I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2646 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish grant programs to 

provide funding for mental health services in response to public health 

emergencies, for statewide plans for providing such services in response 

to such emergencies, and for the training of mental health professionals 

with respect to the treatment of victims of such emergencies, and to 

establish the National Mental Health Crisis Response Technical Assistance Center. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 11, 2007 

Mr. JEFFERSON introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish grant 

programs to provide funding for mental health services 

in response to public health emergencies, for statewide 

plans for providing such services in response to such 

emergencies, and for the training of mental health professionals with respect to the treatment of victims of 

such emergencies, and to establish the National Mental 

Health Crisis Response Technical Assistance Center. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mental Health Services 

3 in Public Health Emergencies Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS 

5 FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN RE6 SPONSE TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 

7 Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health 

8 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 520K. GRANTS TO STATES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVI11 SIONS FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES IN 

12 RESPONSE TO PUBLIC HEALTH EMER13 GENCIES. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

15 the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, 

16 may make grants to States and political subdivisions of 

17 States for the purpose of providing the mental health serv18 ices described in subsection (b) in response to public 

19 health emergencies, including diseases or disorders that 

20 present such emergencies, natural disasters, major trans21 portation accidents, technological disasters, and disasters 

22 resulting from terrorism. 

23 ‘‘(b) SERVICES.—The mental health services referred 

24 to in subsection (a) with respect to a public health emer25 gency are the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Crisis counseling in the aftermath of such 

2 emergency. 

3 ‘‘(2) In the case of children, adolescents, and 

4 adults at risk of developing mental health disorders 

5 as a result of such emergency— 

6 ‘‘(A) outreach and screening programs to 

7 identify such individuals; and 

8 ‘‘(B) early intervention services, including 

9 counseling. 

10 ‘‘(3) Mental health services beyond such crisis 

11 counseling (referred to in this section as ‘extended 

12 therapeutic services’) that— 

13 ‘‘(A) are provided to individuals with diag14 nosed mental health disorders resulting from or 

15 exacerbated by the emergency, including dis16 aster survivors, family members of victims, first 

17 responders, and others with such disorders; and 

18 ‘‘(B) are provided by mental health profes19 sionals who are licensed or otherwise regulated 

20 by a State agency. 

21 ‘‘(4) Assessments of the need for extended 

22 therapeutic services. 

23 ‘‘(5) Case finding and other outreach services 

24 to inform the public of the availability of crisis coun25 seling and extended therapeutic services. 


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1 ‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING.— 

2 A condition for the receipt of a grant under subsection 

3 (a) is that the applicant involved agrees as follows: 

4 ‘‘(1) With respect to activities for which the 

5 grant is authorized to be expended, the applicant 

6 will maintain expenditures of non-Federal amounts 

7 for such activities at a level that is not less than the 

8 level of such expenditures maintained by the appli9 cant for the fiscal year preceding the first fiscal year 

10 for which the applicant receives such a grant. 

11 ‘‘(2) The grant will not be expended to make 

12 payment for the provision of extended therapeutic 

13 services for an individual to the extent that payment 

14 has been made, or can reasonably be expected to be 

15 made, for the services— 

16 ‘‘(A) under a State compensation program, 

17 under an insurance policy, or under a Federal 

18 or State health benefits program; or 

19 ‘‘(B) by an entity that provides health 

20 services on a prepaid basis. 

21 ‘‘(3) The grant will not be expended to make 

22 payment for the provision of mental health services 

23 to the extent that such services are available pursu24 ant to responses to the public health emergency in25 volved by the Federal Emergency Management 


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1 Agency, or by other Federal or State agencies or 

2 programs that provide for emergency medical serv3 ices. 

4 ‘‘(d) STATEWIDE MENTAL HEALTH DISASTER

5 PLAN.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year 2008 and 

7 each subsequent fiscal year, a condition for the re8 ceipt of a grant under subsection (a) by a State or 

9 a political subdivision is that, in accordance with cri10 teria established by the Secretary, the State has de11 veloped a statewide plan for the provision of mental 

12 health services in response to public health emer13 gencies. The preceding sentence applies without re14 gard to whether the State receives a grant under 

15 section 520L. 

16 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN CRITERIA OF SECRETARY.—The 

17 criteria of the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall 

18 include criteria for coordinating the program under 

19 this section with programs of the Federal Emer20 gency Management Agency and with other Federal 

21 or State programs regarding the provision of emer22 gency medical services, including mental health serv23 ices. 

