[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4086 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4086
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration,
to award grants for providing evidence-based caregiver skills training
to family caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder or other
developmental disabilities or delays, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 2025
Mr. Min (for himself, Ms. Meng, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Cuellar, Mr.
Bacon, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Correa, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr.
Gottheimer, Ms. Malliotakis, Ms. Norton, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Cohen, Mrs.
Hayes, Mr. Mannion, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Khanna, Ms.
McBride, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Budzinski, and Mr. Garcia of California)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration,
to award grants for providing evidence-based caregiver skills training
to family caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder or other
developmental disabilities or delays, 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 ``Autism Family Caregivers Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. CAREGIVER SKILLS TRAINING PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Authorization.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services,
acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary''), shall
carry out a program, to be known as the Caregiver Skills Training Pilot
Program, under which the Secretary shall award grants to eligible
entities to provide evidence-based caregiver skills training to family
caregivers, for the purposes of--
(1) improving the well-being of children with autism
spectrum disorder or another developmental disability or
developmental delay and their caregivers; and
(2) teaching family caregivers evidenced-based intervention
strategies to promote--
(A) improvement in the well-being of such children
and their caregivers; and
(B) the greater inclusion of such children in
family and community life.
(b) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, an eligible
entity shall submit to the Secretary an application that includes--
(1) a description of--
(A) the applicant's experience delivering evidence-
based caregiver skills training to family caregivers;
(B) the activities that the applicant proposes to
carry out through the grant; and
(C) how such activities will achieve the purposes
described in subsection (a); and
(2) a plan for--
(A) coordination with--
(i) community-based organizations;
(ii) State and local early intervention
providers;
(iii) State plans (or waivers of such
plans) under the Medicaid program under title
XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396
et seq.);
(iv) State Directors of Head Start
Collaboration (as described in section 642B of
the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837b));
(v) schools; and
(vi) other providers of early intervening
services;
(B) collaboration with health care payors
(including public and private insurance), State
departments of insurance, health plans, and other
relevant payors;
(C) expanding the skills training program proposed
to be carried out through the grant;
(D) achieving sustainability of such program; and
(E) establishing and maintaining a stakeholder
implementation committee under subsection (e).
(c) Reducing Disparities.--In awarding grants under this section,
the Secretary may consider the extent to which an eligible entity can
deliver evidence-based, culturally competent and linguistically
appropriate information to family caregivers from diverse racial,
ethnic, geographic, or linguistic backgrounds.
(d) Use of Funds.--The recipient of a grant under this section
shall use funds received through the grant--
(1) to provide, at no cost to participants--
(A) evidence-based caregiver skills training to
family caregivers; and
(B) such training in areas related to children's
learning and development, including--
(i) communication skills;
(ii) social engagement;
(iii) daily living skills;
(iv) caregiver response strategies to
challenging behaviors; and
(v) coping and self-care strategies for
family caregivers; and
(2) to establish and maintain a stakeholder implementation
committee under subsection (e).
(e) Stakeholder Implementation Committee.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity shall establish and
maintain a stakeholder implementation committee referred to in
subsection (d)(2) to advise on ensuring that the training
provided pursuant to the grant is accessible and culturally
appropriate and linguistically appropriate.
(2) Composition.--The members of the stakeholder
implementation committee shall all be from the local community
served pursuant to the grant (or the relevant metropolitan
statistical area) and shall include, at a minimum, the
following:
(A) Family caregivers, including autistic
caregivers and other caregivers with disabilities.
(B) Pediatric health care and early intervention
providers, including developmental behavioral
pediatricians, with expertise providing services to
children with autism spectrum disorder or other
developmental disabilities and delays.
(C) Educators or related service professionals,
including child care providers, with experience serving
children with autism spectrum disorder or other
developmental disabilities and delays.
(D) Representatives of local organizations familiar
with the cultural values and priorities of individuals
in the local community.
(E) Local government officials.
(f) Requirements.--
(1) Number of recipients and states.--The Secretary shall
award grants under subsection (a) to not fewer than 25 eligible
entities in not fewer than 15 States.
(2) Amount.--The total amount of each grant awarded under
subsection (a) shall be not less than $500,000 over a 5-year
period.
