110 HR 2646 IH: Mental Health Services in Public
U.S. House of Representatives
2007-06-11
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Mental Health Services in Public
Health Emergencies Act
.
2.Grants to States
and political subdivisions for mental health services in response to public
health emergenciesSubpart 3
of part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
520K.Grants to
States and political subdivisions for mental health services in response to
public health emergencies
(a)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Center
for Mental Health Services, may make grants to States and political
subdivisions of States for the purpose of providing the mental health services
described in subsection (b) in response to public health emergencies, including
diseases or disorders that present such emergencies, natural disasters, major
transportation accidents, technological disasters, and disasters resulting from
terrorism.
(b)The
mental health services referred to in subsection (a) with respect to a public
health emergency are the following:
(1)Crisis counseling
in the aftermath of such emergency.
(2)In the case of
children, adolescents, and adults at risk of developing mental health disorders
as a result of such emergency—
(A)outreach and
screening programs to identify such individuals; and
(B)early intervention
services, including counseling.
(3)Mental health
services beyond such crisis counseling (referred to in this section as
extended therapeutic services
) that—
(A)are provided to
individuals with diagnosed mental health disorders resulting from or
exacerbated by the emergency, including disaster survivors, family members of
victims, first responders, and others with such disorders; and
(B)are provided by
mental health professionals who are licensed or otherwise regulated by a State
agency.
(4)Assessments of the
need for extended therapeutic services.
(5)Case finding and
other outreach services to inform the public of the availability of crisis
counseling and extended therapeutic services.
(c)Relation to
other sources of fundingA condition for the receipt of a grant
under subsection (a) is that the applicant involved agrees as follows:
(1)With respect to
activities for which the grant is authorized to be expended, the applicant will
maintain expenditures of non-Federal amounts for such activities at a level
that is not less than the level of such expenditures maintained by the
applicant for the fiscal year preceding the first fiscal year for which the
applicant receives such a grant.
(2)The grant will not
be expended to make payment for the provision of extended therapeutic services
for an individual to the extent that payment has been made, or can reasonably
be expected to be made, for the services—
(A)under a State
compensation program, under an insurance policy, or under a Federal or State
health benefits program; or
(B)by an entity that
provides health services on a prepaid basis.
(3)The grant will not
be expended to make payment for the provision of mental health services to the
extent that such services are available pursuant to responses to the public
health emergency involved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or by
other Federal or State agencies or programs that provide for emergency medical
services.
(d)Statewide mental
health disaster plan
(1)For fiscal year 2008 and each subsequent fiscal year, a
condition for the receipt of a grant under subsection (a) by a State or a
political subdivision is that, in accordance with criteria established by the
Secretary, the State has developed a statewide plan for the provision of mental
health services in response to public health emergencies. The preceding
sentence applies without regard to whether the State receives a grant under
section 520L.
(2)Certain criteria
of SecretaryThe criteria of the Secretary under paragraph (1)
shall include criteria for coordinating the program under this section with
programs of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and with other Federal or
State programs regarding the provision of emergency medical services, including
mental health services.
(e)Administration
of grant through State and local mental health agenciesA
condition for the receipt of a grant under subsection (a) is that the applicant
involved agrees that the grant and activities under the grant will be
administered through the agency of the State or political subdivision (as the
case may be) that has the principal responsibility for carrying out mental
health programs.
(f)With respect to an application that, pursuant to
section 501(l), is submitted to the Secretary for a grant under subsection (a),
the Secretary may make the grant only if the application contains—
(1)a description of
the purposes for which the applicant intends to expend the grant;
(2)an assurance that
the activities to be carried out under the grant are consistent with the State
plan referred to in subsection (d)(1), as applicable, together with a
description of the manner in which the grant activities will be coordinated
with the State plan;
(3)an assurance that
the applicant will coordinate activities under the grant with other public or
private providers of mental health services, together with a description of the
manner in which the grant activities will be so coordinated; and
(4)in the case of an
application from a political subdivision, an assurance that the application was
developed in consultation with the State agency referred to in subsection
(e).
(g)The period during which payments are made to an applicant
from a grant under subsection (a) may not exceed three years. The provision of
such payments are subject to annual approval by the Secretary of the payments
and to the availability of appropriations for the fiscal year involved to make
the payments. This subsection may not be construed as establishing a limitation
on the number of grants under such subsection that may be made to an
applicant.
(h)The Secretary may, directly or through grants or
contracts, provide technical assistance to grantees under subsection (a) in
carrying out the purpose described in such subsection.
(i)
(1)Authorization of
appropriationsFor the purpose of carrying out this section,
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for each
of the fiscal years 2008 through 2010.
(2)Of
the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the Secretary
may obligate not more than 5 percent for the administrative expenses of the
Secretary in carrying out this
section.
