Improving Data Collection for Adverse Childhood Experiences Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7689 To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to support research and programmatic efforts that will build on previous research on the effects of adverse childhood experiences. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 20, 2020 Mrs. MCBATH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To amend the Public Health Service Act to direct the Sec- retary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to support research and programmatic ef- forts that will build on previous research on the effects of adverse childhood experiences. 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; FINDINGS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Improving Data Collection for Adverse Childhood Experi- 5 ences Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:58 Aug 11, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7689.IH H7689 2 •HR 7689 IH (b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 1 (1) Certain negative events, circumstances, or 2 maltreatment to which children may be exposed, 3 known as adverse childhood experiences, are associ- 4 ated with negative health outcomes. 5 (2) Childhood psychological, physical, or sexual 6 abuse; household challenges such as violence, sub- 7 stance use, mental illness, separation or divorce, or 8 incarceration of a family member; and emotional or 9 physical neglect have been shown to negatively im- 10 pact a person’s long-term health and wellbeing. 11 (3) Adverse childhood experiences and associ- 12 ated conditions such as living in under-resourced or 13 racially segregated neighborhoods, frequently mov- 14 ing, experiencing food insecurity, and other insta- 15 bility can cause toxic stress, a prolonged activation 16 of the stress-response system. 17 (4) Experiencing one or more adverse childhood 18 experiences is associated with higher risks of some 19 of the leading causes of death and disability in the 20 United States. 21 (5) More than half of all Americans have expe- 22 rienced one or more adverse childhood experiences. 23 (6) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 24 vention has recognized adverse childhood experiences 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7689.IH H7689 3 •HR 7689 IH as a major public health concern and made it a pri- 1 ority area for focus in the National Center for In- 2 jury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Dis- 3 ease Control and Prevention. 4 (7) Further research is needed to better define 5 adverse childhood experiences, understand the causal 6 pathway between adverse childhood experiences and 7 physical health outcomes, and identify protective fac- 8 tors against adverse childhood experiences and their 9 effects, in order to inform and improve current pro- 10 grams and future efforts to promote public health. 11 (8) Evidence-based prevention and mitigation 12 strategies to address adverse childhood experiences 13 have been identified, but efforts are needed to facili- 14 tate implementation in communities. 15 SEC. 2. SUPPORTING RESEARCH ON ADVERSE CHILDHOOD 16 EXPERIENCES. 17 Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act 18 (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended by inserting after 19 section 393D (42 U.S.C. 280b–1f) the following: 20 ‘‘SEC. 393E. SUPPORTING RESEARCH ON PREVENTING OR 21 REMEDIATING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPE- 22 RIENCES. 23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 24 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7689.IH H7689 4 •HR 7689 IH vention, may, in cooperation with the States, collect and 1 report data on adverse childhood experiences through the 2 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the Youth 3 Risk Behavior Surveillance System, or other relevant pub- 4 lic health surveys or questionnaires to contribute to a lon- 5 gitudinal study that— 6 ‘‘(1) builds on previous literature, including the 7 seminal CDC–Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood 8 Experiences (ACE) Study, on the biology and neuro- 9 science of childhood adversity that establishes the 10 links between adverse childhood experiences and neg- 11 ative outcomes; 12 ‘‘(2) that focuses on elements not included in 13 the study referred to in paragraph (1), including— 14 ‘‘(A) the inclusion of a diverse nationally 15 representative sample of participants; 16 ‘‘(B) the strength of the relationship be- 17 tween individual, specific adverse childhood ex- 18 periences and negative health outcomes; 19 ‘‘(C) the intensity and frequency of adverse 20 childhood experiences; 21 ‘‘(D) the relative strength of particular 22 risk and protective factors; and 23 ‘‘(E) the effect of social, economic, and 24 community conditions on health and well-being. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7689.IH H7689 5 •HR 7689 IH ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may, 1 directly or through awards of grants or contracts to public 2 or non-profit private entities, provide technical assistance 3 with respect to the collection and reporting of data as de- 4 scribed in subsection (a). 5 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 6 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 7 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2026.’’. 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:05 Aug 06, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7689.IH H7689