevention of suicide among Latina adolescents.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Latina Adolescent Suicide Prevention 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that:
            (1) Latina girls now represent the largest minority group 
        of girls in the country and are expected to remain so for the 
        next fifty years as the size of the Hispanic (Latino) 
        population in this country continues to increase.
            (2) Recent data contained in ``The State of Hispanic 
        Girls'' indicate that one in three Latina adolescents has 
        seriously considered suicide--the highest rate of any racial or 
        ethnic group in the country. This rate is one and a half times 
        the rate of their African-American or non-Hispanic white 
        counterparts.
            (3) Even though national suicide rates among high school 
        girls have decreased in recent years, Latina adolescents remain 
        most likely to seriously consider, make a concrete plan and 
        attempt suicide.
            (4) Fewer treatment and prevention services reach them than 
        any other racial or ethnic group in the nation.
            (5) This lack of adequate resources and support services 
        for Latina adolescents and their families through community and 
        school-based programs only exacerbates the severity of this 
        crisis.
            (6) Cultural differences and acculturation issues and 
        conflicts must be considered and addressed as major factors 
        influencing the suicide rates among Latina adolescents.
            (7) This suicide crisis is further compounded by the lack 
        of bi-lingual staff trained to deliver culturally competent 
        services and the scarcity of specific programs that focus on 
        bolstering self-esteem and self-confidence within this 
        population group.
            (8) Innovative and enhanced suicide prevention outreach 
        services by community-based organizations (CBOs) and mental 
        health clinics are the most effective way to deal with this 
        crisis and can be further strengthened when CBOs initiate and 
        operate school-based programs in cooperation with local school 
        systems and provide school personnel with the basic training to 
        identify depression and other behaviors which, left undiagnosed 
        and untreated, may lead to suicide.
            (9) Increased Federal financial support directly to local 
        programs and services providing early intervention services to 
        ameliorate identified mental health problems in Latina 
        adolescents should be considered a major funding priority.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM FOR PREVENTION OF LATINA ADOLESCENT 
              SUICIDES.

    Title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.) 
is amended by inserting after section 520B the following section:

``SEC. 520C. PREVENTION OF LATINA ADOLESCENT SUICIDES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make awards of grants, 
cooperative agreements, or contracts to public and nonprofit private 
entities for the purpose of reducing suicide attempts and deaths among 
Latina adolescents.
    ``(b) Collaboration.-- The Secretary shall ensure that the program 
under this section is developed in collaboration with the relevant 
institutes at the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources 
and Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, and the Administration on Children and Families.
    ``(c) Preference.--In making awards under subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall give preference to applicants that--
            ``(1) demonstrate a strong linkage with schools and are 
        actually supported by and operated within a school facility or 
        associated setting; and
            ``(2) involve direct services to Latina adolescents.
    ``(d) Requirements.--A condition for the receipt of an award under 
subsection (a) is that the applicant involved demonstrate that the 
project to be carried out with the award will--
            ``(1) provide for the timely assessment and treatment of 
        Latina adolescents at risk for suicide;
            ``(2) use evidenced based strategies;
            ``(3) be based on exemplary practices that are adapted to 
        the unique characteristics and needs of the local community;
            ``(4) be integrated into the existing health care system in 
        the community including primary health care, mental health 
        services, and substance abuse services as appropriate;
            ``(5) be integrated into other systems in the community to 
        address the needs of Latina adolescents including the 
        educational system, juvenile justice, and recreation;
            ``(6) provide support services to the families and friends 
        of those who plan, attempt, or actually commit suicide;
            ``(7) provide culturally, linguistically and 
        developmentally appropriate services;
            ``(8) agree to outcomes evaluation to determine the success 
        of the program and the possibility of replication to other 
        adolescent girls at risk of suicide;
            ``(9) provide or ensure referral for mental health and 
        substance abuse services as needed; and
            ``(10) ensure that staff used in the program are trained in 
        suicide prevention, are capable of providing culturally and 
        linguistically appropriate services and that professionals 
        involved in the system of care are given training in 
        identifying persons at risk of suicide.
    ``(e) Coordination.--A condition for the receipt of an award under 
subsection (a) is that the applicant involved demonstrate that--
            ``(1) the application has the support of the local 
        communities and the approval of the political subdivision to be 
        served by the project; and
            ``(2) the applicant has discussed the application with 
        State mental health officials.
    ``(f) Matching Requirement.--With respect to the costs to be 
incurred by an applicant in carrying out a project under subsection 
(a), the Secretary may require as a condition of the receipt of the 
award that the applicant make available (directly or through donations 
from public or private entities) non-Federal contributions toward such 
costs in an amount that is not less than 25 percent of such costs ($1 
for each $3 of Federal funds provided in the award).
    ``(g) Evaluation.--The Secretary shall ensure that entities 
receiving awards under subsection (a) submit an evaluation of the 
project that includes an evaluation of--
            ``(1) the efficacy of project strategies; and
            ``(2) short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes, 
        including the overall impact of the project on the self-esteem 
        of Latina adolescents and their emotional development and 
        ability to deal in a positive and confident manner with their 
        families, social environment, and peers.
    ``(h) Dissemination and Education.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
the findings from the program under this section are disseminated to 
State and local governmental agencies and private providers of mental 
health and substance abuse services.
    ``(i) Duration of Projects.--With respect to an award under 
subsection (a), the period during which payments under such award are 
made may not exceed 5 years.
    ``(j) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`adolescent' means an individual between the ages of 11 and 17 
(inclusive).
    ``(k) Funding.--
            ``(1) Authorization of appropriations.--For the purpose of 
        carrying out this section, there are authorized to be 
        appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, and such sums as 
        may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003.
            ``(2) Allocation for program management.--Of the amount 
        appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the 
        Secretary may reserve not more than 1 percent for administering 
        the program under this section.''.
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