Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Helping Families Heal Act of 2024”.
Helping Families Heal Act of 2024
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make awards to increase or improve access to comprehensive mental and behavioral health services for individuals exposed to violent encounters involving law enforcement personnel, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Helping Families Heal Program
In general— The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”), acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall carry out a program, to be known as the Helping Families Heal Program, consisting of awarding grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to eligible entities to—
recruit, hire, train, and dispatch mental health professionals and community health workers to provide comprehensive mental health services to individuals who have suffered traumatic experiences, or are in grief, in bereavement, or at risk of suicide or violence, as a result of—
witnessing or experiencing law enforcement personnel violence;
the death of a family member due to law enforcement personnel violence; or
the death of a colleague or neighbor due to law enforcement personnel violence;
implement community-based mental health programs that—
build awareness of individual, community, and intergenerational trauma as a result of witnessing or experiencing law enforcement personnel violence;
train staff and volunteers to identify, and screen for, signs of trauma exposure, mental health disorders, and risk of suicide in the wake of law enforcement personnel violence;
incorporate community interventions, family engagement, and intergenerational counseling that encourage the development of positive mental health, prevent mental health disorders, and diminish the impact of trauma resulting from law enforcement personnel violence;
facilitate partnerships among families, mental health and substance use disorder providers, family-based mental health and substance use disorder providers, trauma networks, and health care providers (including mental health professionals and community health workers who specialize in pediatric services); and
establish mechanisms for individuals who have witnessed or experienced law enforcement personnel violence to report incidents of violence or plans to commit violence; or
provide technical assistance to community-based organizations regarding the activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
Duration of awards— The duration of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under subsection (a) shall be no longer than 1 year.
Additional awards— Subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary shall make an additional award of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under subsection (a) each fiscal year through fiscal year 2029 to each recipient of an award under subsection (a) that demonstrates that its award resulted in a substantial increase in the number of individuals provided with mental health services who have witnessed or experienced law enforcement personnel violence.
Priority— In awarding grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities in communities that—
have high rates of interaction with law enforcement personnel for residents;
have been or are currently subject to a Federal or State investigation regarding racial bias in the use of force by law enforcement personnel;
have high rates of arrest and incarceration of persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disability; or
commit to providing in-kind contributions from non-Federal sources, or volunteer hours, for individuals served by recipients of awards under this section.
Eligibility— To be eligible for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), an entity shall be—
a community-based mental health care or substance use disorder provider, including a public or private mental health entity, health care entity, family-based mental health entity, or trauma network; or
a community-based organization or nonprofit organization as determined appropriate by the Secretary.
Limitation— The Secretary may not award any funds under this section to a law enforcement or child protective services entity.
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the applicability of the regulations under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note) to any patient records developed by covered entities through activities funded through an award under this section.
Geographical distribution— The Secretary shall ensure that recipients of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under subsection (a) are distributed equitably among the regions of the country and among urban and rural areas.
Evaluation and measures of outcomes—
Development of process— The Secretary shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating activities carried out pursuant to an award under this section. Such process shall include—
the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by grant, contract, and cooperative agreement recipients;
the application by such recipients of measures of outcomes developed under paragraph (2) to the programs funded through such awards; and
the submission of annual reports by such recipients concerning the effectiveness of programs funded through such awards.
Measures of outcomes— The Secretary shall develop measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients of awards under this section to evaluate the effectiveness of activities funded through such awards.
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
Sec. 3 Healing for Students Program
In general— The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the “Secretary”), acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, shall carry out a program, to be known as the Healing for Students Program, consisting of awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to eligible entities to—
recruit, hire, train, and dispatch mental health professionals and community health workers to provide comprehensive mental health services to students and school personnel who have suffered traumatic experiences, or are in grief, in bereavement, or at risk of suicide or violence, as a result of—
witnessing or experiencing law enforcement personnel violence;
the death of a family member due to law enforcement personnel violence; or
the death of a colleague or neighbor due to law enforcement personnel violence;
implement school-based mental health programs that—
build awareness of individual, community, and intergenerational trauma as a result of witnessing or experiencing law enforcement personnel violence;
train school personnel to identify, and screen for, signs of trauma exposure, mental health disorders, and risk of suicide in the wake of law enforcement personnel violence;
incorporate family engagement, student supports, and intergenerational counseling that encourage the development of positive mental health, prevent mental health disorders, and diminish the impact of trauma resulting from law enforcement personnel violence;
educate students and their families on the stigma surrounding mental health;
facilitate partnerships among families, students, mental health and substance use disorder providers, family-based mental health and substance use disorder providers, trauma networks, and health care providers (including mental health professionals and community health workers who specialize in pediatric services); and
establish mechanisms for students and school personnel who have witnessed or experienced law enforcement personnel violence to report incidents of violence or plans to commit violence; or
in the case of a grantee that is a local educational agency or a consortium of local educational agencies, provide technical assistance to schools regarding the activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2).
