Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Friendly Calls for Our Seniors Act of 2023”.
Friendly Calls for Our Seniors Act of 2023
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administration for Community Living, to carry out a grant program for States to provide telephone reassurance services to certain older adults and to other adults with disabilities, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings
The Congress finds the following:
According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults, more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older, are considered to be socially isolated.
According to a recent report released by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the Surgeon General of the United States, “lacking social connection can increase the risk of premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day”.
According to a 2017 study conducted by AARP, a lack of social contact among older adults is associated with an estimated $6,700,000,000 in additional Federal spending annually.
Seniors and individuals with disabilities in rural communities face additional challenges, including inadequate access to health care, a lack of community events or activities for the aged, limited transportation and shopping options, and higher rates of poverty.
Sec. 3 Telephone assistance grant program
Establishment of program—
Establishement of program— The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this Act referred to as the “Secretary”), acting through and with funds available to the Administration for Community Living, shall establish and carry out a program to make grants to States to provide telephone reassurance services to older adults, and to other adults with disabilities, who are at risk of social isolation or loneliness, and do not have supportive assistance.
Reservation of funds—
Amount allowed— Not more than 1 percent of the amount appropriated to carry out this Act in any fiscal year may be reserved by the Secretary to carry out this Act.
First use of funds reserved— Funds reserved under subparagraph (A) shall first be used to conduct comprehensive, high-quality evaluations of the programs carried out with grants made under this Act.
Applications for grant— To be eligible to receive a grant under subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Secretary an application in such form, and containing such information and assurances, as the Secretary may require, including—
assurances that such State will—
provide telephone reassurance services to adults described in such subsection who live in rural or medically underserved communities,
at the option of such State, use such grant for data analysis, targeted consumer outreach, improvements to data or technology infrastructure, and impact evaluations, and
submit to the Secretary an annual report that excludes personally identifiable information and that identifies—
how such grant was expended to assist such adults and evaluates the overall impact of such funds, and
how such State will work with public and private partners to identify and recruit participants for the telephone reassurance program, including local referral partners and services, for further assistance needed for eligible individuals during phone calls, and
a report detailing the information described in paragraph (1), with a particular emphasis on how such State will conduct appropriate follow-up or voluntary referrals (excluding personally identifiable information) to assurance calls for such circumstances deemed necessary by the Secretary.
Voluntary referral services— Voluntary referral services pursuant to grants awarded under this section may include services provided by the local area agency of aging, nutrition home nutrition services under the Older Americans Act of 1965, mental health care resources, and other relevant services for such individuals. Except for situations in which an individual shows signs of imminent risk of suicide and or requires immediate medical attention, all such referrals shall be made on a voluntary compliance basis.
Evaluation— The Secretary may reserve not more than 1 percent of each grant awarded under this section for the purpose of conducting a comprehensive, high-quality evaluation of the services provided pursuant to grants awarded under this section, including methods or technology used to make such calls and input data.
Use of funds— The grant notice shall clarify that funds may be used for data analysis, dissemination materials to increase awareness of such services, improvements to data or technology infrastructure, and impact evaluations.
Report—
In general— The Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of the Congress an annual report that summarizes the information, received under subsection (b) from participating States and includes—
how many adults were served, how often calls were placed and answered, how many voluntary referrals made or connected to other services as needed, and a qualitative review on the substance of such calls and overall satisfaction from such adults, and
such additional relevant information the Secretary deems appropriate.
Exception for personally identifiable information— The report under paragraph (1) shall not include any personally identifiable information.
Sec. 4 Definitions
For purposes of this Act—
the term adult means an individual more that 18 years of age,
the term disability has the meaning given it in section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102),
the term older adult means an individual 60 years of age or older, and
the term telephone reassurance services means regular and weekly telephone calls placed by volunteers, or employed staff, to older adults, and adults with disabilities, who are at risk of social isolation or loneliness, and do not have supportive assistance.
Sec. 5 Authorization of appropriations
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2025, 2026, and 2027.
Sec. 6 Effective date
This Act shall take effect October 1, 2024.