1.This Act may be cited as
the Mental Health in Schools Act of
2007
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)Approximately 1
in 5 children have a diagnosable mental disorder.
(2)Approximately 1
in 10 children have a serious emotional or behavioral disorder that is severe
enough to cause substantial impairment in functioning at home, at school, or in
the community. It is estimated that about 75 percent of children with emotional
and behavioral disorders do not receive specialty mental health
services.
(3)Only half of
schools across the United States report having formal partnerships with
community mental health providers to deliver mental health services.
(4)If a school is
going to respond to the mental health needs of its students, it must have
access to resources that provide family-centered, culturally and linguistically
appropriate supports and services.
(5)Effective school
mental health programs reflect the collaboration and commitment of families,
students, educators, and other community partners.
3.It is the purpose of this Act to—
(1)revise, increase
funding for, and expand the scope of the Safe Schools-Healthy Students program
in order to provide access to more comprehensive school-based mental health
services and supports; and
(2)provide for
in-service training to all school personnel in—
(A)the techniques
and supports needed to identify early children with, or at risk of, mental
illness;
(B)the use of
referral mechanisms that effectively link such children to treatment
intervention services; and
(C)strategies that
promote a school-wide positive environment.
4.Amendments to
the Public Health Service Act
(a)The second part G (relating to services provided
through religious organizations) of title V of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 290kk et seq.) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
such part as part J; and
(2)by redesignating
sections 581 through 584 as sections 596 through 596C, respectively.
(b)Subsection (a) of
section 581 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh(a)) is amended to
read as follows:
(a)The Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of
Education and in consultation with the Attorney General, shall, directly or
through grants, contracts or cooperative agreements awarded to public entities
and local education agencies, assist local communities and schools in applying
a public health approach to mental health services both in schools and in the
community. Such approach should provide comprehensive services and supports, be
linguistically and culturally appropriate, and incorporate strategies of
positive behavioral interventions and supports. A comprehensive school mental
health program funded under this section shall assist children in dealing with
violence.
.
(c)Section
581(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh(b)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph (1),
by striking implement programs
and inserting implement a
comprehensive culturally and linguistically appropriate school mental health
program that incorporates positive behavioral interventions and
supports
;
(2)in paragraph (3),
by inserting child and adolescent mental health issues and
after
address
; and
(3)by striking
paragraph (4) and inserting the following:
(4)facilitate
community partnerships among families, students, law enforcement agencies,
education systems, mental health and substance abuse service systems,
family-based mental health service systems, welfare agencies, healthcare
service systems, and other community-based
systems;
.
(d)Subsection
(c) of section 581 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh(c)) is
amended to read as follows:
(c)
(1)To be eligible for a grant, contract, or cooperative
agreement under subsection (a) an entity shall—
(A)be a partnership
between a local education agency and at least one community program or agency
that is involved in mental health; and
(B)submit an
application, that is endorsed by all members of the partnership, that makes the
assurances described in paragraph (2).
(2)An application under paragraph (1) shall assure the
following:
(A)That the
applicant will ensure that, in carrying out activities under this section, the
local educational agency involved will enter into a memorandum of
understanding—
(i)with, at a
minimum, public or private mental health entities, healthcare entities, law
enforcement or juvenile justice entities, child welfare agencies, family-based
mental health entities, families and family organizations, and other
community-based entities; and
(ii)that clearly
states—
(I)the
responsibilities of each partner with respect to the activities to be carried
out;
(II)how each such
partner will be accountable for carrying out such responsibilities; and
(III)the amount of
non-Federal funding or in-kind contributions that each such partner will
contribute in order to sustain the program.
(B)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
support the flexible use of funds to address—
(i)the promotion of
the social, emotional, and behavioral health of all students in an environment
that is conducive to learning;
(ii)the reduction in
the likelihood of at risk students developing social, emotional, or behavioral
health problems;
(iii)the treatment
or referral for treatment of students with existing social, emotional, or
behavioral health problems;
(iv)the early
identification of social, emotional, or behavioral problems and the provision
of early intervention services; and
(v)the development
and implementation of programs to assist children in dealing with
violence.
(C)That the
comprehensive mental health program carried out under this section will provide
for culturally and linguistically appropriate in-service training of all school
personnel, including ancillary staff and volunteers, in—
(i)the techniques
and support needed to identify early children with, or at risk of, mental
illness;
(ii)the use of
referral mechanisms that effectively link such children to treatment
intervention services; and
(iii)strategies that
promote a schoolwide positive environment, and includes an on-going training
component.
