Findings and purposes

(a)

Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The United States Surgeon General has reported that serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties affect 1 in 5 United States youth. Moreover, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, no other illnesses affect so many youths so seriously. (2)Youth who suffer from serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties, including youth who have been abused and neglected, require specialized treatment and care in order to live successful lives, benefit from education and employment training, and avoid delinquent, criminal, or antisocial behaviors. However, there are an insufficient number of effective treatment programs for these youth. (3)As a consequence of the unavailability of appropriate treatment options, youth throughout the country with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties remain in juvenile detention facilities and jails for long periods waiting for treatment. These youth are in jeopardy of worsening mental and psychological disorders as a consequence of their confinement. Moreover, even though such confinement often provides no professional, clinically supervised treatment, confinement is the most expensive placement for troubled youth short of hospitalization. (4)Many youth entering residential treatment programs for the first time have already experienced the trauma of multiple placement disruptions and failures in alternative levels of care. Requiring multiple placements prior to residential treatment is predictive of poor outcomes, future disruptions, and problems affecting a youth’s educational, emotional, and social growth. (5)Residential treatment programs for youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties, operated by professionally trained and supervised personnel, provides for a caring, therapeutic, and cost effective approach that serves the best interests of the youth. Residential treatment programs are integral components of comprehensive systems of care promoting responsibility and accountability and providing 24-hour care with professional counseling, therapy, specialized education, and/or employment training under the supervision of highly trained staff. (6)Residential treatment programs operated by Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc. provide effective therapeutic and educational programs for youth suffering from serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems that negatively affect their education and employability. Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc.’s mission of improving the lives of youth and families includes providing youth with professional treatment and specialized education and training so that youth can return to their communities, and avoiding long term institutionalization while holding youth responsible and accountable. Such residential treatment programs offer the potential to help numerous youth throughout the country. (7)Lesser levels of care for youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems who require residential treatment can result in multiple failed placements until the proper level of advanced treatment is provided. It is estimated that more than one-third of first-time entrants into residential treatment programs have had 11 or more prior placements, with almost 40 percent coming from locked placements. (8)Since its founding in 1892, Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc. has proven to be a trusted and successful provider of a full spectrum of services for youth and families, in collaboration with Federal, State, and local agencies, courts, schools, law enforcement, employment training agencies and employers, faith-based groups, and other community based organizations. A not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc. has unique experience in operating small, medium, and large facilities and programs to serve youth and families, particularly in rural areas. The organization has demonstrated how to maximize cost efficiencies, and to pass those cost savings on to other providers so as to sustain the viability of collaborative services. The capability of Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc. to sustain the highest level of youth services, residential treatment, provides a solid foundation for all lesser levels of care for youth. (9)The lengthy detention and excessive, multiple placement of youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties who are waiting for treatment is a serious problem for the Nation. The costs to society of detention and excessive, multiple placement of youth in need of residential treatment are exorbitant. Efficient and experienced residential treatment programs are needed to offer effective treatment, education, and training opportunities for youth, with the hope that they may one day be reintegrated into their communities. (10)Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc., offering services nationwide, is a leading children, youth, and family service agency. The agency has a national reputation for excellence and unique capabilities and experiences that assist communities in designing and operating residential treatment programs to serve youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties. With adequate funding from the public and private sectors, Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc. can assist other agencies and communities in implementing residential treatment programs to offer treatment, specialized education and training, and hope for youth. The result will be an improved ability for youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties to obtain education and employment training in order to lead fulfilling lives and contribute to society and the economy. (b)

Purposes

The purposes of this Act are as follows: (1)To further the important objective of providing exceptional services for youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties, through residential treatment programs, specialized education and employment training, and other appropriate levels of treatment, so that these youth may become productive citizens to ensure a bright future for themselves and their families. (2)To assist Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc. with the costs of establishing exceptional residential treatment and specialized education and employment training programs to address the needs of youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional difficulties, their families and communities.

Assistance for Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc

(a)

Assistance authorized

Using such funds as may be appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (c), the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Labor shall make grants to Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc., to assist with the costs of establishing programs and facilities for residential treatment, specialized education, and employment training and other appropriate levels of service to youth with serious mental, psychological, behavioral, and emotional problems, their families, and communities. (b)

Grant requirements

To receive grants under subsection (a), Boys and Girls Home and Family Services, Inc. shall submit to either the Secretary of Education or the Secretary of Labor, or to both Secretaries, a proposal for the use of the grant funds, which shall relate to establishing programs for residential treatment, specialized education, and employment training and other appropriate levels of service to youth who suffer from emotional and behavioral difficulties, their families, and communities, with the objective of improving the lives of youth, their families, and communities. (c)

Authorization of appropriations

There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Labor $15,000,000 to make grants under this section. Amounts so appropriated shall remain available until expended.