Virtual Peer Support Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 157 To provide funding for the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Sub- stance Use to award grants for the purpose of supporting virtual peer behavioral health support services, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES FEBRUARY 2, 2021 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Edu- cation, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To provide funding for the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use to award grants for the pur- pose of supporting virtual peer behavioral health support services, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Virtual Peer Support 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 157 IS SEC. 2. VIRTUAL PLATFORMS FOR IN-PERSON PEER BE- 1 HAVIORAL HEALTH SUPPORT SERVICES. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 3 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec- 4 retary’’), acting through the Assistant Secretary for Men- 5 tal Health and Substance Use, shall award grants on a 6 competitive basis to eligible entities to— 7 (1) transition in-person peer behavioral health 8 support services to virtual platforms; or 9 (2) expand and improve virtual peer behavioral 10 health support services. 11 (b) APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS.— 12 (1) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity seeking 13 a grant under this section shall, as a condition for 14 receiving such grant, submit an application to the 15 Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con- 16 taining such information as the Secretary may rea- 17 sonably require. 18 (2) SELECTION.— 19 (A) RESERVATIONS.— 20 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 21 reserve not less than 50 percent of the 22 amount appropriated under subsection (f) 23 for awarding grants under this section to 24 eligible entities that are— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 157 IS (I) community-based providers; 1 or 2 (II) Tribal communities in ac- 3 cordance with clause (ii). 4 (ii) TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS.— 5 (I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 6 subclause (II), of the amount reserved 7 under clause (i), not less than 8 per- 8 cent shall be reserved for grants 9 under this section to Tribal commu- 10 nities. 11 (II) REMAINING AMOUNTS.—In 12 the case that there are remaining 13 funds after the reservation under sub- 14 clause (I) due to an insufficient num- 15 ber of Tribal communities that apply 16 for a grant under this section, any 17 such remaining funds shall be used to- 18 wards grants to community-based pro- 19 viders that serve Tribal communities. 20 (B) MAXIMUM GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTA- 21 TION.—Subject to subparagraph (A) and the el- 22 igible entities that submit applications under 23 paragraph (1), in selecting eligible entities to 24 receive grants under this section, the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 157 IS shall, to the maximum extent possible, ensure 1 that the residents of all States and Tribal com- 2 munities are served by at least 1 grant under 3 this section. 4 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity receiving a 6 grant under this section may use the funds awarded 7 through such grant to— 8 (A) carry out workforce development, re- 9 cruitment, and retention activities, to train, re- 10 cruit, and retain certified peer-support special- 11 ists; 12 (B) transition a network of in-person, 13 peer-facilitated behavioral health support serv- 14 ices to a virtual platform for such behavioral 15 health support services; 16 (C) expand or improve virtual, peer behav- 17 ioral health support services carried out by the 18 entity prior to the date of enactment of this 19 section; 20 (D) adopt technologies to transition in-per- 21 son peer behavioral health support services to 22 virtual peer behavioral health support services, 23 including by acquiring— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 157 IS (i) appropriate physical hardware for 1 such virtual services; 2 (ii) software and programs to effi- 3 ciently run peer support services virtually; 4 and 5 (iii) other technology for establishing 6 virtual waiting rooms and virtual video 7 platforms for meetings; 8 (E)(i) provide multilingual virtual peer be- 9 havioral health support services as needed with- 10 in the community; and 11 (ii) provide language access services, in- 12 cluding translation and interpretation services, 13 with respect to virtual peer behavioral health 14 support services to allow individuals with lim- 15 ited-English proficiency and individuals with 16 disabilities to access such services; 17 (F) provide targeted virtual peer behav- 18 ioral health support services to demographics 19 such as— 20 (i) those heavily impacted by the 21 COVID–19 response such as clinicians, 22 emergency service workers, nurses, and 23 physicians; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 157 IS (ii) populations such as those who are 1 high risk or potentially face barriers to 2 care due to the pandemic, including vet- 3 erans, rural communities, seniors, youth, 4 young adults, parents, and caregivers; 5 (G) provide 1-on-1 peer support services 6 when feasible to provide additional support to 7 individuals; 8 (H) increase awareness of peer support re- 9 sources in the community by conducting out- 10 reach and education including through webinars 11 and podcasts; 12 (I) provide funding for certification and 13 salaries for certified peer-support specialists; 14 (J) conduct research to demonstrate the 15 efficacy of virtual peer support; and 16 (K) provide funding for the staffing and 17 administrative needs of the eligible entity to 18 carry out virtual peer behavioral health support 19 services for not less than 1 year. 20 (2) REQUIREMENTS FOR SUPPORT SERVICES.