II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3537 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a national center 

for public mental health emergency preparedness, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 20, 2006 

Mrs. CLINTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a national center for public mental health emergency preparedness, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Public Mental Health 

5 Emergency Preparedness Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. NATIONAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH 

7 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. 

8 Title XXVIII of the Public Health Service Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 300hh–11 et seq.) is amended by adding at the 

10 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle C—National Center for 

2 Public Mental Health Emer3 gency Preparedness 

4 ‘‘SEC. 2821. NATIONAL CENTER FOR PUBLIC MENTAL 

5 HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub8 title, the term ‘emergency health professionals’ 

9 means— 

10 ‘‘(A) mental health professionals, including 

11 psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, 

12 counselors, psychiatric nurses, psychiatric aides 

13 and case managers, and group home staff; 

14 ‘‘(B) public health and healthcare profes15 sionals, including skilled nursing and assisted 

16 living professionals; 

17 ‘‘(C) emergency services personnel such as 

18 police, fire, and emergency medical services per19 sonnel; 

20 ‘‘(D) county emergency managers; 

21 ‘‘(E) school personnel such as teachers, 

22 counselors, and other personnel; 

23 ‘‘(F) spiritual care professionals; 

24 ‘‘(G) other disaster relief personnel; and 


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1 ‘‘(H) State and local government officials 

2 that are responsible for emergency prepared3 ness. 

4 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in con5 sultation with the Director of the Centers for Dis6 ease Control and Prevention, shall establish the Na7 tional Center for Public Mental Health Emergency 

8 Preparedness (referred to in this subtitle as the 

9 ‘NCPMHEP’) to address mental health concerns 

10 and coordinate and implement the development and 

11 delivery of mental health services in conjunction with 

12 the entities described in subsection (b)(2), in the 

13 event of bioterrorism or other public health emer14 gency. 

15 ‘‘(3) LOCATION; DIRECTOR.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 offer to enter into a contract with an eligible in18 stitution to provide the location of the 

19 NCPMHEP. 

20 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—To be an 

21 eligible institution under subparagraph (A), an 

22 institution shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) be an academic medical center or 

24 similar institution that has prior experi25 ence conducting statewide trainings, and 


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1 has a demonstrated record of leadership in 

2 national and international forums, in pub3 lic mental health emergency preparedness, 

4 which may include disaster mental health 

5 preparedness; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary an appli7 cation at such time, in such manner, and 

8 containing such information as the Sec9 retary may require. 

10 ‘‘(C) DIRECTOR.—The NCPMHEP shall 

11 be headed by a Director, who shall be appointed 

12 by the Secretary (referred to in this subtitle as 

13 the ‘Director’) from the eligible institution with 

14 which the Secretary contracts under subpara15 graph (A). 

16 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The NCPMHEP shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) prepare the Nation’s emergency health 

18 professionals to provide mental health services in the 

19 aftermath of catastrophic events, such as bioter20 rorism or other public health emergencies, that 

21 present psychological consequences for communities 

22 and individuals, particularly vulnerable populations 

23 such as older Americans, children, and persons with 

24 disabilities; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) coordinate with existing mental health pre2 paredness and service delivery efforts of— 

3 ‘‘(A) Federal agencies (such as the Na4 tional Disaster Medical System, the Medical Re5 serve Corps, the Substance Abuse and Mental 

6 Health Services Administration, the Depart7 ment of Defense, the Department of Veterans 

8 Affairs, and tribal nations); 

9 ‘‘(B) State agencies (such as the State 

10 mental health authority, office of substance 

11 abuse services, public health authority, depart12 ment of aging, and the office of mental retarda13 tion and developmental disabilities); 

14 ‘‘(C) local agencies (such as county offices 

15 of mental health and substance abuse services, 

16 public health, child and family services, law en17 forcement, fire, emergency medical services, 

18 school districts, and county emergency manage19 ment); and 

20 ‘‘(D) other governmental and nongovern21 mental disaster relief organizations. 

