[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 44 (Monday, March 16, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1547-S1548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 308. Mr. CASSIDY (for himself and Mr. Peters) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 178, to provide
justice for the victims of trafficking; which was ordered to lie on the
table; as follows:
At the appropriate place, insert the following:
TITLE ___--TRAFFICKING AWARENESS TRAINING FOR HEALTH CARE
SEC. _01. SHORT TITLE.
This title may be cited as the ``Trafficking Awareness
Training for Health Care Act of 2015''.
SEC. __02. DEVELOPMENT OF BEST PRACTICES.
(a) Grant or Contract for Development of Best Practices.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services acting through the Administrator of the Health
Resources and Services Administration, and in consultation
with the Administration on Children and Families and other
agencies with experience in serving victims of human
trafficking, shall award, on a competitive basis, a grant or
contract to an eligible entity to train health care
professionals to recognize and respond to victims of a severe
form of trafficking.
(2) Development of evidence-based best practices.--An
entity receiving a grant under paragraph (1) shall develop
evidence-based best practices for health care professionals
to recognize and respond to victims of a severe form of
trafficking, including--
(A) consultation with law enforcement officials, social
service providers, health professionals, experts in the field
of human trafficking, and other experts, as appropriate, to
inform the development of such best practices;
(B) the identification of any existing best practices or
tools for health professionals to recognize potential victims
of a severe form of trafficking; and
(C) the development of educational materials to train
health care professionals on the best practices developed
under this subsection.
(3) Requirements.--Best practices developed under this
subsection shall address--
(A) risk factors and indicators to recognize victims of a
severe form of trafficking;
(B) patient safety and security;
(C) the management of medical records of patients who are
victims of a severe form of trafficking;
(D) public and private social services available for
rescue, food, clothing, and shelter referrals;
(E) the hotlines for reporting human trafficking maintained
by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center and the
Department of Homeland Security;
(F) validated assessment tools for the identification of
victims of a severe form of trafficking; and
(G) referral options and procedures for sharing information
on human trafficking with a patient and making referrals for
legal and social services as appropriate.
(4) Pilot program.--An entity receiving a grant under
paragraph (1) shall design and implement a pilot program to
test the best practices and educational materials identified
or developed with respect to the recognition of victims of
human trafficking by health professionals at health care
sites located near an established anti-human trafficking task
force initiative in each of the 10 administrative regions of
the Department of Health and Human Services.
[[Page S1548]]
(5) Analysis and report.--Not later than 24 months after
the date on which an entity implements a pilot program under
paragraph (4), the entity shall--
(A) analyze the results of the pilot programs, including
through an assessment of--
(i) changes in the skills, knowledge, and attitude of
health care professionals resulting from the implementation
of the program;
(ii) the number of victims of a severe form of trafficking
who were identified under the program;
(iii) of those victims identified, the number who received
information or referrals for services offered; and
(iv) of those victims who received such information or
referrals--
(I) the number who participated in follow up services; and
(II) the type of follow up services received;
(B) determine, using the results of the analysis conducted
under subparagraph (A), the extent to which the best
practices developed under this subsection are evidence-based;
and
(C) submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a
report concerning the pilot program and the analysis of the
pilot program under subparagraph (A), including an
identification of the best practices that were identified as
effective and those that require further review.
(b) Dissemination.--Not later than 30 months after date on
which a grant is awarded to an eligible entity under
subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall--
(1) collaborate with appropriate professional associations
and health care professional schools to disseminate best
practices identified or developed under subsection (a) for
purposes of recognizing potential victims of a severe form of
trafficking; and
(2) post on the public website of the Department of Health
and Human Services the best practices that are identified by
the as effective under subsection (a)(5).
SEC. _03. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) The term ``eligible entity'' means an accredited school
of medicine or nursing with experience in the study or
treatment of victims of a severe form of trafficking.
(2) The term ``eligible site'' means a health center that
is receiving assistance under section 330, 399Z-1, or 1001 of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254b, 280h-5, and
300).
(3) The term ``health care professional'' means a person
employed by a health care provider who provides to patients
information (including information not related to medical
treatment), scheduling, services, or referrals.
(4) The term ``HIPAA privacy and security law'' has the
meaning given to such term in section 3009 of the Public
Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300jj-19).
(5) The term ``victim of a severe form of trafficking'' has
the meaning given to such term in section 103 of the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
SEC. _04. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this title, and this title shall be carried out
using amounts otherwise available for such purpose.
______