[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 81 (Tuesday, May 11, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2165-H2167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR STUDENTS ACT OF 2021

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 721) to amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and 
extend projects relating to children and to provide access to school-
based comprehensive mental health programs, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 721

       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 ``Mental Health Services for 
     Students Act of 2021''.

     SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.

       (a) Technical Amendments.--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.--Section 581 
     of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh) (relating 
     to children and violence) is amended to read as follows:

     ``SEC. 581. SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH; CHILDREN AND 
                   ADOLESCENTS.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
     Secretary of Education, shall, through grants, contracts, or 
     cooperative agreements awarded to eligible entities described 
     in subsection (c), provide comprehensive school-based mental 
     health services and supports to assist children in local 
     communities and schools (including schools funded by the 
     Bureau of Indian Education) dealing with traumatic 
     experiences, grief, bereavement, risk of suicide, and 
     violence. Such services and supports shall be--
       ``(1) developmentally, linguistically, and culturally 
     appropriate;
       ``(2) trauma-informed; and
       ``(3) incorporate positive behavioral interventions and 
     supports.
       ``(b) Activities.--Grants, contracts, or cooperative 
     agreements awarded under subsection (a), shall, as 
     appropriate, be used for--
       ``(1) implementation of school and community-based mental 
     health programs that--
       ``(A) build awareness of individual trauma and the 
     intergenerational, continuum of impacts of trauma on 
     populations;
       ``(B) train appropriate staff to identify, and screen for, 
     signs of trauma exposure, mental health disorders, or risk of 
     suicide; and
       ``(C) incorporate positive behavioral interventions, family 
     engagement, student treatment, and multigenerational supports 
     to foster the health and development of children, prevent 
     mental health disorders, and ameliorate the impact of trauma;
       ``(2) technical assistance to local communities with 
     respect to the development of programs described in paragraph 
     (1);
       ``(3) facilitating community partnerships among families, 
     students, law enforcement agencies, education agencies, 
     mental health and substance use disorder service systems, 
     family-based mental health service systems, child welfare 
     agencies, health care providers (including primary care 
     physicians, mental health professionals, and other 
     professionals who specialize in children's mental health such 
     as child and adolescent psychiatrists), institutions of 
     higher education, faith-based programs, trauma networks, and 
     other community-based systems to address child and adolescent 
     trauma, mental health issues, and violence; and
       ``(4) establishing mechanisms for children and adolescents 
     to report incidents of violence or plans by other children, 
     adolescents, or adults to commit violence.
       ``(c) Requirements.--
       ``(1) In general.--To be eligible for a grant, contract, or 
     cooperative agreement under subsection (a), an entity shall 
     be a partnership that includes--

[[Page H2166]]

       ``(A) a State educational agency, as defined in section 
     8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 
     in coordination with one or more local educational agencies, 
     as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 
     Education Act of 1965, or a consortium of any entities 
     described in subparagraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of section 
     8101(30) of such Act; and
       ``(B) at least 1 community-based mental health provider, 
     including a public or private mental health entity, health 
     care entity, family-based mental health entity, trauma 
     network, or other community-based entity, as determined by 
     the Secretary (and which may include additional entities such 
     as a human services agency, law enforcement or juvenile 
     justice entity, child welfare agency, agency, an institution 
     of higher education, or another entity, as determined by the 
     Secretary).
       ``(2) Compliance with hipaa.--Any patient records developed 
     by covered entities through activities under the grant shall 
     meet the regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the 
     Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
       ``(3) Compliance with ferpa.--Section 444 of the General 
     Education Provisions Act (commonly known as the `Family 
     Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974') shall apply to 
     any entity that is a member of the partnership in the same 
     manner that such section applies to an educational agency or 
     institution (as that term is defined in such section).
       ``(d) Geographical Distribution.--The 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) Duration of Awards.--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, with options for renewal.
       ``(f) Evaluation and Measures of Outcomes.--
       ``(1) Development of process.--The Assistant Secretary 
     shall develop a fiscally appropriate 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) Measures of outcomes.--The Assistant Secretary shall 
     develop measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients of 
     assistance under this section to evaluate the effectiveness 
     of programs carried out under this section, including 
     outcomes related to the student, family, and local 
     educational systems supported by this Act.
       ``(3) Submission of annual data.--An eligible entity 
     described in subsection (c) that receives a grant, contract, 
     or cooperative agreement under this section shall annually 
     submit to the Assistant Secretary 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 assistant secretary.--Based on the data 
     submitted under paragraph (3), the Assistant Secretary shall 
     annually submit to Congress a report concerning the results 
     and effectiveness of the programs carried out with assistance 
     received under this section.
       ``(5) Limitation.--An eligible entity shall use not more 
     than 20 percent of amounts received under a grant under this 
     section to carry out evaluation activities under this 
     subsection.
       ``(g) Information and Education.--The Secretary shall 
     disseminate best practices based on the findings of the 
     knowledge development and application under this section.
       ``(h) Amount of Grants and Authorization of 
     Appropriations.--
       ``(1) Amount of grants.--A grant under this section shall 
     be in an amount that is not more than $2,000,000 for each of 
     the first 5 fiscal years following the date of enactment of 
     the Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021. 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 appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, $130,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025.''.
       (c) Conforming Amendment.--Part G of title V of the Public 
     Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh et seq.), as amended by 
     subsection (b), is further amended by striking the part 
     designation and heading and inserting the following:

                ``PART G--SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on H.R. 721.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 721, the Mental Health Services for 
Students Act of 2021.
  Mental illness, Madam Speaker, affects millions of Americans. With 
youth in particular, research shows that half of all lifetime mental 
illness begins by the age of 14. According to the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention, about three in four children between the ages 
of 3 and 17 suffer from depression and anxiety, and nearly half have 
behavioral problems. In fact, data from Mental Health America shows 
that youth between the ages of 11 and 17 are now at higher risk of 
moderate to severe anxiety and depression.
  For many students, schools are a critical place to get mental health 
or behavioral health support, and now with added public health 
concerns, economic pressures, online learning, and the social isolation 
that comes with these things, experts worry about the added 
repercussions we will see on the well-being of students across the 
country.
  This data, and the effect of the pandemic, make clear that we must do 
more to invest in preventative mental and behavioral health services 
and training in schools to give our kids and teens a brighter future. 
The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on School Health 
recognized the increasing mental health needs of children and 
adolescents when it said, ``School-based mental health services offer 
the potential for prevention efforts as well as intervention 
strategies.''
  Madam Speaker, H.R. 721 does just that. This bill would support 
comprehensive mental health programs at schools across the Nation by 
encouraging partnerships between State and local educational agencies 
and mental health providers. Funding would be made available through 
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This 
funding would support prevention screening, treatment, and development 
of evidence-based programs for social, emotional, mental, and 
behavioral issues among students. H.R. 721 would also help us better 
understand the student, family, and educational outcomes of services 
provided to the students.
  I want to thank the lead sponsors of this bill, Representatives 
Napolitano and Katko, for their leadership and tireless work.
  Madam Speaker, it is critical that we support preventative mental and 
behavioral health services and training in schools for our kids and 
teens, particularly at a time when mental health risks are exacerbated 
by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I rise today in support of H.R. 721, the Mental Health Services for 
Students Act of 2021, spearheaded by Representative Napolitano.
  This bill authorizes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
Administration Project AWARE grants. These grants support State 
educational agencies, in partnership with State mental health agencies, 
in increasing awareness of mental health issues among school-aged 
youth, providing training for school personnel to detect and respond to 
mental health issues and connecting students with behavioral health 
issues and their families to needed services.
  By supporting partnerships between State and local systems to promote 
the healthy development of students, these grants increase access to 
mental health services for school-aged youth, ultimately reducing youth 
violence, substance use disorder, and suicide.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers at this 
time. I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H2167]]

  

  Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, as with all the other bills before us 
today, it is so important to reach out to our youth and to prevent 
suicide and violence as a result of mental health disorders. We all 
know, as young as we can reach them, the better.
  I support this bill and ask my colleagues to do so. I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, as my colleague from Kentucky points out, 
with these bills today, we are trying to reach out and deal with these 
mental and behavioral health problems in various settings. In this 
case, it is the school-based setting, which I think is one of the most 
effective.
  So for that reason, I would ask my colleagues to support this 
legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Jackson Lee). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 721, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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