(1)
In general— The first section 581 (in the first part G relating to projects for children and violence) of the Public Health Service Act (
42 U.S.C. 290hh) is amended to read as follows:
“581. Children and adolescents, violence, and school- and community-based mental health
“(a) In general—The Secretary shall, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements awarded to local educational agencies and other public entities, assist schools and local communities in implementing a comprehensive mental health program that—
“(1) assists children and adolescents in dealing with trauma and violence;
“(2) provides comprehensive, age-appropriate mental health services and supports;
“(3) is linguistically and culturally appropriate; and
“(4) incorporates age-appropriate strategies of positive behavioral interventions and supports.
“(b) Collaboration; consultation—The Secretary shall carry out this section—
“(1) in collaboration with the Secretary of Education; and
“(2) in consultation with the Attorney General of the United States.
“(c) Activities—In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary may—
“(1) provide financial and technical support to enable schools and local communities to implement a comprehensive mental health program described in such subsection;
“(2) 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 systems (including physicians), faith-based programs, trauma networks, and other community-based systems; and
“(3) establish mechanisms for children and adolescents to report incidents of violence or plans by other children, adolescents, or adults to commit violence.
“(d) Requirements
“(1) In general—To be eligible for an award under this section, an entity shall—
“(A) be a partnership between a local educational agency and at least one community program or agency that is involved in mental health activities; and
“(B) submit an application that—
“(i) is endorsed by all members of the partnership;
“(ii) designates an entity to serve as coordinator of the activities to be funded through the award; and
“(iii) contains the assurances described in paragraph (2).
“(2) Required assurances—An application under paragraph (1) for a comprehensive mental health program shall contain assurances as follows:
“(A) The local educational agency involved will enter into a memorandum of understanding—
“(i) with—
“(I) at least one of each of the following: a public or private mental health entity, a health care entity, a law enforcement or juvenile justice entity, a child welfare agency, a family-based mental health entity, a family or family organization, and a trauma network; and
“(II) any other community-based entities deemed appropriate by the local educational agency; and
“(ii) that specifies—
“(I) the responsibilities of each partner with respect to the activities to be carried out;
“(II) how each partner will be accountable for carrying out such responsibilities; and
“(III) the amount of non-Federal funding or in-kind contributions that each such partner will contribute in order to sustain the program.
“(B) The program will address—
“(i) the promotion of the social, emotional, and behavioral health of all students in an environment that is conducive to learning;
“(ii) the reduction in the likelihood of at-risk students developing social, emotional, or behavioral health problems, or substance use disorders;
“(iii) the early identification of social, emotional, or behavioral problems, or substance use disorders, and the provision of early intervention services;
“(iv) the treatment or referral for treatment of students with existing social, emotional, or behavioral health problems, or substance use disorders; and
“(v) the development and implementation of programs to assist children and adolescents in dealing with trauma and violence.
“(C) For appropriate school personnel, the program will provide in-service training on—
“(i) the techniques and supports needed for the early identification of children and adolescents with trauma histories and children and adolescents with, or at risk of, mental health disorders;
“(ii) the use of referral mechanisms that effectively link such children and adolescents to appropriate treatment and intervention services in the school and in the community and to followup when services are not available;
“(iii) strategies that promote a school-wide positive environment;
“(iv) strategies for promoting the social, emotional, mental, and behavioral health of all students; and
“(v) strategies to increase the knowledge and skills of school and community leaders about the impact of trauma and violence and on the application of a public health approach to comprehensive mental health programs.
“(D) For parents, siblings, and other family members of children and adolescents with mental health disorders, and for members of the community, the program will provide training on—
“(i) the techniques and supports described in subparagraph (C)(i);
“(ii) the referral mechanisms and followup described in subparagraph (C)(ii); and
“(iii) the strategies described in clauses (iii), (iv), and (v) of subparagraph (C).
