1.This Act may be cited as the
Mental Health in Schools Act of
2011
.
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.
(6)Many schools have
school-employed mental health providers supporting student’s social, emotional,
and behavioral health needs in schools. The most common types of staff
providing mental health services in schools were school counselors, followed by
school nurses, school psychologists and school social workers. Three-quarters
of schools had at least one school counselor on staff, over two-thirds had a
school psychologist or school nurse, and 44 percent had a school social
worker.
(7)Although it is
well recognized that mental health directly affects children’s learning and
development, in a recent study one-third of school districts reported decreased
funding for school mental health services, and at the same time two-thirds of
school districts reported increased need for such services.
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;
(2)provide for
comprehensive staff development for school and community service personnel
working in the school; and
(3)provide for
comprehensive training for children with mental health disorders, for parents,
siblings, and other family members of such children, and for concerned members
of the community.
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)School-Based
mental health and children and violenceSection 581 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh) is amended to read as follows:
581.School-based
mental health and children and violence
(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 age appropriate services and supports, be linguistically
and culturally appropriate, and incorporate age appropriate strategies of
positive behavioral interventions and supports. A comprehensive school mental
health program funded under this section shall assist children in dealing with
violence.
(b)Under
the program under subsection (a), the Secretary may—
(1)provide financial support to enable local
communities to implement a comprehensive culturally and linguistically
appropriate, and age-appropriate, school mental health program that
incorporates positive behavioral interventions and supports to foster the
health and development of children;
(2)provide technical
assistance to local communities with respect to the development of programs
described in paragraph (1);
(3)provide assistance
to local communities in the development of policies to address child and
adolescent mental health issues and violence when and if it occurs;
(4)facilitate
community partnerships among families, students, law enforcement agencies,
education systems, mental health and substance use disorder service systems,
family-based mental health service systems, welfare agencies, health care
service systems, and other community-based systems; and
(5)establish
mechanisms for children and adolescents to report incidents of violence or
plans by other children or adolescents to commit violence.
(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 contains
the assurances described in paragraph (2).
(2)An application under paragraph (1) shall contain
assurances as follows:
(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, health care 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
supports 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, behavioral health problems, or substance
use disorders;
(iii)the early identification of social,
emotional, behavioral problems, or substance use disorders and the provision of
early intervention services;
(iv)the treatment or referral for treatment of
students with existing social, emotional, behavioral health problems, or
substance use disorders; and
(v)the development
and implementation of programs to assist children in dealing with
violence.
(C)That the comprehensive school-based mental
health program carried out under this section will provide for in-service
training of all school personnel, including ancillary staff and volunteers,
in—
(i)the techniques and
supports 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 and
intervention services in the school and in the community;
(iii)strategies that
promote a school-wide positive environment;
(iv)strategies for promoting the social,
emotional, mental, and behavioral health of all students; and
(v)strategies to increase the knowledge and
skills of school and community leaders on the application of a public health
approach to comprehensive school-based mental health programs.
(D)That the comprehensive school-based mental
health program carried out under this section will include comprehensive
training for parents, siblings, and other family members of children with
mental health disorders, and for concerned members of the community in—
(i)the techniques and
supports 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 and
intervention services in the school and in the community; and
(iii)strategies that
promote a school-wide positive environment.
(E)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
will demonstrate the measures to be taken to sustain the program after funding
under this section terminates.
(F)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.
(G)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
will be based on evidence-based practices.
(H)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
will be coordinated with early intervening activities carried out under the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
(I)That the
comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section
will be culturally and linguistically appropriate.
(J)That the comprehensive school-based mental
health program carried out under this section will include a broad needs
assessment of youth who drop out of school due to policies of zero
tolerance
with respect to drugs, alcohol, or weapons.
(K)That the mental health services provided
through the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under
this section will be provided by qualified mental and behavioral health
professionals who are certified or licensed by the State involved and
practicing within their area of expertise.
(d)Geographical
distributionThe Secretary shall ensure that grants, contracts,
or cooperative agreements under subsection (a) will be distributed equitably
among the regions of the country and among urban and rural areas.
(e)With respect to a grant, contract, or cooperative
agreement under subsection (a), the period during which payments under such an
award will be made to the recipient shall be 5 years. An entity may receive
only 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)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 grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement 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 use disorders;
(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;
(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;
(v)the improvement in perception of a safe and
supportive learning environment among school staff, students, and
parents;
(vi)the improvement
in case-finding of students in need of more intensive services and referral of
identified students to early intervention and clinical services;
(vii)the improvement
in the immediate availability of clinical assessment and treatment services to
students posing a danger to themselves or others;
(viii)the increased
successful matriculation to postsecondary school; and
(ix)reduced referrals
to juvenile justice.
(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 includes 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)Information and
educationThe Secretary shall establish comprehensive information
and education programs to disseminate the findings of the knowledge development
and application under this section to the general public and to health care
professionals.
(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 2012 through 2016. The Secretary shall determine the amount of each
such grant based on the population of children up to age 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 2012 through
2016.
.
(c)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 by striking the part heading and inserting the
following:
GSchool-based
mental
health
.