24 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION OF GRANT THROUGH STATE

25 AND LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH AGENCIES.—A condition 


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1 for the receipt of a grant under subsection (a) is that the 

2 applicant involved agrees that the grant and activities 

3 under the grant will be administered through the agency 

4 of the State or political subdivision (as the case may be) 

5 that has the principal responsibility for carrying out men6 tal health programs. 

7 ‘‘(f) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to an 

8 application that, pursuant to section 501(l), is submitted 

9 to the Secretary for a grant under subsection (a), the Sec10 retary may make the grant only if the application con11 tains— 

12 ‘‘(1) a description of the purposes for which the 

13 applicant intends to expend the grant; 

14 ‘‘(2) an assurance that the activities to be car15 ried out under the grant are consistent with the 

16 State plan referred to in subsection (d)(1), as appli17 cable, together with a description of the manner in 

18 which the grant activities will be coordinated with 

19 the State plan; 

20 ‘‘(3) an assurance that the applicant will co21 ordinate activities under the grant with other public 

22 or private providers of mental health services, to23 gether with a description of the manner in which the 

24 grant activities will be so coordinated; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) in the case of an application from a polit2 ical subdivision, an assurance that the application 

3 was developed in consultation with the State agency 

4 referred to in subsection (e). 

5 ‘‘(g) DURATION OF GRANT.—The period during 

6 which payments are made to an applicant from a grant 

7 under subsection (a) may not exceed three years. The pro8 vision of such payments are subject to annual approval 

9 by the Secretary of the payments and to the availability 

10 of appropriations for the fiscal year involved to make the 

11 payments. This subsection may not be construed as estab12 lishing a limitation on the number of grants under such 

13 subsection that may be made to an applicant. 

14 ‘‘(h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may, 

15 directly or through grants or contracts, provide technical 

16 assistance to grantees under subsection (a) in carrying out 

17 the purpose described in such subsection. 

18 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.— 

19 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 For the purpose of carrying out this section, there 

21 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may 

22 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2008 

23 through 2010. 

24 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—Of the amounts appro25 priated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year, the 


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1 Secretary may obligate not more than 5 percent for 

2 the administrative expenses of the Secretary in car3 rying out this section.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. GRANTS TO STATES FOR STATEWIDE MENTAL 

5 HEALTH DISASTER PLANS. 

6 Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health 

7 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.), as amended by 

8 section 2, is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 520L. GRANTS TO STATES FOR STATEWIDE MENTAL 

10 HEALTH DISASTER PLANS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

12 the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, 

13 may make grants to States for the purpose of— 

14 ‘‘(1) developing, and periodically reviewing and 

15 as appropriate revising, statewide plans for pro16 viding mental health services in response to public 

17 health emergencies; 

18 ‘‘(2) training personnel to implement such plan 

19 effectively; and 

20 ‘‘(3) carrying out other activities determined 

21 appropriate by the Secretary to prepare for the pro22 vision of mental health services in response to such 

23 emergencies. 

24 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—A condition for the 

25 receipt of a grant under subsection (a) is that the State 


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1 involved agrees that the statewide plan under such sub2 section will with respect to public health emergencies in3 clude provisions for each of the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) Providing mental health services relating 

5 to crisis counseling, outreach and screening pro6 grams, early intervention services, extended thera7 peutic services, needs assessments, and case finding 

8 and other outreach services, taking into account the 

9 need for increased capacity to provide services pur10 suant to such emergencies. 

11 ‘‘(2) As necessary, carrying out paragraph (1) 

12 with respect to special populations such as children, 

13 the elderly, individuals with disabilities, and individ14 uals with pre-existing mental health disorders. 

15 ‘‘(3) Coordinating the provision of mental 

16 health services with appropriate public and private 

17 providers of emergency medical services and with 

18 Federal, State, and local programs that provide 

19 funding for such services. 

20 ‘‘(4) Coordinating with local educational agen21 cies. 

22 ‘‘(5) Providing information and education to 

23 the public during public health emergencies. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Providing, at times other than public 

2 health emergencies, information and education to 

3 the public regarding the statewide plan. 

4 ‘‘(7) Designation of the State official who will 

5 have the principal responsibility for administering 

6 such plan, including the initial implementation of 

7 the plan. 