“(E) A plan will be developed and implemented to sustain the program after funding under this section terminates.
“(F) The local educational agency partnership involved will be supported by the appropriate State educational and mental health authority to ensure that the sustainability of the program is established after funding under this section terminates.
“(G) The program will—
“(i) be based on evidence-based practices, including those related to trauma;
“(ii) be implemented in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner;
“(iii) be coordinated with early intervening activities carried out under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
“(iv) 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 and an inability to obtain appropriate services.
“(H) The program will provide mental health services through qualified mental and behavioral health professionals who are—
“(i) certified or licensed by the State involved; and
“(ii) practicing within their area of expertise.
“(3) Compliance with HIPAA—An award recipient under this section shall be deemed to be a covered entity for purposes of compliance with the regulations promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 with respect to any patient records developed through activities funded through the award.
“(e) Geographical distribution—The Secretary shall ensure that awards under this section are distributed equitably among the regions of the country and among urban and rural areas.
“(f) Duration of awards—The period of an award under this section shall be 6 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 award period.
“(g) Program evaluation and outcome measures
“(1) Development of process—The Secretary shall develop a process for evaluating comprehensive mental health programs under this section that includes—
“(A) the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by an award recipient;
“(B) the development of outcome measures (in accordance with paragraph (2)) to be applied by such recipient, and used by the Secretary, to measure and evaluate the program’s effectiveness and success; and
“(C) the submission by such recipient of annual reports—
“(i) concerning the effectiveness and success of the program; and
“(ii) including data and other information relating to each outcome measure developed under subparagraph (B).
“(2) Outcome measures
“(A) Student and family measures—The outcome measures developed under paragraph (1)(B) shall include outcome measures relating to students and families, which, at a minimum, should be designed to measure a program’s effectiveness in—
“(i) increasing social and emotional competency;
“(ii) increasing academic competency (as defined by Secretary);
“(iii) reducing disruptive and aggressive behaviors;
“(iv) improving child and adolescent functioning;
“(v) reducing substance use disorders;
“(vi) reducing suspensions, truancy, expulsions, and violence;
“(vii) increasing graduation rates (as defined under section 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965); and
“(viii) improving access to care for mental health disorders.
“(B) Local educational system measures—The outcome measures developed under paragraph (1)(B) shall include outcome measures relating to local educational systems, which, at a minimum, should be designed to measure—
“(i) the effectiveness of—
“(I) formal partnership linkages among child and family-serving institutions, community support systems, and the educational system in addressing mental health disorders; and
“(II) training and professional development programs, including culturally and linguistically appropriate training for appropriate school personnel; and
“(ii) the progress in—
“(I) improving the perception of a safe and supportive learning environment among school staff, students, and parents;
“(II) improving the identification of students in need of more intensive mental health services and referral of such students to early intervention and clinical mental health services;
“(III) improving access to clinical assessment and treatment services within the context of the local community to students posing a danger to themselves or others; and
“(IV) improving rates of matriculation to postsecondary school and reducing referrals to the juvenile justice system.
“(3) Evaluation and dissemination by Secretary
“(A) Evaluation—The Secretary shall annually submit to Congress a report on the effectiveness and success of the programs under this section, based on the data submitted under paragraph (1)(C).
“(B) Dissemination—The Secretary shall establish comprehensive information and education programs to disseminate to the general public and to health care professionals findings and conclusions based on the data submitted under paragraph (1)(C).
“(4) Limitation on evaluation activities—An award recipient shall not use more than 10 percent of amounts received under this section to carry out evaluation activities.
“(h) Definition—In this section, the terms children and adolescents and child and adolescent refer to individuals under 22 years of age.
“(i) Funding
“(1) Amount of awards—An award to an entity under this section shall not exceed $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018. The Secretary shall determine the amount of each award based on the population of children and adolescents in the area to be served through the award.
“(2) Authorization of appropriations—There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2014 through 2018.”