SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2017

Summary: Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Act of 2017 or the SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2017 (Sec. 3) This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a program, to be known as the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program&nbsp;or the SOAR to Health and Wellness Training Program, to train health care providers and other related providers to:  identify potential human trafficking victims,  work with law enforcement to report and facilitate communication with such victims,  refer victims to social or victims service agencies or organizations,  provide such victims with coordinated care tailored to their circumstances, and  consider integrating this training with existing training programs.  The program must include the functions of the training program with the same name that was operating before this bill's enactment and the following initiatives:  engaging stakeholders to develop a flexible training module,  providing technical assistance to health education programs and health care professional organizations,  facilitating the dissemination of best practices, and  developing a methodology for collecting and reporting data on the number of human trafficking victims served in health care settings or other related provider settings.  (Sec. 4) HHS must report the number of grantees operating under the program, the number of providers trained through the program, and numbers for the program operating before this program. (Sec. 5) The bill authorizes appropriations for the program through FY2022.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to 
Health and Wellness Act of 2018'' or the ``SOAR to Health and Wellness 
Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.
    Part E of title XII of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300d-51 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 1254. STOP, OBSERVE, ASK, AND RESPOND TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS 
TRAINING PROGRAM.
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program to be 
known as the Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness 
Training Program or the SOAR to Health and Wellness Training Program 
(in this section referred to as the `Program') to provide training to 
health care and social service providers on human trafficking in 
accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Activities.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Program shall include the Stop, Observe, 
    Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program's 
    activities existing on the day before the date of enactment of this 
    section and the authorized initiatives described in paragraph (2).
        ``(2) Authorized initiatives.--The authorized initiatives of 
    the Program shall include--
            ``(A) engaging stakeholders, including victims of human 
        trafficking and Federal, State, local, and tribal partners, to 
        develop a flexible training module--
                ``(i) for supporting activities under subsection (c); 
            and
                ``(ii) that adapts to changing needs, settings, health 
            care providers, and social service providers;
            ``(B) providing technical assistance to grantees related to 
        implementing activities described in subsection (c) and 
        reporting on any best practices identified by the grantees;
            ``(C) developing a reliable methodology for collecting 
        data, and reporting such data, on the number of human 
        trafficking victims identified and served by grantees in a 
        manner that, at a minimum, prevents disclosure of individually 
        identifiable information consistent with all applicable privacy 
        laws and regulations; and
            ``(D) integrating, as appropriate, the training described 
        in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c) with training 
        programs, in effect on the date of enactment of this section, 
        for health care and social service providers for victims of 
        intimate partner violence, sexual assault, stalking, child 
        abuse, child neglect, child maltreatment, and child sexual 
        exploitation.
    ``(c) Grants.--The Secretary may award grants to appropriate 
entities to train health care and social service providers to--
        ``(1) identify potential human trafficking victims;
        ``(2) implement best practices for working with law enforcement 
    to report and facilitate communication with human trafficking 
    victims, in accordance with all applicable Federal, State, local, 
    and tribal laws, including legal confidentiality requirements for 
    patients and health care and social service providers;
        ``(3) implement best practices for referring such victims to 
    appropriate health care, social, or victims service agencies or 
    organizations; and
        ``(4) provide such victims with coordinated, age-appropriate, 
    culturally relevant, trauma-informed, patient-centered, and 
    evidence-based care.
    ``(d) Consideration in Awarding Grants.--The Secretary, in making 
awards under this section, shall give consideration to--
        ``(1) geography;
        ``(2) the demographics of the population to be served;
        ``(3) the predominant types of human trafficking cases 
    involved; and
        ``(4) health care and social service provider profiles.
    ``(e) Data Collection and Reporting.--
        ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall collect data and report 
    on the following:
            ``(A) The total number of entities that received a grant 
        under this section.
            ``(B) The total number and geographic distribution of 
        health care and social service providers trained through the 
        Program.
        ``(2) Initial report.--In addition to the data required to be 
    collected under paragraph (1), for purposes of the initial report 
    to be submitted under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall collect 
    data on the total number of facilities and health care professional 
    organizations that were operating under, and the total number of 
    health care and social service providers trained through, the Stop, 
    Observe, Ask, and Respond to Health and Wellness Training Program 
    existing prior to the establishment of the Program under this 
    section.
        ``(3) Annual report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
    enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
    shall submit an annual report to Congress on the data collected 
    under this subsection in a manner that, at a minimum, prevents the 
    disclosure of individually identifiable information consistent with 
    all applicable privacy laws and regulations.
    ``(f) Sharing Best Practices.--The Secretary shall make available, 
on the Internet website of the Department of Health and Human Services, 
a description of the best practices and procedures used by entities 
that receive a grant for carrying out activities under this section.
    ``(g) Definition.--In this section, the term `human trafficking' 
has the meaning given the term `severe forms of trafficking in persons' 
as defined in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 
2000.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this Act, $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2020 through 2024.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.