8 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

9 purpose of carrying out this section, there is authorized 

10 to be appropriated $65,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

11 2008 through 2010.’’. 

12 SEC. 4. NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE 

13 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER. 

14 Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health 

15 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.), as amended by 

16 sections 2 and 3, is further amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 520M. NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS RESPONSE 

19 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

21 the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, 

22 shall establish within such center an administrative unit 

23 to be known as the National Mental Health Crisis Re24 sponse Technical Assistance Center (referred to in this 

25 section as the ‘Technical Assistance Center’). 


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1 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The purpose of the Technical Assist2 ance Center is to carry out, in accordance with policies 

3 of the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, 

4 the following functions: 

5 ‘‘(1) Provide consultation and technical assist6 ance to the Director, and to State and local govern7 mental providers of mental health services, on devel8 oping and implementing plans for providing appro9 priate mental health services in response to public 

10 health emergencies, including statewide plans under 

11 section 520K(d). 

12 ‘‘(2) Provide technical expertise on planning, 

13 preparedness, and response evaluation activities. 

14 ‘‘(3) Develop policy guidelines on mental health 

15 concerns related to crisis incidents and develop rec16 ommendations for proposed regulations and legisla17 tive proposals. 

18 ‘‘(4) Develop and conduct training events and 

19 conferences on mental health needs of disaster vic20 tims and witnesses. 

21 ‘‘(5) Serve as the principal clearinghouse oper22 ated by the Secretary for the collection and dissemi23 nation of information concerning the mental health 

24 aspects of public health emergencies, including infor25 mation on published documents, information on 


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1 technical assistance resources, and information on 

2 relevant Internet sites. 

3 ‘‘(6) Assist States in preparing for the behav4 ioral health consequences of terrorism. 

5 ‘‘(7) Provide onsite technical expertise during 

6 public health emergencies, when requested by a 

7 State. 

8 ‘‘(c) CERTAIN AUTHORITY.—The Technical Assist9 ance Center may carry out the functions under subsection 

10 (b) directly or through grant or contract, subject to the 

11 approval of the Director of the Center for Mental Health 

12 Services. 

13 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

14 purpose of carrying out this section, there is authorized 

15 to be appropriated $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

16 2008 through 2010.’’. 

17 SEC. 5. MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TRAINING 

18 GRANTS. 

19 Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health 

20 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.), as amended by 

21 sections 2, 3, and 4, is further amended by adding at the 

22 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 520N. MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TRAINING 

2 GRANTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

4 the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, 

5 shall award grants to eligible entities to enable such enti6 ties to provide for the training of mental health profes7 sionals with respect to the treatment of individuals who 

8 are victims of disasters. 

9 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

10 under subsection (a) an entity shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) be a— 

12 ‘‘(A) regional center of excellence; or 

13 ‘‘(B) a mental health professional society; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(2) prepare and submit to the Secretary an 

16 application at such time, in such manner, and con17 taining such information as the Secretary may re18 quire. 

19 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An entity that receives a grant 

20 under this section shall use amounts received under the 

21 grant to provide for the training of mental health profes22 sionals to enable such professionals to appropriately diag23 nose individuals who are the victims of disasters with re24 spect to their mental health and to provide for the proper 

25 treatment of the mental health needs of such individuals. 


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1 ‘‘(d) TRAINING MATERIALS AND PROCEDURES.—The 

2 Director of the Center for Mental Health Services, in con3 sultation with the Director of the National Institute of 

4 Mental Health, the National Center for Post-Traumatic 

5 Stress Disorder, the International Society for Traumatic 

6 Stress Studies, and the heads of other similar entities, 

7 shall develop training materials and procedures to assist 

8 grantees under this section. 

9 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘mental 

10 health professional’ includes psychiatrists, psychologists, 

11 psychiatric nurses, mental health counselors, marriage and 

12 family therapists, social workers, pastoral counselors, 

13 school psychologists, licensed professional counselors, 

14 school guidance counselors, and any other individual prac15 ticing in a mental health profession that is licensed or reg16 ulated by a State agency. 

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

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

20 2008 through 2010. 

21 ‘‘(g) PROGRAM MANAGEMENT.—In carrying out this 

22 section, the Secretary may use amounts appropriated 

23 under subsection (f) for the administration of the program 

24 under this section.’’. 

Æ 


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