22 ‘‘(c) PANEL OF EXPERTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consulta24 tion with State and local mental health and public 


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1 health authorities, shall develop a mechanism to ap2 point a panel of experts for the NCPMHEP. 

3 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The panel of experts 

5 appointed under paragraph (1) shall be— 

6 ‘‘(i) composed of individuals who are 

7 experts in their respective fields with ex8 tensive experience in public mental health 

9 emergency preparedness or service delivery, 

10 such as mental health professionals, re11 searchers, spiritual care professionals, 

12 school counselors, and educators; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) recommended by their respective 

14 national professional organizational or uni15 versity to such a position. 

16 ‘‘(B) TERMS.—The members of the panel 

17 of experts appointed under paragraph (1)— 

18 ‘‘(i) shall be appointed for a term of 

19 3 years; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) may be reappointed for an unlim21 ited number of terms. 

22 ‘‘(C) BALANCE OF COMPOSITION.—The Di23 rector shall ensure that the membership com24 position of the panel of experts fairly represents 


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1 a balance of the type and number of experts de2 scribed under subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(D) VACANCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A vacancy on the 

5 panel of experts shall be filled in the man6 ner in which the original appointment was 

7 made and shall be subject to conditions 

8 which applied with respect to the original 

9 appointment. 

10 ‘‘(ii) FILLING UNEXPIRED TERM.—An 

11 individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be 

12 appointed for the unexpired term of the 

13 member replaced. 

14 ‘‘(iii) EXPIRATION OF TERMS.—The 

15 term of any member shall not expire before 

16 the date on which the member’s successor 

17 takes office. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 2822. TRAINING CURRICULA FOR EMERGENCY 

19 HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall convene a 

21 Training Curricula Working Group from the panel of ex22 perts described in section 2821(c) to— 

23 ‘‘(1) identify and review existing training cur24 ricula for emergency health professionals; 


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1 ‘‘(2) approve any such training curricula that 

2 satisfy practice and service delivery standards deter3 mined by the Training Curricula Working Group 

4 and that are evidence-based; and 

5 ‘‘(3) make recommendations for, and partici6 pate in, the development of any additional training 

7 curricula, as determined necessary by the Training 

8 Curricula Working Group. 

9 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF TRAINING CURRICULA.—The 

10 Training Curricula Working Group shall ensure that the 

11 training curricula approved by the NCPMHEP— 

12 ‘‘(1) provide the knowledge and skills necessary 

13 to respond effectively to the psychological needs of 

14 affected individuals, relief personnel, and commu15 nities in the event of bioterrorism or other public 

16 health emergency; and 

17 ‘‘(2) is used to build a trained network of emer18 gency health professionals at the State and local lev19 els. 

20 ‘‘(c) CONTENT OF TRAINING CURRICULA.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Training Curricula 

22 Working Group shall ensure that the training cur23 ricula approved by the NCPMHEP— 

24 ‘‘(A) prepare emergency health profes25 sionals, in the event of bioterrorism or other 


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1 public health emergency, for identifying symp2 toms of mental health distress, supplying imme3 diate relief to keep affected persons safe, recog4 nizing when to refer affected persons for fur5 ther mental healthcare, understanding how and 

6 where to refer for such care, and other compo7 nents as determined by the Director in con8 sultation with the Training Curricula Working 

9 Group; 

10 ‘‘(B) include training or informational ma11 terial designed to educate and prepare State 

12 and local government officials, in the event of 

13 bioterrorism or other public health emergency, 

14 in coordinating and deploying mental health re15 sources and services and in addressing other 

16 mental health needs, as determined by the Di17 rector in consultation with the Training Cur18 ricula Working Group; and 

19 ‘‘(C) meet the diverse training needs of the 

20 range of emergency health professionals. 

21 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF CURRICULA.—The Training 

22 Curricula Working Group shall routinely review ex23 isting training curricula and participate in the revi24 sion of the training curricula described under this 

25 section as necessary, taking into consideration recVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:08 Jun 22, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3537.IS S3537

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1 ommendations made by the participants of the an2 nual national forum under section 2825 and the As3 sessment Working Group described under section 

4 2826. 

