HR 751 IHCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

112th CONGRESSCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

1st SessionCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

H. R. 751CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend projects relating to children and violence to provide access to school-based comprehensive mental health programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

February 17, 2011CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mrs. NAPOLITANO (for herself, Mr. BACA, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. CICILLINE, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. ELLISON, Mr. CUELLAR, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. GONZALEZ, Mr. AL GREEN of Texas, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. HONDA, Mr. HOLT, Mr. POLIS, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PASTOR of Arizona, Mr. LUJAN, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. REYES, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. RAHALL, Mr. SIRES, Ms. WATERS, Ms. LINDA T. SANCHEZ of California, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. STARK, Mr. TONKO, Mr. HINOJOSA, and Ms. SLAUGHTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and CommerceCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

A BILLCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend projects relating to children and violence to provide access to school-based comprehensive mental health programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘Mental Health in Schools Act of 2011’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress makes the following findings:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Approximately 1 in 5 children have a diagnosable mental disorder.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Approximately 1 in 10 children have a serious emotional or behavioral disorder that is severe enough to cause substantial impairment in functioning at home, at school, or in the community. It is estimated that about 75 percent of children with emotional and behavioral disorders do not receive specialty mental health services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Only half of schools across the United States report having formal partnerships with community mental health providers to deliver mental health services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) If a school is going to respond to the mental health needs of its students, it must have access to resources that provide family-centered, culturally and linguistically appropriate supports and services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) Effective school mental health programs reflect the collaboration and commitment of families, students, educators, and other community partners.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) Many schools have school-employed mental health providers supporting student’s social, emotional, and behavioral health needs in schools. The most common types of staff providing mental health services in schools were school counselors, followed by school nurses, school psychologists and school social workers. Three-quarters of schools had at least one school counselor on staff, over two-thirds had a school psychologist or school nurse, and 44 percent had a school social worker.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) Although it is well recognized that mental health directly affects children’s learning and development, in a recent study one-third of school districts reported decreased funding for school mental health services, and at the same time two-thirds of school districts reported increased need for such services.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

It is the purpose of this Act to--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) revise, increase funding for, and expand the scope of the Safe Schools-Healthy Students program in order to provide access to more comprehensive school-based mental health services and supports;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) provide for comprehensive staff development for school and community service personnel working in the school; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) provide for comprehensive training for children with mental health disorders, for parents, siblings, and other family members of such children, and for concerned members of the community.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 4. 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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by redesignating such part as part J; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by redesignating sections 581 through 584 as sections 596 through 596C, respectively.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) School-Based Mental Health and Children and Violence- Section 581 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh) is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘SEC. 581. SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH AND CHILDREN AND VIOLENCE.

