[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4448 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4448
To authorize a pilot program to expand and intensify surveillance of
self-harm in partnership with State and local public health
departments, to establish a grant program to provide self-harm and
suicide prevention services in hospital emergency departments, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 22, 2022
Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize a pilot program to expand and intensify surveillance of
self-harm in partnership with State and local public health
departments, to establish a grant program to provide self-harm and
suicide prevention services in hospital emergency departments, and for
other purposes.
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 ``Suicide Prevention Act''.
SEC. 2. SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE OF SELF-HARM BEHAVIORS PROGRAM.
Title III of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting
after section 317U of such Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-23) the following:
``SEC. 317V. SYNDROMIC SURVEILLANCE OF SELF-HARM BEHAVIORS PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to State,
local, Tribal, and territorial public health departments for the
expansion of surveillance of self-harm.
``(b) Data Sharing by Grantees.--As a condition of receipt of such
grant under subsection (a), each grantee shall agree to share with the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in real time, to the extent
feasible and as specified in the grant agreement, data on suicides and
self-harm for purposes of--
``(1) tracking and monitoring self-harm to inform response
activities to suicide clusters;
``(2) informing prevention programming for identified at-
risk populations; and
``(3) conducting or supporting research.
``(c) Disaggregation of Data.--The Secretary shall provide for the
data collected through surveillance of self-harm under subsection (b)
to be disaggregated by the following categories:
``(1) Nonfatal self-harm data of any intent.
``(2) Data on suicidal ideation.
``(3) Data on self-harm where there is no evidence, whether
implicit or explicit, of suicidal intent.
``(4) Data on self-harm where there is evidence, whether
implicit or explicit, of suicidal intent.
``(5) Data on self-harm where suicidal intent is unclear
based on the available evidence.
``(d) Priority.--In making awards under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that are--
``(1) located in a State with an age-adjusted rate of
nonfatal suicidal behavior that is above the national rate of
nonfatal suicidal behavior, as determined by the Director of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
``(2) serving an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 4 of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act)
with an age-adjusted rate of nonfatal suicidal behavior that is
above the national rate of nonfatal suicidal behavior, as
determined through appropriate mechanisms determined by the
Secretary in consultation with Indian Tribes; or
``(3) located in a State with a high rate of coverage of
statewide (or Tribal) emergency department visits, as
determined by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
``(e) Geographic Distribution.--In making grants under this
section, the Secretary shall make an effort to ensure geographic
distribution, taking into account the unique needs of rural
communities, including--
``(1) communities with an incidence of individuals with
serious mental illness, demonstrated suicidal ideation or
behavior, or suicide rates that are above the national average,
as determined by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and
Substance Use;
``(2) communities with a shortage of prevention and
treatment services, as determined by the Assistant Secretary
for Mental Health and Substance Use and the Administrator of
the Health Resources and Services Administration; and
``(3) other appropriate community-level factors and social
determinants of health such as income, employment, and
education.
``(f) Period of Participation.--To be selected as a grant recipient
under this section, a State, local, Tribal, or territorial public
health department shall agree to participate in the program for a
period of not less than 4 years.
``(g) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall provide technical
assistance and training to grantees for collecting and sharing the data
under subsection (b).
``(h) Data Sharing by HHS.--Subject to subsection (b), the
Secretary shall, with respect to data on self-harm that is collected
pursuant to this section, share and integrate such data through--
``(1) the platform of the National Syndromic Surveillance
Program Early Notification of Community Epidemics (ESSENCE) (or
any successor platform);
``(2) the National Violent Death Reporting System, as
appropriate; or
``(3) another appropriate surveillance program, including
such a program that collects data on suicides and self-harm
among special populations, such as members of the military and
veterans.
``(i) Rule of Construction Regarding Applicability of Privacy
Protections.--Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or
alter the application of Federal or State law relating to the privacy
of information to data or information that is collected or created
under this section.
``(j) Report.--
``(1) Submission.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of the Suicide Prevention Act, the Secretary shall
evaluate the suicide and self-harm syndromic surveillance
systems at the Federal, State, and local levels and submit a
report to Congress on the data collected under subsections (b)
and (c) in a manner that prevents the disclosure of
individually identifiable information, at a minimum, consistent
with all applicable privacy laws and regulations.
``(2) Contents.--In addition to the data collected under
subsections (b) and (c), the report under paragraph (1) shall
include--
``(A) challenges and gaps in data collection and
reporting;
``(B) recommendations to address such gaps and
challenges; and
``(C) a description of any public health responses
initiated at the Federal, State, or local level in
response to the data collected.
``(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 through 2027.''.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PROVIDE SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE PREVENTION SERVICES.
Part B of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 520N. GRANTS TO PROVIDE SELF-HARM AND SUICIDE PREVENTION
SERVICES.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall award grants to hospital
emergency departments to provide self-harm and suicide prevention
services.
``(b) Activities Supported.--
``(1) In general.--A hospital emergency department awarded
a grant under subsection (a) shall use amounts under the grant
to implement a program or protocol to better prevent suicide
attempts among hospital patients after discharge, which may
include--
``(A) screening patients for self-harm and suicide
in accordance with the standards of practice described
in subsection (e)(1) and standards of care established
by appropriate medical and advocacy organizations;
``(B) providing patients short-term self-harm and
suicide prevention services in accordance with the
results of the screenings described in subparagraph
(A); and
``(C) referring patients, as appropriate, to a
health care facility or provider for purposes of
receiving long-term self-harm and suicide prevention
services, and providing any additional follow up
services and care identified as appropriate as a result
of the screenings and short-term self-harm and suicide
prevention services described in subparagraphs (A) and
(B).
``(2) Use of funds to hire and train staff.--Amounts
awarded under subsection (a) may be used to hire clinical
social workers, mental and behavioral health care
professionals, and support staff as appropriate, and to train
existing staff and newly hired staff to carry out the
activities described in paragraph (1).
``(c) Grant Terms.--A grant awarded under subsection (a)--
``(1) shall be for a period of 3 years; and
``(2) may be renewed subject to the requirements of this
section.
``(d) Applications.--A hospital emergency department seeking a
grant under subsection (a) shall submit an application to the Secretary
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as
the Secretary may require.
``(e) Standards of Practice.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall develop
standards of practice for screening patients for self-harm and
suicide for purposes of carrying out subsection (b)(1)(C).
``(2) Consultation.--The Secretary shall develop the
standards of practice described in paragraph (1) in
consultation with individuals and entities with expertise in
self-harm and suicide prevention, including public, private,
and nonprofit entities.
``(f) Reporting.--
``(1) Reports to the secretary.--
``(A) In general.--A hospital emergency department
awarded a grant under subsection (a) shall, at least
quarterly for the duration of the grant, submit to the
Secretary a report evaluating the activities supported
by the grant.
``(B) Matters to be included.--The report required
under subparagraph (A) shall include--
``(i) the number of patients receiving--
``(I) screenings carried out at the
hospital emergency department;
``(II) short-term self-harm and
suicide prevention services at the
hospital emergency department; and
``(III) referrals to health care
facilities for the purposes of
receiving long-term self-harm and
suicide prevention;
``(ii) information on the adherence of the
hospital emergency department to the standards
of practice described in subsection (f)(1); and
``(iii) other information as the Secretary
determines appropriate to evaluate the use of
grant funds.
``(2) Reports to congress.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of the enactment of the Suicide Prevention Act, and
biennially thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the
Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives a report on the grant program under this
section, including--
``(A) a summary of reports received by the
Secretary under paragraph (1); and
``(B) an evaluation of the program by the
Secretary.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there are authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 through 2027.''.
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