[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4871 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4871
To establish an office to coordinate work relating to behavioral health
crisis care and to improve the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 15, 2022
Ms. Baldwin (for herself and Ms. Collins) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish an office to coordinate work relating to behavioral health
crisis care and to improve the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
program, 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 ``988 Coordination and Improvement
Act''.
SEC. 2. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS COORDINATING OFFICE.
Part A of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 506B. BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS COORDINATING OFFICE.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish, within the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an office to
coordinate work relating to behavioral health crisis care across the
operating divisions and agencies of the Department of Health and Human
Services, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the
Health Resources and Services Administration, and other Federal
Government and external stakeholders.
``(b) Duty.--The office established under subsection (a) shall--
``(1) convene Federal, State, Tribal, local, and private
partners;
``(2) launch and manage Federal workgroups charged with
making recommendations regarding behavioral health crisis
issues, including with respect to health care best practices,
workforce development, mental health disparities, data
collection, technology, geolocation and call routing, program
oversight, public education, and engagement; and
``(3) support technical assistance, data analysis, and
evaluation functions in order to assist States, local
governmental entities, territories, Indian Tribes, and Tribal
communities in developing crisis care systems and establish
nationwide best practices with the objective of expanding the
capacity of, and access to, local 988 Suicide and Crisis
Lifeline call centers, mobile crisis care, crisis
stabilization, psychiatric emergency services, rapid post-
crisis follow-up care, and essential community services
provided by--
``(A) the National Suicide Prevention and Mental
Health Crisis Hotline and Response System;
``(B) the Veterans Crisis Line;
``(C) community mental health centers (as defined
in section 1861(ff)(3)(B) of the Social Security Act);
``(D) Federally qualified health centers (as
defined in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security
Act);
``(E) certified community behavioral health
clinics, as described in section 223 of the Protecting
Access to Medicare Act of 2014; and
``(F) other community mental health, substance use
disorder, and essential community service providers, as
determined by the Secretary.
``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2023 through 2027.''.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE PROGRAM ACCESS TO
SPECIALIZED SERVICES.
Section 520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (290bb-36c) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by inserting after ``suicide prevention
hotline'' the following: ``, under the
universal telephone number designated under
section 251(e)(4) of the Communications Act of
1934,''; and
(ii) by striking ``; and'' at the end and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) supporting access by high-risk populations, including
LGBTQ+ youth and other members of the LGBTQ+ community,
American Indian and Alaska Natives, individuals who reside in
rural counties, veterans, racial and ethnic minorities, and
other high-risk populations, to specialized services through
the program, in accordance with subsection (c) and as
determined by the Office of the Assistant Secretary.'';
(2) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(3) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
``(c) Access to Specialized Services.--
``(1) Consultation.--Wherever possible, the Office of the
Assistant Secretary shall, in determining which approaches to
use to support access to specialized services under subsection
(b)(4) to the populations described in such subsection, consult
with organizations that have--
``(A) experience working with such populations; or
``(B) technological expertise in effective crisis
response using such digital and technology approaches.
``(2) Examples of specialized services.--Efforts to support
access to specialized services under subsection (b)(4) may
include--
``(A) updates and development of training resources
that can help crisis counselors better address the
needs of high-risk populations;
``(B) adapting the program network center
membership processes to incorporate organizations
providing specialized services for high-risk
populations;
``(C) designing and implementing transfer
processes;
``(D) providing additional technical assistance to
centers participating in the program to ensure
compliance with the training expectations in working
with high-risk populations; and
``(E) the use of digital and technology approaches
to improve access for high risk populations.''.
SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit a
report to Congress assessing the progress of the Department of Health
and Human Services in implementation of the 9-8-8 dialing code for the
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline operated pursuant to the program under
section 520E-3 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-36c).
(b) Content.--The report required under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) an assessment of the performance of the 988 Suicide and
Crisis Lifeline and any partner organizations of the Lifeline;
(2) an update on efforts to provide specialized resources
to high-risk populations, including LGBTQ+ youth and other
members of the LGBTQ+ community, American Indian and Alaska
Natives, individuals who reside in rural counties, veterans,
racial and ethnic minorities, and other high-risk populations;
(3) State and regional variation with respect to access to
crisis call centers, including average speed to answer, answer
rates, hours of operation, and funding sources;
(4) the capacity of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline to
handle texts and chats;
(5) any needed programmatic or technological enhancements
to connect callers to local services; and
(6) obstacles identified by States, political subdivisions
of States, Indian Tribes, or villages or regional corporations
serving a region established pursuant to the Alaska Native
Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) in collection
and distribution of fees and charges described by section
4(a)(1) of the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020
(Public Law 116-172).
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