II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 195 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to revise and extend projects relating 

to children and violence to provide access to school-based comprehensive 

mental health programs. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 31, 2013 

Mr. FRANKEN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. CARDIN, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mr. BROWN, Ms. LANDRIEU, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. TESTER, 

and Mr. SANDERS) 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 revise and extend 

projects relating to children and violence to provide access to school-based comprehensive mental health programs. 

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 ‘‘Mental Health in 

5 Schools Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 It is the purpose of this Act to— 


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1 (1) revise, increase funding for, and expand the 

2 scope of the Safe Schools-Healthy Students program 

3 in order to provide access to more comprehensive 

4 school-based mental health services and supports; 

5 (2) provide for comprehensive staff development 

6 for school and community service personnel working 

7 in the school; and 

8 (3) provide for comprehensive training for chil9 dren with mental health disorders, for parents, sib10 lings, and other family members of such children, 

11 and for concerned members of the community. 

12 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 

13 ACT. 

14 (a) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—The second part G 

15 (relating to services provided through religious organiza16 tions) of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 290kk et seq.) is amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating such part as part J; and 

19 (2) by redesignating sections 581 through 584 

20 as sections 596 through 596C, respectively. 

21 (b) SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH AND CHIL22 DREN AND VIOLENCE.—Section 581 of the Public Health 

23 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh) is amended to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 581. SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH AND CHIL2 DREN AND VIOLENCE. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in collaboration 

4 with the Secretary of Education and in consultation with 

5 the Attorney General, shall, directly or through grants, 

6 contracts, or cooperative agreements awarded to public en7 tities and local education agencies, assist local commu8 nities and schools in applying a public health approach 

9 to mental health services both in schools and in the com10 munity. Such approach should provide comprehensive age 

11 appropriate services and supports, be linguistically and 

12 culturally appropriate, be trauma-informed, and incor13 porate age appropriate strategies of positive behavioral 

14 interventions and supports. A comprehensive school men15 tal health program funded under this section shall assist 

16 children in dealing with trauma and violence. 

17 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES.—Under the program under sub18 section (a), the Secretary may— 

19 ‘‘(1) provide financial support to enable local 

20 communities to implement a comprehensive cul21 turally and linguistically appropriate, trauma-in22 formed, and age-appropriate, school mental health 

23 program that incorporates positive behavioral inter24 ventions, client treatment, and supports to foster the 

25 health and development of children; 


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1 ‘‘(2) provide technical assistance to local com2 munities with respect to the development of pro3 grams described in paragraph (1); 

4 ‘‘(3) provide assistance to local communities in 

5 the development of policies to address child and ado6 lescent trauma and mental health issues and violence 

7 when and if it occurs; 

8 ‘‘(4) facilitate community partnerships among 

9 families, students, law enforcement agencies, edu10 cation systems, mental health and substance use dis11 order service systems, family-based mental health 

12 service systems, welfare agencies, health care service 

13 systems (including physicians), faith-based pro14 grams, trauma networks, and other community15 based systems; and 

16 ‘‘(5) establish mechanisms for children and ado17 lescents to report incidents of violence or plans by 

18 other children, adolescents, or adults to commit vio19 lence. 

20 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant, 

22 contract, or cooperative agreement under subsection 

23 (a), an entity shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) be a partnership between a local edu25 cation agency and at least one community proVerDate Mar 15 2010 01:42 Feb 08, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S195.IS S195

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1 gram or agency that is involved in mental 

2 health; and 

3 ‘‘(B) submit an application, that is en4 dorsed by all members of the partnership, that 

5 contains the assurances described in paragraph 

6 (2). 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED ASSURANCES.—An application 

8 under paragraph (1) shall contain assurances as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(A) That the applicant will ensure that, 

11 in carrying out activities under this section, the 

12 local educational agency involved will enter into 

13 a memorandum of understanding— 

14 ‘‘(i) with, at least one, public or pri15 vate mental health entity, health care enti16 ty, law enforcement or juvenile justice enti17 ty, child welfare agency, family-based men18 tal health entity, family or family organiza19 tion, trauma network, or other community20 based entity; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) that clearly states— 

22 ‘‘(I) the responsibilities of each 

23 partner with respect to the activities 

24 to be carried out; 


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1 ‘‘(II) how each such partner will 

2 be accountable for carrying out such 

3 responsibilities; and 

4 ‘‘(III) the amount of non-Federal 

5 funding or in-kind contributions that 

6 each such partner will contribute in 

7 order to sustain the program. 