.
3.Grants to States
for statewide mental health disaster plansSubpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.), as amended by section 2, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
520L.Grants to
States for Statewide mental health disaster plans
(a)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Center
for Mental Health Services, may make grants to States for the purpose
of—
(1)developing, and
periodically reviewing and as appropriate revising, statewide plans for
providing mental health services in response to public health
emergencies;
(2)training personnel
to implement such plan effectively; and
(3)carrying out other
activities determined appropriate by the Secretary to prepare for the provision
of mental health services in response to such emergencies.
(b)A condition for the receipt of a grant under
subsection (a) is that the State involved agrees that the statewide plan under
such subsection will with respect to public health emergencies include
provisions for each of the following:
(1)Providing mental
health services relating to crisis counseling, outreach and screening programs,
early intervention services, extended therapeutic services, needs assessments,
and case finding and other outreach services, taking into account the need for
increased capacity to provide services pursuant to such emergencies.
(2)As necessary,
carrying out paragraph (1) with respect to special populations such as
children, the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and individuals with
pre-existing mental health disorders.
(3)Coordinating the
provision of mental health services with appropriate public and private
providers of emergency medical services and with Federal, State, and local
programs that provide funding for such services.
(4)Coordinating with
local educational agencies.
(5)Providing
information and education to the public during public health
emergencies.
(6)Providing, at times
other than public health emergencies, information and education to the public
regarding the statewide plan.
(7)Designation of the
State official who will have the principal responsibility for administering
such plan, including the initial implementation of the plan.
(c)Authorization of
appropriationsFor the purpose of carrying out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $65,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2008 through
2010.
.
4.National mental
health crisis response technical assistance centerSubpart
3 of part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et
seq.), as amended by sections 2 and 3, is further amended by adding at the end
the following:
520M.National
mental health crisis response technical assistance center
(a)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Center
for Mental Health Services, shall establish within such center an
administrative unit to be known as the National Mental Health Crisis Response
Technical Assistance Center (referred to in this section as the
Technical Assistance Center
).
(b)The
purpose of the Technical Assistance Center is to carry out, in accordance with
policies of the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, the
following functions:
(1)Provide
consultation and technical assistance to the Director, and to State and local
governmental providers of mental health services, on developing and
implementing plans for providing appropriate mental health services in response
to public health emergencies, including statewide plans under section
520K(d).
(2)Provide technical
expertise on planning, preparedness, and response evaluation activities.
(3)Develop policy
guidelines on mental health concerns related to crisis incidents and develop
recommendations for proposed regulations and legislative proposals.
(4)Develop and
conduct training events and conferences on mental health needs of disaster
victims and witnesses.
(5)Serve as the
principal clearinghouse operated by the Secretary for the collection and
dissemination of information concerning the mental health aspects of public
health emergencies, including information on published documents, information
on technical assistance resources, and information on relevant Internet
sites.
(6)Assist States in
preparing for the behavioral health consequences of terrorism.
(7)Provide onsite
technical expertise during public health emergencies, when requested by a
State.
(c)The Technical Assistance Center may carry out the
functions under subsection (b) directly or through grant or contract, subject
to the approval of the Director of the Center for Mental Health
Services.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsFor the purpose of carrying out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2008 through
2010.
.
5.Mental health
professionals training grantsSubpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.), as amended by sections 2, 3,
and 4, is further amended by adding at the end the following:
520N.Mental health
professionals training grants
(a)The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Center
for Mental Health Services, shall award grants to eligible entities to enable
such entities to provide for the training of mental health professionals with
respect to the treatment of individuals who are victims of disasters.
(b)To
be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a) an entity shall—
(1)be a—
(A)regional center of
excellence; or
(B)a mental health
professional society; and
(2)prepare and submit
to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing
such information as the Secretary may require.
(c)An entity that receives a grant under this section shall
use amounts received under the grant to provide for the training of mental
health professionals to enable such professionals to appropriately diagnose
individuals who are the victims of disasters with respect to their mental
health and to provide for the proper treatment of the mental health needs of
such individuals.
(d)Training
materials and proceduresThe Director of the Center for Mental
Health Services, in consultation with the Director of the National Institute of
Mental Health, the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, the
International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and the heads of other
similar entities, shall develop training materials and procedures to assist
grantees under this section.
(e)In
this section, the term mental health professional includes
psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurses, mental health counselors,
marriage and family therapists, social workers, pastoral counselors, school
psychologists, licensed professional counselors, school guidance counselors,
and any other individual practicing in a mental health profession that is
licensed or regulated by a State agency.
(f)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years
2008 through 2010.
(g)In carrying out this section, the Secretary may use
amounts appropriated under subsection (f) for the administration of the program
under this
section.
.