‘(a) In General- The Secretary, in collaboration with the Secretary of Education and in consultation with the Attorney General, shall, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements awarded to public entities and local education agencies, assist local communities and schools in applying a public health approach to mental health services both in schools and in the community. Such approach should provide comprehensive age appropriate services and supports, be linguistically and culturally appropriate, and incorporate age appropriate strategies of positive behavioral interventions and supports. A comprehensive school mental health program funded under this section shall assist children in dealing with violence.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(b) Activities- Under the program under subsection (a), the Secretary may--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) provide financial support to enable local communities to implement a comprehensive culturally and linguistically appropriate, and age-appropriate, school mental health program that incorporates positive behavioral interventions and supports to foster the health and development of children;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) provide technical assistance to local communities with respect to the development of programs described in paragraph (1);CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) provide assistance to local communities in the development of policies to address child and adolescent mental health issues and violence when and if it occurs;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) facilitate community partnerships among families, students, law enforcement agencies, education systems, mental health and substance use disorder service systems, family-based mental health service systems, welfare agencies, health care service systems, and other community-based systems; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(5) establish mechanisms for children and adolescents to report incidents of violence or plans by other children or adolescents to commit violence.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Requirements-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) IN GENERAL- To be eligible for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), an entity shall--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) be a partnership between a local education agency and at least one community program or agency that is involved in mental health; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) submit an application, that is endorsed by all members of the partnership, that contains the assurances described in paragraph (2).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) REQUIRED ASSURANCES- An application under paragraph (1) shall contain assurances as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) That the applicant will ensure that, in carrying out activities under this section, the local educational agency involved will enter into a memorandum of understanding--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) with, at a minimum, public or private mental health entities, health care entities, law enforcement or juvenile justice entities, child welfare agencies, family-based mental health entities, families and family organizations, and other community-based entities; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) that clearly states--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) the responsibilities of each partner with respect to the activities to be carried out;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(II) how each such partner will be accountable for carrying out such responsibilities; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(III) the amount of non-Federal funding or in-kind contributions that each such partner will contribute in order to sustain the program.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section supports the flexible use of funds to address--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the promotion of the social, emotional, and behavioral health of all students in an environment that is conducive to learning;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the reduction in the likelihood of at risk students developing social, emotional, behavioral health problems, or substance use disorders;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) the early identification of social, emotional, behavioral problems, or substance use disorders and the provision of early intervention services;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) the treatment or referral for treatment of students with existing social, emotional, behavioral health problems, or substance use disorders; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(v) the development and implementation of programs to assist children in dealing with violence.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will provide for in-service training of all school personnel, including ancillary staff and volunteers, in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the techniques and supports needed to identify early children with, or at risk of, mental illness;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the use of referral mechanisms that effectively link such children to treatment and intervention services in the school and in the community;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) strategies that promote a school-wide positive environment;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) strategies for promoting the social, emotional, mental, and behavioral health of all students; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(v) strategies to increase the knowledge and skills of school and community leaders on the application of a public health approach to comprehensive school-based mental health programs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will include comprehensive training for parents, siblings, and other family members of children with mental health disorders, and for concerned members of the community in--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the techniques and supports needed to identify early children with, or at risk of, mental illness;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the use of referral mechanisms that effectively link such children to treatment and intervention services in the school and in the community; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) strategies that promote a school-wide positive environment.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will demonstrate the measures to be taken to sustain the program after funding under this section terminates.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(F) That the local education agency partnership involved is supported by the State educational and mental health system to ensure that the sustainability of the programs is established after funding under this section terminates.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(G) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will be based on evidence-based practices.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(H) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will be coordinated with early intervening activities carried out under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(I) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will be culturally and linguistically appropriate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(J) That the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will include a broad needs assessment of youth who drop out of school due to policies of ‘zero tolerance’ with respect to drugs, alcohol, or weapons.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(K) That the mental health services provided through the comprehensive school-based mental health program carried out under this section will be provided by qualified mental and behavioral health professionals who are certified or licensed by the State involved and practicing within their area of expertise.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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. An entity may receive only one award under this section, except that an entity that is providing services and supports on a regional basis may receive additional funding after the expiration of the preceding grant period.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(f) Evaluation and Measures of Outcomes-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS- The Administrator shall develop a process for evaluating activities carried out under this section. Such process shall include--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement recipients;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(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; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) the submission of annual reports by such recipients concerning the effectiveness of programs carried out under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) MEASURES OF OUTCOMES-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) IN GENERAL- The Administrator shall develop measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients of assistance under this section, and the Administrator, in evaluating the effectiveness of programs carried out under this section. Such measures shall include student and family measures as provided for in subparagraph (B) and local educational measures as provided for under subparagraph (C).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) STUDENT AND FAMILY MEASURES OF OUTCOMES- The measures of outcomes developed under paragraph (1)(B) relating to students and families shall, with respect to activities carried out under a program under this section, at a minimum include provisions to evaluate--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) whether the program resulted in an increase in social and emotional competency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) whether the program resulted in an increase in academic competency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) whether the program resulted in a reduction in disruptive and aggressive behaviors;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) whether the program resulted in improved family functioning;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(v) whether the program resulted in a reduction in substance use disorders;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vi) whether the program resulted in a reduction in suspensions, truancy, expulsions and violence;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vii) whether the program resulted in increased graduation rates; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(viii) whether the program resulted in improved access to care for mental health disorders.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES- The outcome measures developed under paragraph (1)(B) relating to local educational systems shall, with respect to activities carried out under a program under this section, at a minimum include provisions to evaluate--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(i) the effectiveness of comprehensive school mental health programs established under this section;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ii) the effectiveness of formal partnership linkages among child and family serving institutions, community support systems, and the educational system;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iii) the progress made in sustaining the program once funding under the grant has expired;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(iv) the effectiveness of training and professional development programs for all school personnel that incorporate indicators that measure cultural and linguistic competencies under the program in a manner that incorporates appropriate cultural and linguistic training;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(v) the improvement in perception of a safe and supportive learning environment among school staff, students, and parents;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vi) the improvement in case-finding of students in need of more intensive services and referral of identified students to early intervention and clinical services;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(vii) the improvement in the immediate availability of clinical assessment and treatment services to students posing a danger to themselves or others;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(viii) the increased successful matriculation to postsecondary school; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(ix) reduced referrals to juvenile justice.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) SUBMISSION OF ANNUAL DATA- An entity that receives a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this section shall annually submit to the Administrator 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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4) EVALUATION BY ADMINISTRATOR- Based on the data submitted under paragraph (3), the Administrator shall annually submit to Congress a report concerning the results and effectiveness of the programs carried out with assistance received under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(g) Information and Education- The Secretary shall establish comprehensive information and education programs to disseminate the findings of the knowledge development and application under this section to the general public and to health care professionals.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(h) Amount of Grants and Authorization of Appropriations-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) AMOUNT OF GRANTS- A grant under this section shall be in an amount that is not more than $1,000,000 for each of grant years 2012 through 2016. 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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Conforming Amendment- Part G of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh et seq.), as amended by this section, is further amended by striking the part heading and inserting the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

‘PART G--SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH’.