Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021
Floor Speech
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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--
``(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''.
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Mr. PALLONE. 721.
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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.
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Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers at this time.
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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.
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