II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 485 

To establish a grant program for family community organizations that provide 

support for individuals struggling with substance use disorder and their 

families. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2021 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To establish a grant program for family community organizations that provide support for individuals struggling with 

substance use disorder and their families. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Family Support Serv5 ices for Addiction Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS 

2 STRUGGLING WITH SUBSTANCE USE DIS3 ORDER. 

4 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 

5 (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 553. FAMILY SUPPORT SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS 

8 STRUGGLING WITH SUBSTANCE USE DIS9 ORDER. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) the term ‘family community organization’ 

12 means an independent nonprofit organization that— 

13 ‘‘(A) mobilizes resources within and out14 side of the community of families that include 

15 an individual living with a substance use dis16 order, to provide a support network, education, 

17 and evidence-informed tools for families and 

18 loved ones of individuals struggling with sub19 stance use disorders; and 

20 ‘‘(B) is governed by experts in the field of 

21 substance use disorder, which may include— 

22 ‘‘(i) experts in evidence-informed 

23 interventions for family members; 

24 ‘‘(ii) experts in the impact of sub25 stance use disorder on family systems; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) families who have experience 

2 with substance use disorder; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) other experts in the field of sub4 stance use disorder; and 

5 ‘‘(2) the term ‘family support services’ means 

6 resources or programs that support families that in7 clude an individual with substance use disorder. 

8 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

9 award grants to family community organizations to enable 

10 such organizations to develop, expand, and enhance evi11 dence-informed family support services. 

12 ‘‘(c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the 

13 costs of a program funded by a grant under this section 

14 may not exceed 85 percent. 

15 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under sub16 section (b)— 

17 ‘‘(1) shall be used to develop, expand, and en18 hance community and statewide evidence-informed 

19 family support services; and 

20 ‘‘(2) may be used to— 

21 ‘‘(A) build connections between family sup22 port networks, including providing technical as23 sistance between family community organiza24 tions and peer support networks, and with 

25 other family support services, focused on enVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:57 Mar 19, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S485.IS S485

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1 hancing knowledge of evidence-informed inter2 ventions for family members and loved ones of 

3 individuals living with substance use disorders 

4 and reducing harm by educating service pro5 viders on current evidence regarding substance 

6 use disorder and the family, including— 

7 ‘‘(i) behavioral health providers, in8 cluding such providers focused specifically 

9 on family and couples therapy in the con10 text of substance use disorder; 

11 ‘‘(ii) primary care providers; 

12 ‘‘(iii) providers of foster care services 

13 or support services for grandparents, 

14 guardians, and other extended family im15 pacted by substance use disorder; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) other family support services 

17 that connect to community resources for 

18 individuals with substance use disorders, 

19 including non-clinical community services; 

20 ‘‘(B) reduce stigma associated with fami21 lies that include an individual with a substance 

22 use disorder by improving knowledge about sub23 stance use disorder and its treatment, providing 

24 compassionate support, and dispelling myths 

25 that perpetuate such stigma; 


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1 ‘‘(C) conduct outreach on issues relating to 

2 substance use disorders and family support, 

3 which may include education, training, and re4 sources with respect to— 

5 ‘‘(i) building a resilience- and 

6 strengths-based approach to prevention of, 

7 and living with, substance use disorder in 

8 the family; 

9 ‘‘(ii) identifying the signs of substance 

10 use disorder; 

11 ‘‘(iii) adopting an approach that mini12 mizes harm to all family members; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) families that include an indi14 vidual with a substance use disorder, in15 cluding with respect to— 

16 ‘‘(I) navigating the treatment 

17 and recovery systems; 

18 ‘‘(II) paying for substance use 

19 disorder treatment; 

20 ‘‘(III) education about substance 

21 use disorder; and 

22 ‘‘(IV) avoiding predatory treat23 ment programs; and 

24 ‘‘(D) connect families to evidence-informed 

25 peer support programs. 


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1 ‘‘(e) DATA REPORTING AND PROGRAM OVER2 SIGHT.—With respect to a grant awarded under sub3 section (a), not later than 90 days after the end of the 

4 first year of the grant period, and annually thereafter for 

5 the duration of the grant period, the entity shall submit 

6 data, as appropriate and to the extent practicable, to the 

7 Secretary regarding— 

8 ‘‘(1) the programs and activities funded by the 

9 grant; 

10 ‘‘(2) health outcomes of the population of indi11 viduals with a substance use disorder who received 

12 services through programs supported by the grant, 

13 as evaluated by an independent program evaluator 

14 through the use of outcomes measures, as deter15 mined by the Secretary; and 

16 ‘‘(3) any other information that the secretary 

17 may require for the purpose of ensuring that the 

18 grant recipient is complying with all the require19 ments of the grant. 

20 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.’’. 

Æ 


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