(D)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health programs carried out under this
section will demonstrate the measures to be taken to sustain the program after
funding under this section terminates.
(E)That the local
education agency partnership involved is supported by the State educational and
mental health system to ensure that the sustainability of the programs is
established after funding under this section terminates.
(F)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
is based on evidence-based practices.
(G)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
is coordinated with early intervening activities carried out under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.).
(H)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
is culturally and linguistically
appropriate.
.
(e)Section
581(e) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh(e)) is amended—
(1)by striking
may not exceed
and inserting shall be
; and
(2)by adding at the
end the following: An entity may only receive one award under this
section, except that an entity that is providing services and supports on a
regional basis may receive additional funding after the expiration of the
preceding grant period.
.
(f)Subsection
(f) of section 581 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290kk(f)) is
amended to read as follows:
(f)Evaluation and
measures of outcomes
(1)The Administrator shall develop a process for evaluating
activities carried out under this section. Such process shall include—
(A)the development
of guidelines for the submission of program data by such recipients;
(B)the development
of measures of outcomes (in accordance with paragraph (2)) to be applied by
such recipients in evaluating programs carried out under this section;
and
(C)the submission of
annual reports by such recipients concerning the effectiveness of programs
carried out under this section.
(2)
(A)The Administrator shall develop measures of outcomes to
be applied by recipients of assistance under this section, and the
Administrator, in evaluating the effectiveness of programs carried out under
this section. Such measures shall include student and family measures as
provided for in subparagraph (B) and local educational measures as provided for
under subparagraph (C).
(B)Student and
family measures of outcomesThe measures of outcomes developed
under paragraph (1)(B) relating to students and families shall, with respect to
activities carried out under a program under this section, at a minimum include
provisions to evaluate—
(i)whether the
program resulted in an increase in social and emotional competency;
(ii)whether the
program resulted in an increase in academic competency;
(iii)whether the
program resulted in a reduction in disruptive and aggressive behaviors;
(iv)whether the
program resulted in improved family functioning;
(v)whether the
program resulted in a reduction in substance abuse;
(vi)whether the
program resulted in a reduction in suspensions, truancy, expulsions and
violence;
(vii)whether the
program resulted in increased graduation rates; and
(viii)whether the
program resulted in improved access to care for mental health disorders.
(C)Local
educational outcomesThe outcome measures developed under
paragraph (1)(B) relating to local educational systems shall, with respect to
activities carried out under a program under this section, at a minimum include
provisions to evaluate—
(i)the effectiveness
of comprehensive school mental health programs established under this
section;
(ii)the
effectiveness of formal partnership linkages among child and family serving
institutions, community support systems, and the educational system;
(iii)the progress
made in sustaining the program once funding under the grant has expired;
and
(iv)the
effectiveness of training and professional development programs for all school
personnel that incorporate indicators that measure cultural and linguistic
competencies under the program in a manner that incorporates appropriate
cultural and linguistic training.
(3)Submission of
annual dataAn entity that receives a grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement under this section shall annually submit to the
Administrator a report that include data to evaluate the success of the program
carried out by the entity based on whether such program is achieving the
purposes of the program. Such reports shall utilize the measures of outcomes
under paragraph (2) in a reasonable manner to demonstrate the progress of the
program in achieving such purposes.
(4)Evaluation by
AdministratorBased on the data submitted under paragraph (3),
the Administrator shall annually submit to Congress a report concerning the
results and effectiveness of the programs carried out with assistance received
under this
section.
.
(g)Authorization
of appropriations and amount of grantsSubsection (h) of section
581 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh(h)) is amended to read as
follows:
(h)Amount of
grants and authorization of appropriations
(1)A grant under this section shall be in an amount that is
not more than $1,000,000 for each of grant years 2008 through 2012. The
Secretary shall determine the amount of each such grant based on the population
of children between the ages of 0 to 21 of the area to be served under the
grant.
(2)Authorization
of appropriationsThere is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out this section, $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through
2012.
.
(h)Part G of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 290hh et seq.), as amended by this section, is further amended—
(1)by striking the
part heading and inserting the following:
VIISchool-based
mental health
;
and
(2)in section 581,
by striking the section heading and inserting the following:
581.School-based
mental health and children and
violence
.