I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5891 

To establish an interagency task force to improve the Federal response to 

families impacted by substance abuse disorders. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2018 

Mr. GROTHMAN (for himself and Mr. LAMB) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

A BILL 

To establish an interagency task force to improve the Federal 

response to families impacted by substance abuse disorders. 

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 ‘‘Improving the Federal 

5 Response to Families Impacted by Substance Use Dis6 order Act’’. 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5891 IH

1 SEC. 2. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO IMPROVE THE FED2 ERAL RESPONSE TO FAMILIES IMPACTED BY 

3 SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a task 

5 force, to be known as the ‘‘Interagency Task Force to Im6 prove the Federal Response to Families Impacted by Sub7 stance Use Disorders’’ (in this section referred to as 

8 ‘‘Task Force’’). 

9 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Task Force— 

10 (1) shall identify, evaluate, and recommend 

11 ways in which Federal agencies can better coordi12 nate responses to substance use disorders and the 

13 opioid crisis; and 

14 (2) shall carry out the additional duties de15 scribed in subsection (d). 

16 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 (1) NUMBER AND APPOINTMENT.—The Task 

18 Force shall be composed of 12 Federal officials hav19 ing responsibility for, or administering programs re20 lated to, the duties of the Task Force. The Secretary 

21 of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of 

22 Education, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the 

23 Secretary of Labor shall each appoint two members 

24 to the Task Force from among the Federal officials 

25 employed by the Department of which they are the 

26 head. Additional Federal agency officials appointed 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5891 IH

1 by the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

2 shall fill the remaining positions of the Task Force. 

3 (2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Health 

4 and Human Services shall designate a Federal offi5 cial employed by the Department of Health and 

6 Human Services to serve as the chairperson of the 

7 Task Force. 

8 (3) DEADLINE FOR APPOINTMENT.—Each 

9 member shall be appointed to the Task Force not 

10 later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 

11 of this Act. 

12 (4) ADDITIONAL AGENCY INPUT.—The Task 

13 Force may seek input from other Federal agencies 

14 and offices with experience, expertise, or information 

15 relevant in responding to the opioid crisis. 

16 (5) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Task Force 

17 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

18 appointment was made. 

19 (6) PROHIBITION OF COMPENSATION.—Mem20 bers of the Task Force may not receive pay, allow21 ances, or benefits by reason of their service on the 

22 Task Force. 

23 (d) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall carry out the fol24 lowing duties: 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5891 IH

1 (1) Solicit input from stakeholders, including 

2 frontline service providers, medical professionals, 

3 educators, mental health professionals, researchers, 

4 experts in infant, child, and youth trauma, child wel5 fare professionals, and the public, in order to inform 

6 the activities of the Task Force. 

7 (2) Develop a strategy on how the Task Force 

8 and participating Federal agencies will collaborate, 

9 prioritize, and implement a coordinated Federal ap10 proach with regard to responding to substance use 

11 disorders, including opioid misuse, that shall in12 clude— 

13 (A) identifying options for the coordination 

14 of existing grants that support infants, chil15 dren, and youth, and their families as appro16 priate, who have experienced, or are at risk of 

17 experiencing, exposure to substance abuse dis18 orders, including opioid misuse; and 

19 (B) other ways to improve coordination, 

20 planning, and communication within and across 

21 Federal agencies, offices, and programs, to bet22 ter serve children and families impacted by sub23 stance use disorders, including opioid misuse. 