8 ‘‘(B) That the comprehensive school-based 

9 mental health program carried out under this 

10 section supports the flexible use of funds to ad11 dress— 

12 ‘‘(i) the promotion of the social, emo13 tional, and behavioral health of all students 

14 in an environment that is conducive to 

15 learning; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the reduction in the likelihood of 

17 at risk students developing social, emo18 tional, behavioral health problems, or sub19 stance use disorders; 

20 ‘‘(iii) the early identification of social, 

21 emotional, behavioral problems, or sub22 stance use disorders and the provision of 

23 early intervention services; 

24 ‘‘(iv) the treatment or referral for 

25 treatment of students with existing social, 


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1 emotional, behavioral health problems, or 

2 substance use disorders; and 

3 ‘‘(v) the development and implementa4 tion of programs to assist children in deal5 ing with trauma and violence. 

6 ‘‘(C) That the comprehensive school-based 

7 mental health program carried out under this 

8 section will provide for in-service training of all 

9 school personnel, including ancillary staff and 

10 volunteers, in— 

11 ‘‘(i) the techniques and supports need12 ed to identify early children with trauma 

13 histories and children with, or at risk of, 

14 mental illness; 

15 ‘‘(ii) the use of referral mechanisms 

16 that effectively link such children to appro17 priate treatment and intervention services 

18 in the school and in the community and to 

19 follow-up when services are not available; 

20 ‘‘(iii) strategies that promote a school21 wide positive environment; 

22 ‘‘(iv) strategies for promoting the so23 cial, emotional, mental, and behavioral 

24 health of all students; and 


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1 ‘‘(v) strategies to increase the knowl2 edge and skills of school and community 

3 leaders about the impact of trauma and vi4 olence and on the application of a public 

5 health approach to comprehensive school6 based mental health programs. 

7 ‘‘(D) That the comprehensive school-based 

8 mental health program carried out under this 

9 section will include comprehensive training for 

10 parents, siblings, and other family members of 

11 children with mental health disorders, and for 

12 concerned members of the community in— 

13 ‘‘(i) the techniques and supports need14 ed to identify early children with trauma 

15 histories, and children with, or at risk of, 

16 mental illness; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the use of referral mechanisms 

18 that effectively link such children to appro19 priate treatment and intervention services 

20 in the school and in the community and 

21 follow-up when such services are not avail22 able; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) strategies that promote a school24 wide positive environment. 


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1 ‘‘(E) That the comprehensive school-based 

2 mental health program carried out under this 

3 section will demonstrate the measures to be 

4 taken to sustain the program after funding 

5 under this section terminates. 

6 ‘‘(F) That the local education agency part7 nership involved is supported by the State edu8 cational and mental health system to ensure 

9 that the sustainability of the programs is estab10 lished after funding under this section termi11 nates. 

12 ‘‘(G) That the comprehensive school-based 

13 mental health program carried out under this 

14 section will be based on trauma-informed and 

15 evidence-based practices. 

16 ‘‘(H) That the comprehensive school-based 

17 mental health program carried out under this 

18 section will be coordinated with early inter19 vening activities carried out under the Individ20 uals with Disabilities Education Act. 

21 ‘‘(I) That the comprehensive school-based 

22 mental health program carried out under this 

23 section will be trauma-informed and culturally 

24 and linguistically appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(J) That the comprehensive school-based 

2 mental health program carried out under this 

3 section will include a broad needs assessment of 

4 youth who drop out of school due to policies of 

5 ‘zero tolerance’ with respect to drugs, alcohol, 

6 or weapons and an inability to obtain appro7 priate services. 

8 ‘‘(K) That the mental health services pro9 vided through the comprehensive school-based 

10 mental health program carried out under this 

11 section will be provided by qualified mental and 

12 behavioral health professionals who are certified 

13 or licensed by the State involved and practicing 

14 within their area of expertise. 

15 ‘‘(3) COORDINATOR.—Any entity that is a 

16 member of a partnership described in paragraph 

17 (1)(A) may serve as the coordinator of funding and 

18 activities under the grant if all members of the part19 nership agree. 

20 ‘‘(4) COMPLIANCE WITH HIPAA.—A grantee 

21 under this section shall be deemed to be a covered 

22 entity for purposes of compliance with the regula23 tions promulgated under section 264(c) of the 

24 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 


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1 of 1996 with respect to any patient records devel2 oped through activities under the grant. 

3 ‘‘(d) GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

4 shall ensure that grants, contracts, or cooperative agree5 ments under subsection (a) will be distributed equitably 

6 among the regions of the country and among urban and 

7 rural areas. 

8 ‘‘(e) DURATION OF AWARDS.—With respect to a 

9 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under sub10 section (a), the period during which payments under such 

11 an award will be made to the recipient shall be 6 years. 

12 An entity may receive only one award under this section, 

13 except that an entity that is providing services and sup14 ports on a regional basis may receive additional funding 

15 after the expiration of the preceding grant period. 

