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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2836 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2836
To amend subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to
support the mental health and well-being of children and youth in, and
formerly in, foster care, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 2023
Mr. Casey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Finance
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to
support the mental health and well-being of children and youth in, and
formerly in, foster care, 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 ``Foster Youth Mental Health Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. NATIONAL NAVIGATION PROGRAM TO SUPPORT THE MENTAL HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH IN, AND FORMERLY IN,
FOSTER CARE.
Section 426 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 626) is amended--
(1) in the section heading, by inserting ``special
projects,'' after ``training,'';
(2) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ``and'' after
the semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2), the following
new paragraph:
``(3) for grants by the Secretary, or contracts or
cooperative arrangements, for the operation of a national
navigation program to support the mental health and well-being
of children and youth in, and formerly in, foster care that
includes a 24-hour text line and toll-free hotline by which
children and youth in foster care, youth who are aging out of
foster care, children and youth formerly in foster care who
have not yet reached their 28th birthday, foster and adoptive
parents, kinship guardians, and parents of children in foster
care may request information on support for foster and adopted
youth mental health and well-being that is staffed by youth who
were formerly in foster care and individuals with expertise in
helping such populations navigate and access resources to
support their mental health and well-being, including with
respect to mental health and substance use disorder treatments
and services, insurance coverage and renewal, housing,
childcare, skills training and education, extracurricular
activities, and other critical services for children and youth
in foster care and youth who are aging out of foster care.'';
and
(3) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(d) National Navigation Program To Support the Mental Health and
Well-Being of Children in, and Formerly in, Foster Care.--
``(1) Funding requirement.--Beginning with the first fiscal
year after fiscal year 2023 for which the amount appropriated
for the fiscal year to carry out this section exceeds the
amount appropriated for such purpose for fiscal year 2023 by at
least $5,000,000, the Secretary shall make grants, or enter
into contracts or cooperative arrangements, to carry out the
national navigation program to support the mental health and
well-being of children in, and formerly in, foster care in
accordance with subsection (a)(3).
``(2) Utilization.--The Secretary shall evaluate the
demographics of the children and parents who use or request
information from the national navigation program carried out in
accordance with subsection (a)(3) and shall identify the
demographics of children and parents who are not accessing the
program and increase outreach to make such children and parents
aware of the program.''.
SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT THE MENTAL
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF FOSTER CARE YOUTH.
Section 422(b)(15) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
622(b)(15)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (A)--
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking
``provides'' and inserting ``provide''; and
(B) in clause (viii), by striking ``and'' after the
semicolon;
(2) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C);
(3) in subparagraph (C) (as redesignated by paragraph (2)
of this section), by striking ``subparagraph (A)'' and
inserting ``subparagraphs (A) and (B)''; and
(4) by inserting after subparagraph (A), the following new
subparagraph:
``(B) contain assurances that not less than 10 percent of
expenditures for services and activities the State will fund
under the State program carried out pursuant to this subpart
shall be for developing and providing ongoing support for a
comprehensive mental health system for youth in a foster care
placement that meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) and--
``(i) is established through partnerships with
pediatricians, mental health professionals, child-
serving agencies, child advocates, family groups,
housing services, alternative programs that support
mental health and well-being, and other key
organizations to ensure youth in a foster care
placement have timely access to non-pharmaceutical
mental health and substance use disorder treatments and
services;
``(ii) includes services and activities for youth
in a foster care placement who are at risk of
developing, or have, a mental health or substance use
disorder, at the prevention, early intervention, and
treatment stages;
``(iii) includes processes for--
``(I) recruiting, hiring, supervision, or
training of individuals with lived experience
to serve as peer specialists who deliver
services to youth in a foster care placement as
they navigate the child welfare system and
other health and social services programs and
who check in with such youth weekly;
``(II) training of caseworkers and other
staff working within the child welfare system
with a series of trauma-informed and addiction-
based professional development training
sessions to better connect youth with resources
for treatment and services as they enter the
child welfare system, including the therapeutic
supports and community-based resources
developed and implemented in accordance with
subclause (III); and
``(III) the development and implementation
of protocols for assisting youth in a foster
care placement with accessing therapeutic
supports, including navigation to peer support,
family therapy, and alternative therapies such
as music or art therapy, play therapy, sports,
mobile or virtual therapy, as well as
community-based resources, such as parenting
classes, community-provided financial and in-
kind material support, behavioral health care,
and community engagement opportunities;
``(iv) has procedures to address privacy concerns
which include requirements for private space to be made
available for mental health sessions, requirements for
the use of platforms with end-to-end encryption for the
exchange of sensitive health information that comply
with the regulations promulgated under section 264(c)
of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act of 1996, requirements for youth in a foster care
placement to be informed of confidentiality agreements
with counselors, therapists, and psychiatrists, and
provided with information regarding where and how to
file a grievance about each member of their care team,
and requirements to retrain mental health, child
welfare, or juvenile justice professionals who have
violated such confidentiality agreements on upholding
these requirements; and
``(v) requires that, in the case of a youth in a
foster care placement who needs treatment for a mental
health condition or substance use disorder--
``(I) the health and education information
required for the youth's case plan under
section 475(1)(C) includes documentation
evidencing having discussed with the youth the
youth's options for treatment of the mental
health condition or substance use disorder and
a plan for the delivery of such treatments,
prior to, or as soon as practicable after, the
start of treatment;
``(II) procedures are in place to ensure
continuity of care for a youth in a foster care
placement who is being treated for a mental
health condition or substance use disorder if
the youth is moved to another placement
setting, the youth's treatment is transferred
to another provider, or the type of treatment
is changed;
``(III) the components of the transition
plan development process required under section
475(5)(H) that relate to the health care needs
of children aging out of foster care, includes
a plan for continuity of care when a youth in a
foster care placement who is being treated for
a mental health condition or substance use
disorder leaves foster care; and
``(IV) systems are in place to follow up
with youth to ensure receipt and adequacy of
needed mental health or substance use disorder
services, with protocols to respond to concerns
identified by foster youth and assist youth
with accessing additional care as recommended
by a health care professional; and''.
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.
(a) In General.--The amendments made by this Act shall take effect
on the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply to payments under
subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act for calendar
quarters beginning on or after such date, and without regard to whether
regulations to implement the amendments are promulgated by such date.
(b) Exception for State Plans Requiring State Law Amendments.--In
the case of a State plan under subpart 1 of part B of title IV of the
Social Security Act which the Secretary determines requires State
legislation in order for the plan to meet the additional requirements
imposed by the amendments made by this Act, the effective date of the
amendments imposing the additional requirements shall be 3 months after
the first day of the first calendar quarter beginning after the close
of the first regular session of the State legislature that begins after
the date of the enactment of this Act. For purposes of the preceding
sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative session,
each year of the session shall be considered to be a separate regular
session of the State legislature.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
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