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Title I — Prevention and education

S. 2839 · 113th Congress · Sep 17, 2014 · Lineage

I Prevention and education

Sec. 101 Development of best prescribing practices

(a)
Inter-Agency task force— Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the “Secretary”), in cooperation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Defense, and the Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, shall convene a Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force (referred to in this section as the “task force”).
(b)
Membership— The task force shall be comprised of—
(1)
representatives of—
(A)
the Department of Health and Human Services;
(B)
the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(C)
the Department of Defense;
(D)
the Drug Enforcement Administration;
(E)
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;
(F)
the Institute of Medicine; and
(G)
the Office of National Drug Control Policy;
(2)
the Director of the National Institutes of Health;
(3)
physicians, dentists, and non-physician prescribers;
(4)
pharmacists;
(5)
experts in the fields of pain research and addiction research;
(6)
representatives of—
(A)
pain management professional organizations;
(B)
the mental health treatment community;
(C)
the addiction treatment community; and
(D)
pain advocacy groups; and
(7)
other stakeholders, as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(c)
Duties— The task force shall—
(1)
not later than 180 days after the date on which the task force is convened under subsection (a), develop best practices for pain management and prescribing pain medication, taking into consideration—
(A)
existing pain management research;
(B)
recommendations from relevant conferences; and
(C)
ongoing efforts at the State and local levels and by medical professional organizations to develop improved pain management strategies;
(2)
solicit and take into consideration public comment on the practices developed under paragraph (1), amending such best practices if appropriate; and
(3)
develop a strategy for disseminating information about the best practices developed under paragraphs (1) and (2) to prescribers, pharmacists, State medical boards, and other parties, as the Secretary determines appropriate.
(d)
Limitation— The task force shall not have rulemaking authority.
(e)
Report— Not later than 270 days after the date on which the task force is convened under subsection (a), the task force shall submit to Congress a report that includes—
(1)
the strategy for disseminating best practices developed under subsection (c);
(2)
the results of a feasibility study on linking best practices developed under subsection (c) to receiving and renewing registrations under section 303(f) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(f)); and
(3)
recommendations on how to apply best practices developed under subsection (c) to improve prescribing practices at medical facilities, including medical facilities of the Veterans Health Administration.

Sec. 102 National education campaign

(a)
Definition— In this section, the term eligible entity means a State, unit of local government, or nonprofit organization.
(b)
Program authorized— The Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Secretary of Education, the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, may make grants to eligible entities to expand educational efforts to prevent abuse of opioids, heroin, and other substances of abuse, understand addiction as a chronic disease, and promote treatment and recovery, including—
(1)
parent and caretaker-focused prevention efforts, including—
(A)
the development of research-based community education online and social media materials with an accompanying toolkit that can be disseminated to communities to educate parents and other caretakers of teens on—
(i)
how to educate teens about opioid and heroin abuse;
(ii)
how to intervene if a parent thinks or knows their teen is abusing opioids or heroin;
(iii)
signs of opioid or heroin overdose; and
(iv)
the use of naloxone to prevent death from opioid or heroin overdose;
(B)
the development of detailed digital and print educational materials to accompany the online and social media materials and toolkit described in subparagraph (A);
(C)
the development and dissemination of public service announcements to—
(i)
raise awareness of heroin and opioid abuse among parents and other caretakers; and
(ii)
motivate parents and other caretakers to visit online educational materials on heroin and opioid abuse; and
(D)
the dissemination of educational materials to the media through—
(i)
a town hall or panel discussion with experts;
(ii)
a press release;
(iii)
an online news release;
(iv)
a media tour; and
(v)
sharable infographics;
(2)
prevention efforts focused on teenagers, college students, and college-age individuals, including—
(A)
the development of a national digital campaign; and
(B)
the development of a community education toolkit for use by community coalitions;
(3)
campaigns to inform individuals about available resources to aid in recovery from substance use disorder;
(4)
encouragement of individuals in or seeking recovery from substance use disorder to enter the health care system; or
(5)
adult-focused awareness efforts, including efforts focused on older adults, relating to prescription medication disposal, opioid and heroin abuse, signs of overdose, and the use of naloxone for reversal.
(c)
Application—
(1)
In general— An eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Attorney General—
(A)
that meets the criteria under paragraph (2); and
(B)
at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Attorney General may require.
(2)
Criteria— An eligible entity, in submitting an application under paragraph (1), shall—
(A)
describe the evidence-based methodology and outcome measurements that will be used to evaluate the program funded with a grant under this section;
(B)
specifically explain how the measurements described in subparagraph (A) will provide valid measures of the impact of the program described in subparagraph (A);
(C)
describe how the program described in subparagraph (A) could be broadly replicated if demonstrated to be effective;
(D)
demonstrate that all planned services will be research-informed, which may include evidence-based practices documented in—
(i)
the report of the Institute of Medicine entitled “Preventing Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People”; or
(ii)
the National Registry of Effective Programs and Practices (commonly referred to as “NREPP” of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration); and
(E)
demonstrate that the eligible entity will effectively integrate and sustain the program described in subparagraph (A) into curriculum or community outreach efforts.
(d)
Use of funds— A grantee shall use a grant received under this section for expenses of educational efforts to—
(1)
prevent abuse of opioids, heroin, alcohol, and other drugs; or
(2)
promote treatment and recovery.
(e)
Duration— The Attorney General shall award grants under this section for a period not to exceed 2 years.
(f)
Information sharing— The Office of the Attorney General, in coordination with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Department of Education, shall review existing evidence-based programs and emerging practices and programs and provide information to schools and communities about such programs and practices.
(g)
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.