16 ‘‘(f) EVALUATION AND MEASURES OF OUTCOMES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS.—The Ad18 ministrator shall develop a fiscally appropriate proc19 ess for evaluating activities carried out under this 

20 section. Such process shall include— 

21 ‘‘(A) the development of guidelines for the 

22 submission of program data by grant, contract, 

23 or cooperative agreement recipients; 

24 ‘‘(B) the development of measures of out25 comes (in accordance with paragraph (2)) to be 


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1 applied by such recipients in evaluating pro2 grams carried out under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the submission of annual reports by 

4 such recipients concerning the effectiveness of 

5 programs carried out under this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) MEASURES OF OUTCOMES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

8 shall develop measures of outcomes to be ap9 plied by recipients of assistance under this sec10 tion, and the Administrator, in evaluating the 

11 effectiveness of programs carried out under this 

12 section. Such measures shall include student 

13 and family measures as provided for in sub14 paragraph (B) and local educational measures 

15 as provided for under subparagraph (C). 

16 ‘‘(B) STUDENT AND FAMILY MEASURES OF

17 OUTCOMES.—The measures of outcomes devel18 oped under paragraph (1)(B) relating to stu19 dents and families shall, with respect to activi20 ties carried out under a program under this 

21 section, at a minimum include provisions to 

22 evaluate whether the program is effective in— 

23 ‘‘(i) increasing social and emotional 

24 competency; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) increasing academic competency 

2 (as defined by Secretary); 

3 ‘‘(iii) reducing disruptive and aggres4 sive behaviors; 

5 ‘‘(iv) improving child functioning; 

6 ‘‘(v) reducing substance use disorders; 

7 ‘‘(vi) reducing suspensions, truancy, 

8 expulsions and violence; 

9 ‘‘(vii) increasing graduation rates (as 

10 defined in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the 

11 Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

12 of 1965); and 

13 ‘‘(viii) improving access to care for 

14 mental health disorders. 

15 ‘‘(C) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL OUTCOMES.— 

16 The outcome measures developed under para17 graph (1)(B) relating to local educational sys18 tems shall, with respect to activities carried out 

19 under a program under this section, at a min20 imum include provisions to evaluate— 

21 ‘‘(i) the effectiveness of comprehensive 

22 school mental health programs established 

23 under this section; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the effectiveness of formal part25 nership linkages among child and family 


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1 serving institutions, community support 

2 systems, and the educational system; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the progress made in sustaining 

4 the program once funding under the grant 

5 has expired; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the effectiveness of training and 

7 professional development programs for all 

8 school personnel that incorporate indica9 tors that measure cultural and linguistic 

10 competencies under the program in a man11 ner that incorporates appropriate cultural 

12 and linguistic training; 

13 ‘‘(v) the improvement in perception of 

14 a safe and supportive learning environment 

15 among school staff, students, and parents; 

16 ‘‘(vi) the improvement in case-finding 

17 of students in need of more intensive serv18 ices and referral of identified students to 

19 early intervention and clinical services; 

20 ‘‘(vii) the improvement in the imme21 diate availability of clinical assessment and 

22 treatment services within the context of 

23 the local community to students posing a 

24 danger to themselves or others; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) the increased successful matric2 ulation to postsecondary school; and 

3 ‘‘(ix) reduced referrals to juvenile jus4 tice. 

5 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION OF ANNUAL DATA.—An entity 

6 that receives a grant, contract, or cooperative agree7 ment under this section shall annually submit to the 

8 Administrator a report that includes data to evalu9 ate the success of the program carried out by the en10 tity based on whether such program is achieving the 

11 purposes of the program. Such reports shall utilize 

12 the measures of outcomes under paragraph (2) in a 

13 reasonable manner to demonstrate the progress of 

14 the program in achieving such purposes. 

15 ‘‘(4) EVALUATION BY ADMINISTRATOR.—Based 

16 on the data submitted under paragraph (3), the Ad17 ministrator shall annually submit to Congress a re18 port concerning the results and effectiveness of the 

19 programs carried out with assistance received under 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—A grantee shall use not to 

22 exceed 10 percent of amounts received under a grant 

23 under this section to carry out evaluation activities 

24 under this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(g) INFORMATION AND EDUCATION.—The Sec2 retary shall establish comprehensive information and edu3 cation programs to disseminate the findings of the knowl4 edge development and application under this section to the 

5 general public and to health care professionals. 

6 ‘‘(h) AMOUNT OF GRANTS AND AUTHORIZATION OF

7 APPROPRIATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—A grant under this 

9 section shall be in an amount that is not more than 

10 $1,000,000 for each of grant years 2013 through 

11 2017. The Secretary shall determine the amount of 

12 each such grant based on the population of children 

13 up to age 21 of the area to be served under the 

14 grant. 

15 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

16 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

17 this section, $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

18 2013 through 2017.’’. 

19 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Part G of title V of 

20 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290hh et seq.), 

21 as amended by this section, is further amended by striking 

22 the part heading and inserting the following: 

23 ‘‘PART G—SCHOOL-BASED MENTAL HEALTH’’. 

Æ 


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