Duration of awards— The duration of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under subsection (a) shall be no longer than 1 year.
Additional awards— Subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary shall make an additional award of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under subsection (a) each fiscal year through fiscal year 2029 to each recipient of an award under subsection (a) that demonstrates that its award resulted in a substantial increase in the number of individuals provided with mental health services who have witnessed or experienced law enforcement personnel violence.
Priority— In awarding grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities serving communities that—
have high rates of interaction with law enforcement personnel for residents;
have been or are currently subject to a Federal or State investigation regarding racial bias in the use of force by law enforcement personnel;
have high rates of arrest and incarceration of persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, or developmental disability; or
commit to providing in-kind contributions from non-Federal sources, or volunteer hours, for students and school personnel served by recipients of awards under this section.
Eligibility— To be eligible for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), an entity shall be—
a local educational agency serving elementary schools and secondary schools;
a consortium of such local educational agencies; or
an elementary school or secondary school.
Rule of construction— Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the applicability of the regulations under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note) to any patient records developed by covered entities through activities funded through an award under this section.
Geographical distribution— The Secretary shall ensure that recipients of grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under subsection (a) are distributed equitably among the regions of the country and among urban and rural areas.
Evaluation and measures of outcomes—
Development of process— The Secretary shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for evaluating activities carried out pursuant to an award under this section. Such process shall include—
the development of guidelines for the submission of program data by grant, contract, and cooperative agreement recipients;
the application by such recipients of measures of outcomes developed under paragraph (2) to the programs funded through such awards; and
the submission of annual reports by such recipients concerning the effectiveness of programs funded through such awards.
Measures of outcomes— The Secretary shall develop measures of outcomes to be applied by recipients of awards under this section to evaluate the effectiveness of activities funded through such awards.
Definitions— In this section, the terms elementary school, local educational agency, and secondary school have the meanings given to such terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
Authorization of appropriations— There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
Sec. 4 Interagency task force
Establishment— The Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, and the Attorney General, acting jointly, shall establish a permanent interagency task force (referred to in this section as the “Task Force”) to coordinate and promote holistic, qualified responses to victims of law enforcement personnel violence.
Members— The Task Force shall be composed of the following members:
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (or the Secretary’s designee).
The Secretary of Education (or the Secretary’s designee).
The Attorney General of the United States (or the Attorney General’s designee).
The heads of other Federal departments and agencies (or their designees), as determined necessary by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Duties— The Task Force shall—
solicit regular and detailed input from stakeholders, including victims of law enforcement personnel violence and their families, students, educators, mental health professionals, community health workers, researchers, experts in infant, child, and youth trauma, and the public;
recommend mechanisms for the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the Department of Justice to collect and review statistical data about interactions with law enforcement personnel;
identify options for coordinating existing grants that support people who have experienced law enforcement personnel violence;
recommend other ways to improve coordination, planning, and communication within and across Federal agencies, offices, and programs, to better serve people who have experienced law enforcement personnel violence; and
facilitate ongoing efforts to streamline the application, monitoring, and reporting processes to make Federal funds provided pursuant to awards under this Act and other similar existing grants maximally accessible to small, grassroots organizations that support communities acutely impacted by high rates of law enforcement personnel violence.
Meetings— For the purpose of carrying out this section, the Task Force may hold such meetings, and sit and act at such times and places, as the Task Force considers appropriate.
Information— The Task Force may secure directly from any Federal agency such information as may be necessary to enable the Task Force to carry out this section. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Task Force, the head of such agency shall furnish such information to the Task Force.
Reports— Not later than 2 years after the date of the first meeting of the Task Force, and at least once every 2 years thereafter, the Task Force shall—
submit to the general public, the heads of relevant Federal departments and agencies other than those represented on the Task Force, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, a report containing all of the findings and recommendations required under this section; and
make such report available online in an accessible format.
Sec. 5 Definitions
In this Act:
Community health worker— The term community health worker means a frontline public health worker who—
is a trusted member of, or has a close understanding of, the community served, enabling the worker to serve as a link between health and social services and the community, so as to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery; and
builds individual and community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support, and advocacy.
Interaction with law enforcement personnel— The term interaction with law enforcement personnel means an interaction in which—
a law enforcement agent uses force or threatens to use force;
an individual is stopped by a law enforcement agent while such individual is—
driving a motor vehicle; or
otherwise in public;
an individual is a passenger in a motor vehicle that is stopped by a law enforcement agent;
an individual is arrested; or
an individual is otherwise stopped or approached by a law enforcement agent.
Law enforcement personnel violence— The term law enforcement personnel violence means a situation where a law enforcement agent uses force.
Use force; uses force— The terms use force and uses force include pushing, grabbing, handcuffing, hitting, kicking, using chemical or pepper spray, using an electroshock weapon, pointing or shooting a gun, engaging in sexual assault, and other acts that can cause bodily harm.