[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 767 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.767
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
To establish the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness
Training pilot program to address human trafficking in the health care
system.
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 ``Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to
Health and Wellness Act of 2018'' or the ``SOAR to Health and Wellness
Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.
Part E of title XII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
300d-51 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1254. STOP, OBSERVE, ASK, AND RESPOND TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS
TRAINING PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program to be
known as the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness
Training Program or the SOAR to Health and Wellness Training Program
(in this section referred to as the `Program') to provide training to
health care and social service providers on human trafficking in
accordance with this section.
``(b) Activities.--
``(1) In general.--The Program shall include the Stop, Observe,
Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program's
activities existing on the day before the date of enactment of this
section and the authorized initiatives described in paragraph (2).
``(2) Authorized initiatives.--The authorized initiatives of
the Program shall include--
``(A) engaging stakeholders, including victims of human
trafficking and Federal, State, local, and tribal partners, to
develop a flexible training module--
``(i) for supporting activities under subsection (c);
and
``(ii) that adapts to changing needs, settings, health
care providers, and social service providers;
``(B) providing technical assistance to grantees related to
implementing activities described in subsection (c) and
reporting on any best practices identified by the grantees;
``(C) developing a reliable methodology for collecting
data, and reporting such data, on the number of human
trafficking victims identified and served by grantees in a
manner that, at a minimum, prevents disclosure of individually
identifiable information consistent with all applicable privacy
laws and regulations; and
``(D) integrating, as appropriate, the training described
in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c) with training
programs, in effect on the date of enactment of this section,
for health care and social service providers for victims of
intimate partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, child
abuse, child neglect, child maltreatment, and child sexual
exploitation.
``(c) Grants.--The Secretary may award grants to appropriate
entities to train health care and social service providers to--
``(1) identify potential human trafficking victims;
``(2) implement best practices for working with law enforcement
to report and facilitate communication with human trafficking
victims, in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, local,
and tribal laws, including legal confidentiality requirements for
patients and health care and social service providers;
``(3) implement best practices for referring such victims to
appropriate health care, social, or victims service agencies or
organizations; and
``(4) provide such victims with coordinated, age-appropriate,
culturally relevant, trauma-informed, patient-centered, and
evidence-based care.
``(d) Consideration in Awarding Grants.--The Secretary, in making
awards under this section, shall give consideration to--
``(1) geography;
``(2) the demographics of the population to be served;
``(3) the predominant types of human trafficking cases
involved; and
``(4) health care and social service provider profiles.
``(e) Data Collection and Reporting.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall collect data and report
on the following:
``(A) The total number of entities that received a grant
under this section.
``(B) The total number and geographic distribution of
health care and social service providers trained through the
Program.
``(2) Initial report.--In addition to the data required to be
collected under paragraph (1), for purposes of the initial report
to be submitted under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall collect
data on the total number of facilities and health care professional
organizations that were operating under, and the total number of
health care and social service providers trained through, the Stop,
Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program
existing prior to the establishment of the Program under this
section.
``(3) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit an annual report to Congress on the data collected
under this subsection in a manner that, at a minimum, prevents the
disclosure of individually identifiable information consistent with
all applicable privacy laws and regulations.
``(f) Sharing Best Practices.--The Secretary shall make available,
on the Internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services,
a description of the best practices and procedures used by entities
that receive a grant for carrying out activities under this section.
``(g) Definition.--In this section, the term `human trafficking'
has the meaning given the term `severe forms of trafficking in persons'
as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000.
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this Act, $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2020 through 2024.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.