24 (3) Based off the strategy developed under 

25 paragraph (2), evaluate and recommend opportuniVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Jun 02, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5891.IH H5891

dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5891 IH

1 ties for local- and State-level partnerships, profes2 sional development, or best practices that— 

3 (A) are designed to quickly identify and 

4 refer children and families, as appropriate, who 

5 have experienced or are at risk of experiencing 

6 exposure to substance abuse; 

7 (B) utilize and develop partnerships with 

8 early childhood education programs, local social 

9 services organizations, and health care services 

10 aimed at preventing or mitigating the effects of 

11 exposure to substance use disorders, including 

12 opioid misuse; 

13 (C) offer community-based prevention ac14 tivities, including educating families and chil15 dren on the effects of exposure to substance use 

16 disorders, including opioid misuse, and how to 

17 build resilience and coping skills to mitigate 

18 those effects; 

19 (D) in accordance with Federal privacy 

20 protections, utilize non-personally identifiable 

21 data from screenings, referrals, or the provision 

22 of services and supports to evaluate and im23 prove processes addressing exposure to sub24 stance use disorders, including opioid misuse; 

25 and 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5891 IH

1 (E) are designed to prevent separation and 

2 support reunification of families if in the best 

3 interest of the child. 

4 (4) In fulfilling the requirements of paragraphs 

5 (2) and (3), consider evidence-based, evidence-in6 formed, and promising best practices related to iden7 tifying, referring, and supporting children and fami8 lies at risk of experiencing exposure to substance 

9 abuse or experiencing substance use disorder, includ10 ing opioid misuse, including— 

11 (A) prevention strategies for those at risk 

12 of experiencing or being exposed to substance 

13 abuse, including misuse of opioids; 

14 (B) whole-family and multi-generational 

15 approaches; 

16 (C) community-based initiatives; 

17 (D) referral to, and implementation of, 

18 trauma-informed practices and supports; and 

19 (E) multi-generational practices that assist 

20 parents, foster parents, and kinship and other 

21 caregivers 

22 (e) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 

23 U.S.C. App. 2) shall not apply to the Task Force. 

24 (f) ACTION PLAN; REPORTS.—The Task Force— 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5891 IH

1 (1) shall prepare a detailed action plan to be 

2 implemented by participating Federal agencies to 

3 create a collaborative, coordinated response to the 

4 opioid crisis, which shall include— 

5 (A) relevant information identified and col6 lected under subsection (d); 

7 (B) a proposed timeline for implementing 

8 recommendations and efforts identified under 

9 subsection (d); and 

10 (C) a description of how other Federal 

11 agencies and offices with experience, expertise, 

12 or information relevant in responding to the 

13 opioid crisis that have provided input under 

14 subsection (c)(4) will be participating in the co15 ordinated approach; 

16 (2) shall submit to the Congress a report de17 scribing the action plan prepared under paragraph 

18 (1), including, where applicable, identification of any 

19 recommendations included in such plan that require 

20 additional legislative authority to implement; and 

21 (3) shall submit a report to the Governors de22 scribing the opportunities for local- and State-level 

23 partnerships, professional development, or best prac24 tices recommended under subsection (d)(3). 

25 (g) DISSEMINATION.— 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5891 IH

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The action plan and reports 

2 required under subsection (f) shall be— 

3 (A) disseminated widely, including among 

4 the participating Federal agencies and the Gov5 ernors; and 

6 (B) be made publicly available online in an 

7 accessible format. 

8 (2) DEADLINE.—The action plan and reports 

9 required under subsection (f) may be released on 

10 separate dates but shall be released not later than 

11 9 months after the date of the enactment of this 

12 Act. 

13 (h) TERMINATION.—The Task Force shall terminate 

14 30 days after the dissemination of the action plan and re15 ports under subsection (g). 

16 (i) FUNDING.—The administrative expenses of the 

17 Task Force shall be paid out of existing Department of 

18 Health and Human Services funds or appropriations. 

19 (j) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

20 (1) The term ‘‘Governor’’ means the chief exec21 utive officer of a State. 

22 (2) The term ‘‘participating Federal agencies’’ 

23 means all the Executive agencies (as defined in sec24 tion 105 of title 5, United States Code) whose offi25 cials have been appointed to the Task Force. 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5891 IH

1 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ means each of the several 

2 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

3 of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

4 Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern 

5 Mariana Islands. 

Æ 


dlhill on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS