Sec. 101. Task force to develop best practices for trauma-informed identification, referral, and support
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There is established a task force, to be known as the Interagency Task Force on Trauma-Informed Care. The task force shall— identify, evaluate, recommend, maintain, and update, as described in subsection
(c)and in accordance with subsection (d), a set of best practices with respect to children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; and carry out other duties as described in subsection (c). The task force shall be composed of Federal employees, consisting of the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (referred to in this section as the Administrator ) and 1 representative of each of— the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration; the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services; the National Institute of Mental Health; the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; the National Institute on Drug Abuse; the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; the Administration on Children, Youth and Families of the Administration for Children and Families; the Administration for Native Americans of the Administration for Children and Families; the Office of Child Care of the Administration for Children and Families; the Office of Head Start of the Administration for Children and Families; the Office of Refugee Resettlement of the Administration for Children and Families; the Indian Health Service of the Department of Health and Human Services; the Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the Department of Justice; the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice; the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance of the Department of Education; the Office of Safe and Healthy Students of the Department of Education; the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education; the Office of Indian Education of the Department of Education; the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior; the Bureau of Indian Education of the Department of the Interior; the Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs; and such other Federal agencies as— the Administrator recommends to the President; and the President determines to be appropriate. Each member of the task force, other than the Administrator, shall be appointed by the Secretary or other head of the entire Federal agency that contains the office or other unit of government that the member represents. The heads of Federal agencies with appointing authority under this paragraph shall appoint the corresponding members of the task force not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act. The task force shall be chaired by the Administrator. The task force shall— not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less often than annually thereafter— identify and evaluate a set of evidence-based and evidence-informed best practices, which may include practices already developed by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, or another Federal agency, with respect to— the early identification of children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; the expeditious referral of such children and youth, and their families as appropriate, that require specialized services to the appropriate trauma-informed support (including treatment) services, in accordance with applicable privacy laws; and the implementation of trauma-informed approaches and interventions in child and youth-serving schools, organizations, homes, and other settings to foster safe, stable, and nurturing environments and relationships that prevent and mitigate the effects of trauma; recommend such set of best practices, including disseminating the set, to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, other Federal agencies as appropriate, State, tribal, and local government agencies, including State, local, and tribal educational agencies, and other entities (including recipients of relevant Federal grants, professional associations, health professional organizations, national and State accreditation bodies, and schools) that the Administrator determines to be appropriate, and to the general public; and maintain and update, as appropriate, the set of best practices recommended under subparagraph (B); not later than each date on which the task force disseminates a set of best practices under paragraph (1)(B), prepare and submit to Congress a report containing a description of the set; and not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and as often as practicable but not less often than annually thereafter, coordinate, among the offices and other units of government represented on the task force, research, to the extent feasible, and evaluation regarding models described in subsection (d)(1)(C), identify gaps in or populations or settings not served by models described in that subsection, solicit feedback on the models, from the stakeholders described in subsection (d)(1)(B), coordinate, among the offices and other units of government represented on the task force, the awarding of grants related to preventing and mitigating trauma, and establish procedures to enable the offices and units of government to share technical expertise related to preventing and mitigating trauma. In identifying, evaluating, recommending, maintaining, and updating the set of best practices under subsection (c), the task force shall— consider findings from evidence-based and evidence-informed models, including from institutions of higher education, community practice (including tribal experience), recognized professional associations, and programs of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Justice, the Department of Education, and other Federal agencies, that reflect the science of healthy child, youth, and family development, and have been developed, implemented, and evaluated to demonstrate effectiveness and positive measurable outcomes; engage with, and solicit and receive feedback from, faculty at institutions of higher education, community practitioners associated with the community practice described in subparagraph (A), and recognized professional associations that represent the experience and perspectives of individuals who provide services in covered settings, to obtain observations and practical recommendations on the best practices; ensure that the best practices include culturally sensitive, linguistically appropriate, and age- and gender-relevant models for settings in which individuals may come into contact with children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma, including schools, hospitals, settings where health care providers, including primary care and pediatric providers, provide services, preschool and early childhood education and care settings, home visiting settings, after-school program facilities, child welfare agency facilities, public health agency facilities, mental health treatment facilities, substance abuse treatment facilities, faith-based institutions, juvenile justice system facilities, and law enforcement agency facilities; recommend best practices that are evidence-based or evidence-informed and include guidelines for— training of front-line service providers, including teachers, providers from child- or youth-serving organizations, health care providers, and first responders, in identifying early signs and risk factors of trauma in children and youth, and their families as appropriate, including through screening processes; and implementing appropriate responses; mechanisms that— are procedures or systems, and are designed to quickly refer children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma to, and ensure the children, youth, and appropriate family members receive, the appropriate trauma-informed screening and support, including treatment; or use partnerships that— include covered recipients; include local organizations or clinical service providers with expertise in furnishing support services (including treatment) to prevent or mitigate the effects of trauma; may be partnerships that co-locate services, such as by providing services at school-based health centers; and are designed to make such quick referrals, and ensure the receipt of screening and support, described in subclause (I); large-scale interventions for underserved communities that have faced trauma through acute or long-term exposure to substantial discrimination, historical or cultural oppression, intergenerational poverty, civil unrest, or a high rate of violence; multigenerational interventions to— support, including through skills building, parents (including expecting parents), guardians, adult caregivers, and educators in fostering safe, stable, and nurturing environments and relationships that prevent and mitigate trauma for children and youth who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; assist parents and guardians in learning to access resources related to such prevention and mitigation; and provide tools to prevent and address caregiver or secondary trauma, as appropriate; assisting parents and guardians in understanding eligibility for and obtaining certain health benefits coverage, including coverage under a State Medicaid plan under title XIX of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq. ) of screening and treatment for children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; utilizing subclinical providers (including peers through peer support models, mentors, clergy, and other community figures), to— expeditiously link children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma, to the appropriate trauma-informed screening and support (including clinical treatment) services; and provide ongoing care or case management services; collecting and utilizing data from screenings, referrals, or the provision of services and supports, conducted in the covered settings, to evaluate and improve processes for trauma-informed support and outcomes; improving disciplinary practices in early childhood education and care settings and schools, including use of positive disciplinary strategies that are effective at reducing the incidence of punitive school disciplinary actions, including school suspensions and expulsions; and providing the training described in clause
(i)to child care providers and to school personnel, including school resource officers, teacher assistants, administrators, and heads of charter schools; and incorporating trauma-informed considerations into educational, preservice, and continuing education opportunities, for the use of health professional organizations, national and State accreditation bodies for health care providers, health professional schools, and other relevant training and educational entities; recommend best practices that— can be applied across underserved geographic areas; and engage entire organizations in training and skill building related to the best practices; and recommend best practices that are designed not to lead to unwarranted custody loss or criminal penalties for parents or guardians in connection with children and youth who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma. To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2017 and $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2021. In this section: The term covered recipient means a department or other entity described in subsection (c)(1)(B). The term covered setting means a setting described in subsection (d)(1)(C).
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Sec. 101
Task force to develop best practices for trauma-informed identification, referral, and support
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