II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4812 

To establish a pilot program to address behavioral health needs among 

children, adolescents, and young adults, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 25, 2024 

Ms. BUTLER (for herself and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program to address behavioral health 

needs among children, adolescents, and young adults, 

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 ‘‘Strengthening Sup5 ports for Youth Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR PARENTS, CAREGIVERS, AND 

7 FAMILIES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Secretary for Men9 tal Health and Substance Use (referred to in this section 


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1 as the ‘‘Assistant Secretary’’) shall, within a relevant ex2 isting program of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 

3 Services Administration, carry out a pilot program under 

4 which the Assistant Secretary awards competitive grants 

5 to eligible entities to support parents, families, and care6 givers in addressing behavioral health needs among chil7 dren, adolescents, and young adults. 

8 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 

9 ‘‘eligible entity’’ means— 

10 (1) a nonprofit organization with appropriate 

11 expertise in providing evidence-based or evidence-in12 formed services or programs for children, adoles13 cents, young adults, or families; 

14 (2) a nonprofit organization with an evidence15 based or evidence-informed focus on mental health 

16 or substance use prevention, including such an orga17 nization with a focus on children, adolescents, young 

18 adults, or families who have lived experience of a 

19 mental health or substance use disorder; 

20 (3) a child welfare agency; 

21 (4) a family and youth homeless service pro22 vider; 

23 (5) a local educational agency (as defined in 

24 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu25 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 


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1 (6) a State educational agency (as defined in 

2 such section 8101); 

3 (7) a State, a political subdivision of a State, 

4 or an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization (as de5 fined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

6 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); or 

7 (8) a high school or dormitory serving high 

8 school students that receives funding from the Bu9 reau of Indian Education. 

10 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under sub11 section (a) shall be used by eligible entities to address be12 havioral health needs and bolster behavioral health sup13 port services for children, adolescents, and young adults 

14 by developing and disseminating evidence-based or evi15 dence-informed best practices for parents, caregivers, and 

16 families related to— 

17 (1) identifying the early warning signs and re18 ducing stigma of mental health and substance use 

19 disorder, suicidality, and suicide in children, adoles20 cents, and young adults; 

21 (2) improving the general understanding of 

22 mental health and substance use disorder, 

23 suicidality, suicide, and behavioral health needs with 

24 respect to children, adolescents, and young adults, 

25 including how to provide positive childhood experiVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4812.IS S4812

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1 ences that impact behavioral health outcomes and 

2 well-being; 

3 (3) connecting children, adolescents, and young 

4 adults with community-based behavioral health pro5 viders and trauma-informed crisis response services; 

6 (4) teaching help-seeking skills and behaviors; 

7 (5) fostering home environments that encourage 

8 behavioral health discussions; 

9 (6) administering a drug or device approved, 

10 cleared, or authorized under the Federal Food, 

11 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) for 

12 emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid 

13 overdose; and 

14 (7) promoting resiliency in children, adoles15 cents, and young adults. 

16 (d) EVALUATION AND REPORT.— 

17 (1) EVALUATION.—The Assistant Secretary 

18 shall carry out an evaluation to measure the efficacy 

19 of the best practices under this section at the con20 clusion of the first grant cycle funded by the pilot 

21 program. The evaluation shall include, at a min22 imum, outcomes information from the pilot program, 

23 including any impact on— 

24 (A) knowledge and attitudes related to be25 havioral health with respect to children, adolesVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:10 Aug 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4812.IS S4812

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1 cents, and young adults among participating 

2 parents, caregivers, and families; 

3 (B) behavioral health outcomes and well4 being measures among participating children, 

5 adolescents, and young adults; and 

6 (C) help-seeking behaviors, including up7 take of behavioral health treatment and trau8 ma-informed crisis response services among 

9 participating children, adolescents, and young 

10 adults. 

11 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 end of the first grant cycle, the Assistant Secretary 

13 shall submit to the Committee on Health, Edu14 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the 

15 Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House 

16 of Representatives a report on the results of the 

17 evaluation conducted under paragraph (1). 

18 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

19 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

20 to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

21 2025 through 2028. 


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1 SEC. 3. NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES, ENGINEER2 ING, AND MEDICINE STUDY ON PEER SUP3 PORT SERVICES FOR CHILDREN, ADOLES4 CENTS, AND YOUNG ADULTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for 

7 Mental Health and Substance Use shall contract with the 

8 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medi9 cine (referred to in this section as the ‘‘National Acad10 emies’’) to conduct a study and report on evidence-based 

11 peer support services for children, adolescents, and young 

12 adults. 

13 (b) STUDY.—The study and report pursuant to the 

14 contract under subsection (a) shall address— 

15 (1) the effectiveness of evidence-based peer sup16 port services for children, adolescents, and young 

17 adults in the prevention, early intervention, treat18 ment, and recovery from mental health and sub19 stance use disorder, in comparison to other behav20 ioral health interventions for that population; 

21 (2) whether current evidence-based peer sup22 port services available for children, adolescents, and 

23 young adults meet the need for such services, and 

24 whether such services could help meet the overall de25 mand for behavioral health care; 


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1 (3) the scope of behavioral health provider su2 pervision of evidence-based peer support services for 

3 children, adolescents, and young adults, and profes4 sional development opportunities for peer support 

5 specialists; 

6 (4) the populations, including underserved pop7 ulations, with access to evidence-based peer support 

8 services for children, adolescents, and young adults; 

9 (5) challenges associated with implementing or 

10 operating evidence-based peer support services for 

11 children, adolescents, and young adults, including 

12 children, adolescents, and young adults from under13 served populations; and 

14 (6) Federal and State efforts to support the im15 plementation and operation of evidence-based peer 

16 support services for children, adolescents, and young 

17 adults. 

18 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the National Academies 

20 shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, 

21 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 

22 Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives 

23 a report on the study pursuant to subsection (a). 

Æ 


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