```

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5378 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5378

To establish a grant program to facilitate nationwide accessibility and 
 coordination of 211 services relating to developmental disabilities, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 21, 2024

  Mr. Booker 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 to facilitate nationwide accessibility and 
 coordination of 211 services relating to developmental disabilities, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing Access to Support and 
Emergency Services for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities 
through 211'' or the ``EASE with 211 Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM FACILITATING NATIONWIDE ACCESSIBILITY AND 
              COORDINATION OF 211 SERVICES RELATING TO DEVELOPMENTAL 
              DISABILITIES.

    (a) 211 Grant Program.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services 
(referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary''), shall carry out a 
program under which the Secretary awards grants to improve the capacity 
of 211 services to support individuals with developmental disabilities.
    (b) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity desiring a grant under 
        this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at 
        such time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require, including a description of an 
        advisory council that the eligible entity will establish for 
        purposes of advising on the implementation and oversight of the 
        eligible entity that will be supported by the grant.
            (2) Advisory council.--
                    (A) Members.--An advisory council described in 
                paragraph (1) shall be comprised of individuals 
                selected by the eligible entity, including--
                            (i) individuals with developmental 
                        disabilities;
                            (ii) family members and caregivers of 
                        individuals with developmental disabilities;
                            (iii) representatives of stakeholder groups 
                        with experience administering 211 services, 
                        such as United Way Worldwide; and
                            (iv) representatives of other relevant 
                        stakeholder groups, including relevant 
                        nonprofit and advocacy groups such as State 
                        developmental disabilities councils, centers of 
                        excellence on developmental disabilities of 
                        institutions of higher education, protection 
                        and advocacy systems, centers for independent 
                        living, parent training and information 
                        centers, and family-to-family health 
                        information centers.
                    (B) Duties.--An advisory council described in 
                paragraph (1) shall advise the eligible entity 
                receiving the grant with respect to--
                            (i) developing training standards for 211 
                        specialists;
                            (ii) compiling reports required under 
                        subsection (f), and policy improvement 
                        recommendations;
                            (iii) increasing the awareness and 
                        effectiveness of 211 services in all 
                        communities of the area served;
                            (iv) developing accessible resource 
                        materials and making accessibility improvements 
                        to phone, text, and other communication 
                        interfaces and systems; and
                            (v) other appropriate topics.
                    (C) Priority.--In selecting members for an advisory 
                council described in paragraph (1), an eligible entity 
                shall prioritize selecting members described in 
                subparagraph (A)(i).
    (c) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity shall use amounts awarded 
under this section to carry out any of the following:
            (1) Establishing, improving, or maintaining the 211 
        database of the eligible entity with respect to developmental 
        disability resources.
            (2) Hiring and training 211 specialists to assist 
        individuals with developmental disabilities in navigating 
        services.
            (3) Developing and implementing data collection protocols 
        ensuring that data is disaggregated by race and type of 
        disability.
            (4) Upgrading technology and data management systems to 
        track and analyze service referrals.
            (5) Conducting resource mapping to identify gaps in 
        resources relating to developmental disabilities in the area 
        served.
            (6) Conducting accessible outreach and public awareness 
        campaigns targeting individuals with developmental disabilities 
        and their families and caregivers regarding the availability 
        and use of 211 services for such individuals, families, and 
        caregivers.
    (d) Data Collection.--The Secretary shall establish data collection 
protocols for use by eligible entities in monitoring the use of 211 
services by individuals with developmental disabilities, including with 
respect to the collection of--
            (1) information on referral outcomes and barriers 
        encountered; and
            (2) disaggregated and deidentified data on race and type of 
        disability to identify disparities in service access and 
        quality.
    (e) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary, in consultation with 
other applicable Federal agencies, shall--
            (1) award 1 or more grants to entities, determined by the 
        Secretary to be qualified for such grants, to establish 
        technical assistance centers; and
            (2) work in coordination with each entity carrying out such 
        a center to provide technical assistance to recipients of 
        awards under subsection (a) to facilitate the planning, 
        development, and implementation of activities described in 
        subsection (c).
    (f) Recipient Reports.--Each recipient of an award under this 
section shall submit an annual report to the Secretary on activities 
carried out under this section, for the duration of the award.
    (g) Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the end of the 
grant program under this section, the Secretary shall issue a report 
containing information regarding--
            (1) best practices for States desiring to expand their 211 
        services, including how to make the services more accessible;
            (2) the most common needs relating to developmental 
        disabilities for which individuals use 211 services;
            (3) how many individuals and families are assisted by the 
        211 service helplines;
            (4) the demographics, including age, race, language, and 
        support needs, of individuals with developmental disabilities 
        utilizing the 211 service helpline, or on whose behalf such 
        helpline is utilized; and
            (5) best practices for establishing a resource database 
        with resources relating to developmental disabilities.
    (h) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) 211 service.--The term ``211 service'' means a service 
        providing residents with information and referrals with respect 
        to health and human services and other provider agencies--
                    (A) via voice telephone, text telephone, short 
                message service, text, internet phone, or other 
                telecommunication methods; or
                    (B) by utilizing the 211 public-facing, online 
                social service directory.
            (2) Developmental disability.--The term ``developmental 
        disability'' has the meaning given such term in section 102 of 
        the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights 
        Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002).
            (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
                    (A) a State; or
                    (B) a local or regional entity, or other entity, 
                providing a 211 service for a State.
            (4) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States of the United States and the District of Columbia.
    (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $75,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2029.

SEC. 3. DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY PEER AND FAMILY NAVIGATOR GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary shall carry out a program 
under which the Secretary awards grants to eligible entities described 
in subsection (b), to enable the eligible entities to provide peer or 
family navigators to help individuals with developmental disabilities 
and families and caregivers providing support for such individuals to 
access services and resources relating to developmental disabilities. 
The navigators shall take a person-centered approach in providing 
services under this section.
    (b) Eligible Entities.--An eligible entity described in this 
subsection shall be a State, Tribal, or local health or human services 
department, or a nonprofit entity that is family-led, disabled peer-
led, or disabled family-staffed.
    (c) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require.
    (d) Prioritization.--In making grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities that indicate in 
their applications an intention to provide services to underserved or 
underrepresented communities or to secondary schools underperforming in 
providing transition planning described in subsection (e)(2).
    (e) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity receiving a grant under this 
section--
            (1) shall provide peer or family navigators to help 
        individuals with developmental disabilities and families and 
        caretakers providing services or support for such individuals 
        to connect to, and access, appropriate resources and services; 
        and
            (2) may be used to coordinate with local educational 
        agencies (as defined in section 8101 of the Elementary and 
        Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)) for purposes 
        of transition planning with respect to individuals with 
        developmental disabilities, such as planning for--
                    (A) postsecondary education and employment;
                    (B) housing;
                    (C) legal and financial matters (such as supported 
                decisions-making and alternatives to guardianship);
                    (D) use of Federal benefit programs and 
                eligibility;
                    (E) self-direction and self-advocacy;
                    (F) health and behavioral health, including home 
                and community-based services;
                    (G) building and maintaining community ties and 
                friendships;
                    (H) planning and visioning a life course; and
                    (I) disaster and emergency preparedness and safety.
    (f) Report.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under this 
section shall, not later than 1 year after the activities carried out 
under the grant are completed, submit to the Secretary a report that 
contains data on how the grant funds were used.
    (g) Developmental Disability.--In this section, the term 
``developmental disability'' has the meaning given such term in section 
2.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2029.
                                 <all>
```