Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021
This bill provides specific statutory authority for the Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resiliency in Education) State Educational Agency Grant Program that is administered by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The program supports school-based mental health services, including screening, treatment, and outreach programs.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 721 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 2, 2021
Mrs. Napolitano (for herself, Mr. Katko, Mr. Lowenthal, Ms. Titus, Mrs.
Hayes, Ms. Dean, Mr. Moulton, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Kaptur, Mr.
Sablan, Miss Rice of New York, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Deutch,
Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Ryan, Mr. O'Halleran, Mr.
Van Drew, Mr. Payne, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Raskin, Mrs. Lawrence, Ms.
Brownley, Mrs. Kirkpatrick, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Crow, Ms.
Porter, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr.
Lieu, Ms. Sanchez, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Torres of California,
Ms. Wild, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Trone, Ms. Blunt Rochester, Mr. Panetta,
Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Casten, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Lee of California, Mr.
Sires, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Levin of California, Mr.
DeSaulnier, Ms. Chu, Mr. Mast, Mr. Gomez, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Ms.
Johnson of Texas, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Barragan, Ms.
Pressley, Mr. Schiff, Mr. Gallego, Mr. Pocan, and Mr. Hastings)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
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--
``(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, $200,000,000 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''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
Mr. Pallone moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H2165-2167; text: CR H2165-2166)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 721.
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 380, proceedings on H.R. 721 are considered vacated.
Passed/agreed to in House: Pursuant to section 6 of H. Res. 380, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 297; H.R. 433; H.R. 478; H.R. 586; H.R. 721, as amended; H.R. 768; H.R. 810; H.R. 1205; H.R. 1260, as amended; H.R. 1324; H.R. 1448, as amended; H.R. 1475, as amended; H.R. 1480, as amended; H.R. 2862, as amended; H.R. 2955; and H.R. 2981.(consideration: CR H2235-2246; text: CR H2237)
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Pursuant to section 6 of H. Res. 380, and the motion offered by Mr. Hoyer, the following bills passed under suspension of the rules: H.R. 297; H.R. 433; H.R. 478; H.R. 586; H.R. 721, as amended; H.R. 768; H.R. 810; H.R. 1205; H.R. 1260, as amended; H.R. 1324; H.R. 1448, as amended; H.R. 1475, as amended; H.R. 1480, as amended; H.R. 2862, as amended; H.R. 2955; and H.R. 2981. (consideration: CR H2235-2246; text: CR H2237)
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.