,,ii #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dhga ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #ae1 #bjbb,ms4 ,baldwin 7for herself and ,ms4 ,collins7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to establish an office to coordinate work relating to behavioral health crisis care and to improve the ,national ,suicide ,prevention ,lifeline program1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the #ihh ,coordination and ,improvement ,act4 #b4 ,behavioral ,health ,crisis ,coordinating ,office ,part ,a of title ,v of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bij;aa et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #ejf;,b4 ,behavioral ,health ,crisis ,coordinating ,office 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish1 within the ,substance ,abuse and ,mental ,health ,services ,administration1 an office to coordinate work relating to behavioral health crisis care across the operating divisions and agencies of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services1 including the ,substance ,abuse and ,mental ,health ,services ,administration1 the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services1 and the ,health ,resources and ,services ,administration1 and other ,federal ,government and external stakeholders4 7b7 ,duty ,the office established under subsection 7a7 shall-- 7#a7 convene ,federal1 ,state1 ,tribal1 local1 and private partners2 7#b7 launch and manage ,federal workgroups charged with making recommendations regarding behavioral health crisis issues1 including with respect to health care best practices1 workforce development1 mental health disparities1 data collection1 technology1 geolocation and call routing1 program oversight1 public education1 and engagement2 and 7#c7 support technical assistance1 data analysis1 and evaluation functions in order to assist ,states1 local governmental entities1 territories1 ,indian ,tribes1 and ,tribal communities in developing crisis care systems and establish nationwide best practices with the objective of expanding the capacity of1 and access to1 local #ihh ,suicide and ,crisis ,lifeline call centers1 mobile crisis care1 crisis stabilization1 psychiatric emergency services1 rapid post-crisis follow-up care1 and essential community services provided by-- 7,a7 the ,national ,suicide ,prevention and ,mental ,health ,crisis ,hotline and ,response ,system2 7,b7 the ,veterans ,crisis ,line2 7,c7 community mental health centers 7as defined in section #ahfa7;ff77#c77;,b7 of the ,social ,security ,act72 7,d7 ,federally qualified health centers 7as defined in section #ahfa7;aa7 of the ,social ,security ,act72 7,e7 certified community behavioral health clinics1 as described in section #bbc of the ,protecting ,access to ,medicare ,act of #bjad2 and 7,f7 other community mental health1 substance use disorder1 and essential community service providers1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section #aj1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbc through #bjbg4 4 #c4 ,national ,suicide ,prevention ,lifeline program access to specialized services ,section #ebj;,e-#c of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#bij;bb-#cf;c7 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7b7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7i7 by inserting after suicide prevention hotline the following3 1 under the universal telephone number designated under section #bea7;e77#d7 of the ,communications ,act of #aicd12 and 7ii7 by striking 2 and at the end and inserting a semicolon2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 and2 and 7,c7 by adding at the end the following3 7#d7 supporting access by high-risk populations1 including ,,lgbtq youth and other members of the ,,lgbtq community1 ,american ,indian and ,alaska ,natives1 individuals who reside in rural counties1 veterans1 racial and ethnic minorities1 and other high-risk populations1 to specialized services through the program1 in accordance with subsection 7c7 and as determined by the ,office of the ,assistant ,secretary4 2 7#b7 by redesignating subsection 7c7 as subsection 7d72 and 7#c7 by inserting after subsection 7b7 the following3 7c7 ,access to specialized services 7#a7 ,consultation ,wherever possible1 the ,office of the ,assistant ,secretary shall1 in determining which approaches to use to support access to specialized services under subsection 7b77#d7 to the populations described in such subsection1 consult with organizations that have-- 7,a7 experience working with such populations2 or 7,b7 technological expertise in effective crisis response using such digital and technology approaches4 7#b7 ,examples of specialized services ,efforts to support access to specialized services under subsection 7b77#d7 may include-- 7,a7 updates and development of training resources that can help crisis counselors better address the needs of high-risk populations2 7,b7 adapting the program network center membership processes to incorporate organizations providing specialized services for high-risk populations2 7,c7 designing and implementing transfer processes2 7,d7 providing additional technical assistance to centers participating in the program to ensure compliance with the training expectations in working with high-risk populations2 and 7,e7 the use of digital and technology approaches to improve access for high risk populations4 4 #d4 ,department of ,health and ,human ,services report 7a7 ,in general ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services shall submit a report to ,congress assessing the progress of the ,department of ,health and ,human ,services in implementation of the #i-h-h dialing code for the #ihh ,suicide and ,crisis ,lifeline operated pursuant to the program under section #ebj;,e-#c of the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bij;bb-#cf;c74 7b7 ,content ,the report required under subsection 7a7 shall include-- 7#a7 an assessment of the performance of the #ihh ,suicide and ,crisis ,lifeline and any partner organizations of the ,lifeline2 7#b7 an update on efforts to provide specialized resources to high-risk populations1 including ,,lgbtq youth and other members of the ,,lgbtq community1 ,american ,indian and ,alaska ,natives1 individuals who reside in rural counties1 veterans1 racial and ethnic minorities1 and other high-risk populations2 7#c7 ,state and regional variation with respect to access to crisis call centers1 including average speed to answer1 answer rates1 hours of operation1 and funding sources2 7#d7 the capacity of the #ihh ,suicide and ,crisis ,lifeline to handle texts and chats2 7#e7 any needed programmatic or technological enhancements to connect callers to local services2 and 7#f7 obstacles identified by ,states1 political subdivisions of ,states1 ,indian ,tribes1 or villages or regional corporations serving a region established pursuant to the ,alaska ,native ,claims ,settlement ,act 7#dc ,u4,s4,c4 #afja et seq47 in collection and distribution of fees and charges described by section #d7;a77#a7 of the ,national ,suicide ,hotline ,designation ,act of #bjbj 7,public ,law #aaf-agb74