I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3498 To facilitate nationwide accessibility and coordination of 211 services and 988 services in order to provide information and referral to all residents and visitors in the United States for mental health emergencies, home- lessness needs, other social and human services needs, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. HIGGINS of New York (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To facilitate nationwide accessibility and coordination of 211 services and 988 services in order to provide information and referral to all residents and visitors in the United States for mental health emergencies, homelessness needs, other social and human services needs, 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 ‘‘Human-services Emer- 4 gency Logistic Program Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘HELP Act 5 of 2023’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3498 IH SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this Act are as follows: 2 (1) To strengthen the existing 211 services and 3 to coordinate 211 and 988 services in States 4 throughout the Nation. 5 (2) To increase the availability, reliability, and 6 responsiveness of 211 and 988 services, and improve 7 information and referral through 211 and 988 serv- 8 ices, across the country, 24 hours a day, 365 days 9 a year. 10 (3) To reduce the use of 911 services for cir- 11 cumstances not related to law enforcement, fire, or 12 medical emergencies. 13 (4) To more efficiently connect individuals with 14 mental health services and other needed human serv- 15 ices. 16 (5) To reduce the arrests, incarcerations, and 17 violent interactions between law enforcement and in- 18 dividuals that sometimes occur from inappropriate 19 911 emergency referrals. 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3498 IH SEC. 3. ALLOTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN NATIONWIDE AC- 1 CESSIBILITY AND COORDINATION OF 211 AND 2 988 SERVICES FOR INFORMATION AND RE- 3 FERRAL FOR HUMAN SERVICES AND MENTAL 4 HEALTH NEEDS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Out of amounts appropriated 6 under section 4(a) that remain after application of section 7 4(b), the Secretary of Health and Human Services (re- 8 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting through 9 the Human Services National Board, shall make an allot- 10 ment to each State, in accordance with the formula devel- 11 oped under subsection (b), to carry out a program for the 12 purposes of— 13 (1) ensuring 211 and 988 services are directly 14 accessible to all individuals in each State; 15 (2) ensuring capacity within each State for 988 16 services through the operational support of State 17 designated crisis centers within the National Suicide 18 Prevention Lifeline Network; 19 (3) strengthening the reliability, accessibility, 20 and responsiveness of methods of communication 21 through 211 and 988 services, in order to provide 22 information and referrals with respect to human 23 services provided through the respective 211 or 988 24 services, including mental health emergency re- 25 sources and suicide prevention resources provided 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3498 IH through 988 services, homelessness resources, do- 1 mestic violence resources, resources to identify and 2 address child, adult, and elder abuse and exploi- 3 tation, caregiver and child care resources, and other 4 human service needs provided through 211 services; 5 and 6 (4) reducing law enforcement interactions with 7 people with disabilities and individuals experiencing 8 human-services or mental health needs, and increas- 9 ing the capacity to divert calls from 911 or police 10 departments to mental health and human services 11 responders, as appropriate. 12 (b) ALLOTMENTS TO STATES.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of making al- 14 lotments under this section, the Secretary shall de- 15 velop a formula for determining the allotment 16 amounts for each State. Such formula shall be based 17 on population, population density, poverty rate, and 18 other evidence-based predictive data related to the 19 needs of the State for, and access to, mental health 20 and other human services. Allotments made under 21 this section, and the services provided through such 22 allotments, shall not supplant funding otherwise 23 made available to the State for such purposes, or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3498 IH services otherwise provided by the State for such 1 purposes. 2 (2) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—A State 3 may not be eligible for an allotment under this sec- 4 tion unless the State ensures that at least 25 per- 5 cent of the resources of the program funded by the 6 State allotment will be derived from non-Federal 7 sources, which may include in-kind contributions of 8 goods or services. 9 (3) REQUIREMENT REGARDING STATE ALLOT- 10 MENT AMOUNTS.—Of the amounts allotted to a 11 State under this section, not more than 15 percent 12 shall be allocated for evaluation, training, and tech- 13 nical assistance, and for management and adminis- 14 tration of subgrants awarded under this section. 15 (4) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—From the allot- 16 ment made to a State under this subsection, the 17 State Human Services Collaborative may retain the 18 greater of 1⁄2 of 1 percent of such allotment or 19 $50,000, for administrative costs. 20 (c) HUMAN SERVICES NATIONAL BOARD.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 22 a Human Services National Board for purposes of— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3498 IH (A) managing and allocating funds under 1 this section, including making allotments to 2 States; 3 (B) reviewing State plans for implementing 4 and maintaining 211 systems and coordinating 5 the 211 and 988 systems; 6 (C) evaluating State 211 and 988 systems, 7 including with respect to capacity for answering 8 and responding to calls; and 9 (D) evaluating the coordination and col- 10 laboration among 211, 988, and 911 services 11 and other emergency and call center systems. 12 (2) MEMBERSHIP.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Human Services 14 National Board shall be comprised of not fewer 15 than 19 members selected by the Secretary in 16 accordance with subparagraph (B), of which 11 17 shall be permanent members, and 8 shall serve 18 3-year, rotating terms. 19 (B) MEMBERS.— 20 (i) PERMANENT MEMBERS.—The 11 21 permanent members shall be comprised of 22 one representative from each of— 23 (I) the Alliance of Information 24 and Referral Systems; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3498 IH (II) United Way Worldwide; 1 (III) the National Council on 2 Independent Living; 3 (IV) the National Association of 4 Area Agencies on Aging; 5 (V) the Bazelon Center for Men- 6 tal Health Law; 7 (VI) the Leadership Conference 8 on Civil and Human Rights; 9 (VII) the National Alliance to 10 End Homelessness; 11 (VIII) the Fraternal Order of 12 Police; 13 (IX) the National Suicide Pre- 14 vention Lifeline; 15 (X) the National Domestic Vio- 16 lence Hotline; and 17 (XI) the National Emergency 18 Number Association. 19 (ii) ROTATING MEMBERS.—The 8 ro- 20 tating members shall be selected by the 21 Secretary, with input from stakeholders 22 and advocates, and shall include— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3498 IH (I) 1 representative of a faith- 1 based organization dedicated to pro- 2 viding human services; 3 (II) 1 representative of an orga- 4 nization dedicated to ensuring racial 5 and ethnic equity; 6 (III) 1 representative of a dis- 7 ability organization operated by a ma- 8 jority of people with disabilities; 9 (IV) 1 representative of an orga- 10 nization representing older adults; 11 (V) 1 representative of an organi- 12 zation representing Tribal and Native 13 peoples; 14 (VI) 1 representative of an orga- 15 nization representing LGBTQ+ popu- 16 lations; 17 (VII) 1 representative of a sec- 18 ular organization dedicated to pro- 19 viding human services; and 20 (VIII) 1 representative of a law 21 enforcement labor or representative 22 organization. 23 (iii) ADDITIONAL ROTATING MEM- 24 BERS.—In addition to the members ap- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3498 IH pointed under clauses (i) and (ii), the Sec- 1 retary may appoint to the Human Services 2 National Board up to 4 additional rotating 3 members to represent specific populations 4 or issues. Each such member shall serve a 5 3 year term. 6 (iv) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—Ex offi- 7 cio members of the Human Services Na- 8 tional Board shall include 1 representative 9 from each of— 10 (I) the Department of Health 11 and Human Services; 12 (II) the Department of Edu- 13 cation; 14 (III) the Department of Home- 15 land Security; 16 (IV) the Department of Housing 17 and Urban Development; 18 (V) the Department of Com- 19 merce; and 20 (VI) the Department of Labor. 