Sec. 103 Community-based coalition enhancement grants to address local drug crises

(a)
Definitions— In this section—
(1)
the term Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997 means chapter 2 of subtitle A of title I of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C. 1521 et seq.);
(2)
the term eligible entity means an organization that—
(A)
on or before the date of submitting an application for a grant under this section, receives or has received a grant under the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997; and
(B)
has documented, using local data, rates of abuse of opioids at levels that are—
(i)
significantly higher than the national average as determined by the Attorney General (including appropriate consideration of the Monitoring the Future Survey published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration); or
(ii)
higher than the national average, as determined by the Attorney General (including appropriate consideration of the surveys described in clause (i)), over a sustained period of time; and
(3)
the term local drug crisis means, with respect to the area served by an eligible entity—
(A)
a sudden increase in the abuse of prescription medications, specifically opioids, as documented by local data; or
(B)
the abuse of prescription medications, specifically opioids, that is significantly higher than the national average, over a sustained period of time, as documented by local data.
(b)
Program authorized— The Attorney General, in coordination with the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, may make grants to eligible entities to implement comprehensive community-wide strategies that address local drug crises within the area served by the eligible entity.
(c)
Application—
(1)
In general— An eligible entity desiring a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Attorney General at such time, in such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Attorney General may require.
(2)
Criteria— As part of an application for a grant under this section, the Attorney General shall require an eligible entity to submit a detailed, comprehensive, multi-sector plan for addressing the local drug crisis within the area served by the eligible entity.
(d)
Use of funds— An eligible entity shall use a grant received under this section—
(1)
for programs designed to implement comprehensive community-wide prevention strategies to address local drug crisis in the area served by the eligible entity, in accordance with the plan submitted under subsection (c)(2); and
(2)
to obtain specialized training and technical assistance from the organization funded under section 4 of Public Law 107–82 (21 U.S.C. 1521 note).
(e)
Grant amounts and duration—
(1)
Amounts— The Attorney General may not award a grant under this section for a fiscal year in an amount that exceeds—
(A)
the amount of non-Federal funds raised by the eligible entity, including in-kind contributions, for that fiscal year; or
(B)
$75,000.
(2)
Duration— The Attorney General shall award grants under this section for a period not to exceed 4 years.
(f)
Supplement not supplant— An eligible entity shall use Federal funds received under this section only to supplement the funds that would, in the absence of those Federal funds, be made available from other Federal and non-Federal sources for the activities described in this section, and not to supplant those funds.
(g)
Evaluation— A grant under this section shall be subject to the same evaluation requirements and procedures as the evaluation requirements and procedures imposed on the recipient of a grant under the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997.
(h)
Limitation on administrative expenses— Not more than 8 percent of the amounts made available pursuant to subsection (i) for a fiscal year may be used by the Attorney General to pay for administrative expenses.
(i)
Authorization of appropriations— There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020.