— 21 A behavioral health support service supported under 22 this section shall— 23 (A) be provided by a certified peer-support 24 specialist; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 157 IS (B) be provided at no cost to the recipients 1 of such service; 2 (C) incorporate promising or evidence- 3 based practices for providing peer behavioral 4 health support to recipients; and 5 (D) comply with the requirements for non- 6 discrimination under paragraph (3). 7 (3) NONDISCRIMINATION.—No individual in the 8 United States shall, on the basis of the actual or 9 perceived race, color, national origin, sex (including 10 sexual orientation and gender identity), age, lan- 11 guage proficiency, or disability of the individual be 12 excluded from participation in, denied the benefits 13 of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under 14 any program or activity receiving any funding made 15 available under subsection (f). 16 (d) GRANT AMOUNT.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except for a grant described 18 in subsection (b)(2)(A), each grant awarded under 19 this section shall be in an amount of not less than 20 $1,000,000. 21 (2) COMMUNITY-BASED PROVIDERS AND TRIBAL 22 COMMUNITIES.—The Secretary shall determine an 23 appropriate amount for each grant awarded under 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 157 IS subsection (b)(2)(A) to a community-based provider 1 or Tribal community. 2 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after 4 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 5 shall submit a report to the Committees described in 6 paragraph (2) that includes an analysis of the out- 7 comes of the grants awarded under this section, 8 such as outcomes measured by the level of participa- 9 tion in peer support services receiving funds under 10 subsection (f), the development of a peer support- 11 specialist workforce, any barriers and challenges in 12 developing recommendations to assist individuals in 13 need of peer behavioral health support services, and 14 any other measure determined appropriate by the 15 Secretary. 16 (2) COMMITTEES.—The Committees described 17 in this paragraph are each of the following: 18 (A) The Committee on Health, Education, 19 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. 20 (B) The Committee on Finance of the Sen- 21 ate. 22 (C) The Committee on Energy and Com- 23 merce of the House of Representatives. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 157 IS (D) The Committee on Ways and Means of 1 the House of Representatives. 2 (f) FUNDING.—There is appropriated, out of 3 amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to 4 remain available until expended, $50,000,000 to carry out 5 this section. 6 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) CERTIFIED PEER-SUPPORT SPECIALIST.— 8 The term ‘‘certified peer-support specialist’’ means 9 an individual who— 10 (A) is a self-identified current or former 11 recipient of behavioral health services who has 12 the ability to support other individuals diag- 13 nosed with a mental illness or substance use 14 disorder; and 15 (B)(i) is certified in accordance with appli- 16 cable State law to provide peer support services 17 in behavioral health settings; or 18 (ii) is certified as qualified to furnish peer 19 support services under a certification process 20 consistent with the National Practice Guidelines 21 for Peer Supporters and inclusive of the core 22 competencies identified by the Substance Abuse 23 and Mental Health Services Administration in 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 157 IS the Core Competencies for Peer Workers in Be- 1 havioral Health Services. 2 (2) COMMUNITY-BASED PROVIDER.—The term 3 ‘‘community-based provider’’ means an eligible entity 4 that is a consumer-controlled or consumer-run orga- 5 nization and is certified in accordance with applica- 6 ble State law to deliver peer support services at a 7 State or local level, and not at the national level. 8 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 9 ty’’ means a consumer-controlled or consumer-run 10 organization, or a Tribal community, that— 11 (A) facilitates evidence-informed peer be- 12 havioral health support services; 13 (B) offers certified peer-support training; 14 (C) prior to the public health emergency 15 declared by the Secretary under section 319 of 16 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) 17 on January 31, 2020, with respect to COVID– 18 19, operated a network of in-person or virtual 19 peer-facilitated behavioral health support serv- 20 ices or group meetings at no cost to the partici- 21 pants; and 22 (D) has the capability to, or is able to 23 show how it will have the capability to, launch 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 157 IS and support a virtual platform for peer behav- 1 ioral health support services. 2 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean- 3 ing given such term in section 2 of the Public 4 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201). 5 (5) TRIBAL COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘Tribal 6 community’’ means an Indian tribe, tribal organiza- 7 tion, or urban Indian organization, as such terms 8 are defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care 9 Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603). 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Feb 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S157.IS S157 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS