Sec. 3. Ensuring a whole-of-government approach through a Federal interagency task force to support families impacted by substance use disorders
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There is established within the Federal Government an interagency task force to improve— efforts, resources, and services of the Federal Government to support families impacted by substance use disorders; the utilization of such efforts, resources, and services; and strategies to streamline the provision of comprehensive wraparound care for families impacted by substance use disorders. 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 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 Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The interagency task force shall carry out each of the following activities: Solicit input from stakeholders, including frontline service providers, educators, mental health professionals, researchers, experts in infant, child, and youth trauma, child welfare professionals, people in recovery, and the public, in order to inform the activities under this subsection. Compile a comprehensive list of all Federal Government efforts, resources, and services to support families impacted by substance use disorders.
Assess the effectiveness of care, services, and resources available to families impacted by substance use disorders. Analyze and make recommendations for means of eliminating barriers that prevent individuals with substance use disorders from entering and remaining in care for the disorder involved. Analyze and make recommendations for means of eliminating barriers to social services for individuals with substance use disorders and their families. Provide recommendations for effectively streamlining the provision of comprehensive wraparound care for families impacted by substance use disorders.
Recommend a plan for addressing the comprehensive wraparound care needs of families impacted by substance use disorders and specifically address in the plan the needs of populations most disproportionately affected. Other activities as determined appropriate by the Secretary. 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, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Labor, the 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).
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), which may include public engagement; a plan for carrying out the activities under subsection (c); 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 enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and the general public a final report that contains the findings and recommendations (including the recommended plan described in subsection (c)(7)) of the task force. In addition to the final report under subsection (e), 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 opportunities for local- and State-level partnerships, professional development, or best practices to support families impacted by substance use disorders. The task force shall sunset on the date that is 60 days after the submission of the report under subsection (e), but not later than September 30, 2028. In this section, the term comprehensive wraparound care includes clinical, ancillary health, mental health, substance use disorder, and social support services, to address a substance use disorder.