5 ‘‘(d) TRAINING INDIVIDUALS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) FIELD TRAINERS.—The Director, in con7 sultation with the Training Curricula Working 

8 Group, shall develop a mechanism through which 

9 qualified individuals trained through the curricula 

10 approved by the NCPMHEP return to their commu11 nities to recruit and train others in their respective 

12 fields to serve on local emergency response teams. 

13 ‘‘(2) FIELD LEADERS.—The Director, in con14 sultation with the Training Curricula Working 

15 Group, shall develop a mechanism through which 

16 qualified individuals trained in curricula approved by 

17 the NCPMHEP return to their communities to pro18 vide expertise to State and local government agen19 cies to mobilize the mental health infrastructure of 

20 such State or local agencies, including ensuring that 

21 mental health is a component of emergency pre22 paredness and service delivery of such agencies. 

23 ‘‘(3) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individuals se24 lected under paragraph (1) or (2) shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) pass a designated evaluation, as de2 veloped by the Director in consultation with the 

3 Training Curricula Working Group; and 

4 ‘‘(B) meet other qualifications as deter5 mined by the Director in consultation with the 

6 Training Curricula Working Group. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 2823. USE OF REGISTRIES TO TRACK TRAINED EMER8 GENCY HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director, in consultation 

10 with the mental and public health authorities of each 

11 State, shall coordinate the use of existing emergency reg12 istries established to track medical and mental health vol13 unteers across all fields and specifically to track the indi14 viduals in the State who have been trained using the cur15 ricula approved by the NCPMHEP under section 2822. 

16 The Director shall ensure that the data available through 

17 such registries and used to track such trained individuals 

18 will be recoverable and available in the event that such 

19 registries become inoperable. 

20 ‘‘(b) USE OF REGISTRY.—The tracking procedure 

21 under subsection (a) shall be used by the Secretary, the 

22 Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Governor of each 

23 State, for the recruitment and deployment of trained 

24 emergency health professionals in the event of bioter25 rorism or other public health emergency. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2824. CLEARINGHOUSE FOR PUBLIC MENTAL HEALTH 

2 EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND SERVICE 

3 DELIVERY. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish and 

5 maintain a central clearinghouse of educational materials, 

6 guidelines, information, strategies, resources, and research 

7 on public mental health emergency preparedness and serv8 ice delivery. 

9 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Director shall ensure that the 

10 clearinghouse— 

11 ‘‘(1) enables emergency health professionals and 

12 other members of the public to increase their aware13 ness and knowledge of public mental health emer14 gency preparedness and service delivery; and 

15 ‘‘(2) provides such users with access to a range 

16 of public mental health emergency resources and 

17 strategies to address their community’s unique cir18 cumstances and to improve their skills and capac19 ities for addressing mental health problems in the 

20 event of bioterrorism or other public health emer21 gency. 

22 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY.—The Director shall ensure that 

23 the clearinghouse— 

24 ‘‘(1) is available on the Internet; 

25 ‘‘(2) includes an interactive forum through 

26 which users’ questions are addressed; 


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1 ‘‘(3) provides links to additional Government2 sponsored or other relevant websites that supply in3 formation on public mental health emergency pre4 paredness and service delivery; and 

5 ‘‘(4) includes the training curricula approved by 

6 the NCPMHEP under section 2822. 

7 ‘‘(d) CLEARINGHOUSE WORKING GROUP.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall convene 

9 a Clearinghouse Working Group from the panel of 

10 experts described under section 2821(c) to— 

11 ‘‘(A) evaluate the educational materials, 

12 guidelines, information, strategies, resources 

13 and research maintained in the clearinghouse to 

14 ensure empirical validity; and 

15 ‘‘(B) offer technical assistance to users of 

16 the clearinghouse with respect to finding and 

17 selecting the information and resources avail18 able through the clearinghouse that would most 

19 effectively serve their community’s needs in pre20 paring for, and delivering mental health services 

21 during, bioterrorism or other public health 

22 emergencies. 

23 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The technical 

24 assistance described under paragraph (1) shall in25 clude the use of information from the clearinghouse 


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1 to provide consultation, direction, and guidance to 

2 State and local governments and public and private 

3 agencies on the development of public mental health 

4 emergency plans for activities involving prepared5 ness, mitigation, response, recovery, and evaluation. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 2825. ANNUAL NATIONAL FORUM FOR PUBLIC MEN7 TAL HEALTH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS 

8 AND SERVICE DELIVERY. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall organize an 

10 annual national forum to address public mental health 

11 emergency preparedness and service delivery for emer12 gency health professionals, researchers, scientists, and ex13 perts in public mental health emergency preparedness and 

14 service delivery, as well as personnel from relevant Fed15 eral, State, and local agencies and other governmental and 

16 nongovernmental organizations. 

17 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF FORUM.—The national forum shall 

18 provide the framework for bringing such individuals to19 gether to, based on evidence-based research and practice, 

20 identify and address gaps in science, practice, policy, and 

21 education, make recommendations for the revision of 

22 training curricula and for the enhancement of mental 

23 health interventions, as appropriate, and make other rec24 ommendations as necessary. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 2826. EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PUB2 LIC MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCY PRE3 PAREDNESS AND SERVICE DELIVERY EF4 FORTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall convene an 

6 Assessment Working Group from the panel of experts de7 scribed in section 2821(c) to evaluate the effectiveness of 

8 the NCPMHEP’s efforts and those across the Federal 

9 Government in building the Nation’s public mental health 

10 emergency preparedness and service delivery capacity. 

11 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF THE ASSESSMENT WORKING

12 GROUP.—The Assessment Working Group shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) evaluate— 

14 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of each component 

15 of the NCPMHEP, including the identification 

16 and development of training curricula, the 

17 clearinghouse, and the annual national forum; 

18 ‘‘(B) the effects of the training curricula 

19 on the skills, knowledge, and attitudes of emer20 gency health professionals and on their delivery 

21 of mental health services in the event of bioter22 rorism or other public health emergency; 

23 ‘‘(C) the effects of the NCPMHEP on the 

24 capacities of State and local government agen25 cies to coordinate, mobilize, and deploy re26 sources and to deliver mental health services in 


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1 the event of bioterrorism or other public health 

2 emergency; and 

3 ‘‘(D) other issues as determined by the 

4 Secretary, in consultation with the Assessment 

5 Working Group; and 

6 ‘‘(2) submit the annual report required under 

7 subsection (c). 

8 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—On an annual basis, the As9 sessment Working Group shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) report to the Secretary and appropriate 

11 committees of Congress the results of the evaluation 

12 by the Assessment Working Group under this sec13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(2) publish and disseminate the results of such 

15 evaluation on as wide a basis as is practicable, in16 cluding through the NCPMHEP clearinghouse 

17 website under section 2824. 

18 ‘‘(d) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Based on the annual re20 port, the Director, in consultation with the Assess21 ment Working Group, shall make recommendations 

22 to the Secretary— 

23 ‘‘(A) for improving— 

24 ‘‘(i) the training curricula identified 

25 and approved by the NCPMHEP; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the NCPMHEP clearinghouse; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the annual forum of the 

4 NCPMHEP; and 

5 ‘‘(B) regarding any other matter related to 

6 improving mental health preparedness and serv7 ice delivery in the event of bioterrorism or other 

8 public health emergency in the United States 

9 through the NCPMHEP. 

10 ‘‘(2) ACTION BY SECRETARY.—Based on the 

11 recommendations provided under paragraph (1), the 

12 Secretary shall submit recommendations to Congress 

13 for any legislative changes necessary to implement 

14 such recommendations. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 2827. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this subtitle— 

18 ‘‘(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; and 

19 ‘‘(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

20 years 2008 through 2011.’’. 

Æ 


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