(g) Supplement Not Supplant.--Amounts received through a grant
under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other
amounts received to provide--
(1) behavioral, medical, habilitative, and other services
covered by the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or private health
insurance;
(2) services provided under the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); or
(3) adaptations of a training program using evidence-based
approaches to serve children of different ages, communities,
and underrepresented groups.
(h) Activities of the Secretary.--The Secretary, acting through the
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration,
shall--
(1) assist recipients of grants under subsection (a) in--
(A) the implementation of caregiver skills training
programs using lessons learned from other evidenced-
based activities or caregiver programs conducted or
supported by the Health Resources and Services
Administration;
(B) ensuring the programs of the recipients assist
medically underserved communities (as defined in
section 799B(6) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 295p(6))), when possible; and
(C) developing plans for achieving sustainability
of the programs of the recipients;
(2) conduct an annual evaluation of activities funded
through grants under subsection (a), in consultation with the
grant recipients, including evaluation of the effectiveness
of--
(A) the communication, social engagement, and daily
living skills of children with autism spectrum disorder
or other developmental disabilities and delays; and
(B) the extent to which family caregivers see
improvements in the communication, social engagement,
and daily living skills of such children; and
(3) convene at least one national or regional meeting of
such grant recipients to discuss best practices.
(i) Reports.--
(1) Initial report.--Not later than 6 months after awarding
the first grant under subsection (a), the Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions of the Senate, a report on the implementation of
this section. Such report shall include--
(A) how many grants have been awarded;
(B) the name and location of the grant recipients;
(C) the communities served by the grants;
(D) a description of the kind of activities to be
carried out with the grants;
(E) an analysis, conducted by the Administrator of
the Health Resources and Services Administration, based
on the evaluation under subsection (h)(2), of the
effectiveness of such grants with respect to--
(i) the communication, social engagement,
and daily living skills of children with autism
spectrum disorder or other developmental
disabilities and delays; and
(ii) the extent to which family caregivers
see improvements in the communication, social
engagement, and daily living skills of such
children; and
(F) best practices to increase access to caregiver
skills training programs described in subsection (a) in
medically underserved communities.
(2) Final report.--Not later than the end of fiscal year
2027, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a final
report on the implementation of this section, including--
(A) the information, analysis, and best practices
listed in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of paragraph
(1); and
(B) recommendations on how to expand and extend the
program under this section.
(j) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Developmental delay.--The term ``developmental delay''
has the meaning given such term in section 632(3) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
1432(3)).
(2) Developmental disability.--The term ``developmental
disability'' has the meaning given such term in section
102(8)(A) of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill
of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002).
(3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an
entity that--
(A) is--
(i) a nonprofit or other community-based
organization;
(ii) a Federally qualified health center;
(iii) an accredited academic medical
center;
(iv) a health system; or
(v) a collaboration or consortium of 2 or
more entities listed in clauses (i) through
(iv);
(B) has at least 3 years of demonstrated
experience--
(i) delivering culturally appropriate and
linguistically appropriate services for
children with autism spectrum disorder or other
developmental disabilities or developmental
delays, as well as collaborating directly with
their families, including in medically
underserved communities;
(ii) providing services to such children,
as well as collaborating directly with their
families;
(iii) providing individual caregiver
coaching to caregivers of such children; and
(iv) working with self-advocates or adults
with autism spectrum disorder or other
developmental disabilities or developmental
delays;
(C) can demonstrate the ability to access resources
from and collaborate with--
(i) health care providers;
(ii) allied health professionals;
(iii) educators, including childcare
providers;
(iv) social workers; and
(v) direct care professionals; and
(D) has prior demonstrated experience delivering
mental health services that address both developmental
disabilities and one or more cooccurring mental health
conditions, including depression, anxiety, and
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
(4) Family caregiver.--The term ``family caregiver'' means
an adult family member or other individual who has a
significant relationship with, and who provides a broad range
of assistance to, a child between the ages of 0 and 9 diagnosed
with autism spectrum disorder or another developmental
disability or developmental delay.
(5) Federally qualified health center.--The term
``Federally qualified health center'' has the meaning given the
term in section 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1395x(aa)).
(k) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2026 through 2030.
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