I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7812 

To Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to carry out a 

grant program to support the establishment of a national, toll-free telephone helpline to provide information and assistance to parents, caregivers, and youth to prevent child abuse and strengthen families. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 22, 2024 

Mrs. TORRES of California (for herself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. CLARKE of New 

York, Mr. ALLRED, Ms. CHU, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the 

Workforce 

A BILL 

To Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to carry out a grant program to support the establishment of a national, toll-free telephone helpline to provide 

information and assistance to parents, caregivers, and 

youth to prevent child abuse and strengthen 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 ‘‘National Parent and 

5 Youth Helpline Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) There are approximately 174,000,000 par4 ents, caregivers, and youth in the United States. 

5 (2) Many parents, caregivers, and youth often 

6 do not have immediate access to a caring and sup7 portive person to help them address various personal 

8 challenges. 

9 (3) Parents, caregivers, and youth could benefit 

10 from an effective helpline that fosters the strengths 

11 parents have, which would improve family and peer 

12 relationships, as well as community life and society 

13 overall. 

14 (4) Congress recognizes that helpline prevention 

15 services will empower parents and caregivers to posi16 tively address child development issues and help ad17 dress child maltreatment, drug and alcohol prob18 lems, mental health, and personal growth and devel19 opment. 

20 (5) Congress recognizes that helpline prevention 

21 services are trauma-informed by reducing risk fac22 tors and increasing protective factors with weekly, 

23 evidence-based mutual support groups. 


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1 SEC. 3. GRANT TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL PARENT AND 

2 YOUTH HELPLINE. 

3 Title I of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

5 section 103 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 103A. GRANT TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL PARENT 

7 AND YOUTH HELPLINE. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award a 

9 grant to one nonprofit entity to— 

10 ‘‘(1) provide for the establishment and ongoing 

11 operation of a national, toll-free telephone parent 

12 and youth helpline, as described in subsection (d), to 

13 provide emotional support and assistance to parents, 

14 caregivers, and youth to prevent child abuse and 

15 strengthen families through calls, texts, and live 

16 chats; 

17 ‘‘(2) create and maintain a website with vital 

18 information and resources for parents, caregivers, 

19 and youth to address a broad spectrum of family 

20 issues related to emotional, social, behavioral, and 

21 educational well-being; and 

22 ‘‘(3) develop and implement comprehensive out23 reach strategies to reach diverse parents, caregivers, 

24 and youth nationwide. 

25 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In awarding the grant under this 

26 section, the Secretary shall give priority to an entity— 


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1 ‘‘(1) with experience in operating a national 

2 parent and youth helpline that provides emotional 

3 support to parents, caregivers, and youth; and 

4 ‘‘(2) that operates weekly, evidence-based mu5 tual support groups. 

6 ‘‘(c) DURATION.—The grant under this section may 

7 be awarded for a period of not more than 5 years. 

8 ‘‘(d) HELPLINE ACTIVITIES.—The entity that re9 ceives the grant under this section shall use the grant to 

10 establish and operate a 24-hour, national, toll-free tele11 phone helpline to provide (through calls, texts, and live 

12 chats)— 

13 ‘‘(1) emotional support and assistance to di14 verse parents, caregivers, and youth (including les15 bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer 

16 (LGBTQ) parents, caregivers, and youth) who are 

17 facing personal challenges, including emotional dis18 tress, substance abuse, peer relationships, and edu19 cational concerns related to their well-being; 

20 ‘‘(2) weekly, evidence-based mutual support 

21 groups nationwide to build protective factors and 

22 strengthen families; and 

23 ‘‘(3) comprehensive outreach strategies to reach 

24 diverse parents, caregivers, and youth nationwide, 


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1 distribute information and resources, and maintain a 

2 website. 

3 ‘‘(e) PERFORMANCE REPORTS.—The entity that re4 ceives the grant under this section shall submit a perform5 ance report to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

6 and containing such information as the Secretary may rea7 sonably require. Such performance report shall include— 

8 ‘‘(1) a description of the activities carried out 

9 with the grant; 

10 ‘‘(2) an evaluation of the effectiveness of such 

11 activities; and 

12 ‘‘(3) such additional information as the Sec13 retary determines appropriate. 

14 ‘‘(f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than three 

15 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary shall submit to Congress a report addressing the 

17 implementation and effectiveness of the national parent 

18 and youth helpline funded with the grant under this sec19 tion. 

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

21 are authoirzed to be appropriated to carry out this section 

22 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2030.’’. 

Æ 


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