Sec. 7132. 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 (in this section referred to as the task force ) that shall identify, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding— best practices with respect to children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; and ways in which Federal agencies can better coordinate to improve the Federal response to families impacted by substance use disorders and other forms of trauma.
The task force shall be composed of the heads of the following Federal departments and agencies, or their designees: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Indian Health Service. The Department of Veterans Affairs. The National Institutes of Health. The Food and Drug Administration. The Health Resources and Services Administration.
The Department of Defense. The Office of Minority Health of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Administration for Children and Families. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Office for Civil Rights 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 Office on Violence Against Women of the Department of Justice. The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance of the Department of Education. The National Center for Special Education Research of the Institute of Education Science. The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education of the Department of Education. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Education. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the Department of Education.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs of the Department of the Interior. The Veterans Health Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Office of Head Start of the Administration for Children and Families. The Children’s Bureau of the Administration for Children and Families. The Bureau of Indian Education of the Department of the Interior. Such other Federal agencies as the Secretaries determine to be appropriate.
The heads of Federal departments and agencies shall appoint the corresponding members of the task force not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act. The task force shall be chaired by the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, or the Assistant Secretary's designee. The task force shall— solicit input from stakeholders, including frontline service providers, educators, mental health professionals, researchers, experts in infant, child, and youth trauma, child welfare professionals, and the public, in order to inform the activities under paragraph (2); and identify, evaluate, make recommendations, and update such recommendations not less than annually, to the general public, the Secretary of Education, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, and other relevant cabinet Secretaries, and Congress regarding— a set of evidence-based, evidence-informed, and promising best practices with respect to— prevention strategies for individuals at risk of experiencing or being exposed to trauma, including trauma as a result of exposure to substance use; the identification of infants, children and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; the expeditious referral to and implementation of trauma-informed practices and supports that prevent and mitigate the effects of trauma, which may include whole-family and multi-generational approaches; and community based or multi-generational practices that support children and their families; a national strategy on how the task force and member agencies will collaborate, prioritize options for, and implement a coordinated approach, which may include— data sharing; providing support to infants, children, and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; identifying options for coordinating existing grants that support infants, children, and youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, exposure to substance use or other trauma, including trauma related to substance use; and other ways to improve coordination, planning, and communication within and across Federal agencies, offices, and programs, to better serve children and families impacted by substance use disorders; and existing Federal authorities at the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of the Interior, and other relevant agencies, and specific Federal grant programs to disseminate best practices on, provide training in, or deliver services through, trauma-informed practices, and disseminate such information— in writing to relevant program offices at such agencies to encourage grant applicants in writing to use such funds, where appropriate, for trauma-informed practices; and to the general public through the internet website of the task force.
In identifying, evaluating, and recommending the set of best practices under subsection (c), the task force shall— include guidelines for providing professional development and education for front-line services providers, including school personnel, early childhood education program providers, providers from child- or youth-serving organizations, housing and homeless providers, primary and behavioral health care providers, child welfare and social services providers, juvenile and family court personnel, health care providers, individuals who are mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect, trained nonclinical providers (including peer mentors and clergy), and first responders, in— understanding and identifying early signs and risk factors of trauma in infants, children, and youth, and their families as appropriate, including through screening processes and services; providing practices to prevent and mitigate the impact of trauma, including by fostering safe and stable environments and relationships; and developing and implementing policies, procedures, or systems that— are designed to quickly refer infants, children, youth, and their families as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma to the appropriate trauma-informed screening and support and age-appropriate treatment, and to ensure such infants, children, youth, and family members receive such support; utilize and develop partnerships with early childhood education programs, local social services organizations, such as organizations serving youth, and clinical mental health or other health care providers with expertise in providing support services and age-appropriate trauma-informed and evidence-based treatment aimed at preventing or mitigating the effects of trauma; educate children and youth to— understand and identify the signs, effects, or symptoms of trauma; and build the resilience and coping skills to mitigate the effects of experiencing trauma; promote and support multi-generational practices that assist parents, foster parents, and kinship and other caregivers in accessing resources related to, and developing environments conducive to, the prevention and mitigation of trauma; and collect and utilize data from screenings, referrals, or the provision of services and supports to evaluate outcomes and improve processes for trauma-informed services and supports that are culturally sensitive, linguistically appropriate, and specific to age ranges and sex, as applicable; recommend best practices that are designed to avoid unwarranted custody loss or criminal penalties for parents or guardians in connection with infants, children, and youth who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing trauma; and recommend opportunities for local- and State-level partnerships that— are designed to quickly identify and refer children and families, as appropriate, who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing exposure to trauma, including related to substance use; utilize and develop partnerships with early childhood education programs, local social services organizations, and health care services aimed at preventing or mitigating the effects of exposure to trauma, including related to substance use; offer community-based prevention activities, including educating families and children on the effects of exposure to trauma, such as trauma related to substance use, and how to build resilience and coping skills to mitigate those effects; in accordance with Federal privacy protections, utilize non-personally-identifiable data from screenings, referrals, or the provision of services and supports to evaluate and improve processes addressing exposure to trauma, including related to substance use; and are designed to prevent separation and support reunification of families if in the best interest of the child.
Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the task force shall hold the first meeting. Not later than 2 years after such date of enactment, the task force shall submit to the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, and Congress an operating plan for carrying out the activities of the task force described in subsection (c)(2). Such operating plan shall include— a list of specific activities that the task force plans to carry out for purposes of carrying out duties described in subsection (c)(2), which may include public engagement; a plan for carrying out the activities under subsection (c)(2); a list of members of the task force and other individuals who are not members of the task force that may be consulted to carry out such activities; an explanation of Federal agency involvement and coordination needed to carry out such activities, including any statutory or regulatory barriers to such coordination; a budget for carrying out such activities; a proposed timeline for implementing recommendations and efforts identified under subsection (c); and other information that the task force determines appropriate as related to its duties.
Not later than 3 years after the date of the first meeting of the task force, the task force shall submit to the general public, Secretary of Education, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Interior, the Attorney General, other relevant cabinet Secretaries, the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and Congress, a final report containing all of the findings and recommendations required under this section, and shall make such report available online in an accessible format.
In addition to the final report under subsection (f). the task force shall submit— a report to Congress identifying any recommendations identified under subsection
(c)that require additional legislative authority to implement; and a report to the Governors describing the opportunities for local- and State-level partnerships, professional development, or best practices recommended under subsection (d)(3). In this section— the term early childhood education program has the meaning given such term in section 103 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1003 ); The term Governor means the chief executive officer of a State; and the term State means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The task force shall sunset on the date that is 60 days after the submission of the final report under subsection (f), but not later than September 30, 2023.
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Sec. 7132
Task force to develop best practices for trauma-informed identification, referral, and support
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