21 (3) FISCAL AGENT.—The Office of the Sec- 22 retary of Health and Human Services shall be the 23 fiscal agent of the Human Services National Board. 24 (4) CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3498 IH (A) CHAIR SELECTION.—The Chair of the 1 Human Services National Board shall be se- 2 lected by the Human Services National Board 3 members, from among the permanent members 4 described in paragraph (2)(B)(i), and shall 5 serve a 5 year term. 6 (B) VICE CHAIR SELECTION.—The Vice 7 Chair shall be selected by the Human Services 8 National Board members, from among the ro- 9 tating members described in paragraph 10 (2)(B)(ii), and shall serve a 3 year term. 11 (d) STATE OVERSIGHT ENTITIES.— 12 (1) HUMAN SERVICES COLLABORATIVES.— 13 (A) IN GENERAL.—A State seeking an al- 14 lotment under this section, not later than 3 15 months after receiving an allotment, shall ap- 16 point a lead entity (referred to in this section 17 as a ‘‘Human Services Collaborative’’) for pur- 18 poses of meeting the requirements of this sub- 19 section. 20 (B) HUMAN SERVICES COLLABORATIVE.— 21 A State lead entity shall be treated as the State 22 Human Services Collaborative under this sub- 23 section if the entity— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3498 IH (i)(I) is a State entity or an independ- 1 ently incorporated nonprofit organization 2 serving as the lead implementing agency 3 coordinating and managing State and re- 4 gional projects and operations for 211 in 5 the State— 6 (aa) under State law; or 7 (bb) by order of the State public 8 utility commission; 9 (II) collaborates, to the extent prac- 10 ticable, with the entities listed in clause 11 (ii); and 12 (III) collaborates with the Adminis- 13 trator of the National Suicide Prevention 14 Lifeline to coordinate 988 operations with 15 211 operations in the State; or 16 (ii) is a collaborative entity established 17 by the State for such purpose from among 18 representatives of— 19 (I) an informal, existing 211 20 statewide collaborative in the State; 21 (II) crisis centers within the Na- 22 tional Suicide Prevention Lifeline Net- 23 work operating in the State; 24 (III) State agencies; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3498 IH (IV) community-based organiza- 1 tions, including— 2 (aa) organizations rep- 3 resenting older adults; 4 (bb) organizations rep- 5 resenting people with disabilities; 6 (cc) where appropriate, or- 7 ganizations representing Native 8 peoples and Tribal nations; 9 (dd) organizations rep- 10 resenting people with mental 11 health disabilities; and 12 (ee) organizations led by 13 Black people, indigenous people, 14 or people of color working to end 15 racism; 16 (V) faith-based organizations 17 dedicated to providing human serv- 18 ices; 19 (VI) nonprofit organizations pro- 20 viding human services; 21 (VII) comprehensive and special- 22 ized information and referral pro- 23 viders, including area agencies on 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 13 •HR 3498 IH aging, aging and disability resource 1 centers, and 211 and 988 call centers; 2 (VIII) State and regional founda- 3 tions; 4 (IX) businesses headquartered in, 5 or with significant presence in, the 6 State; and 7 (X) law enforcement labor or rep- 8 resentative organizations representing 9 rank and file officers. 10 (2) HUMAN SERVICES STATE OVERSIGHT COUN- 11 CIL.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State receiving 13 an allotment under this section shall establish a 14 Human Services State Oversight Council (re- 15 ferred to in this section as a ‘‘Council’’) to pro- 16 vide guidance and oversight of the 211 and 988 17 systems to the State Human Services Collabo- 18 rative. 19 (B) MEMBERS.— 20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each Council shall 21 be comprised of not more than 25 stake- 22 holders and service providers appointed by 23 the governor of the State for staggered 3- 24 year terms, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:37 Oct 03, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3498.IH H3498 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 14 •HR 3498 IH (I) at least 3 representatives of 1 human service providers; 2 (II) at least 2 adults over the age 3 of 60; 4 (III) at least 3 people with dis- 5 abilities; 6 (IV) at least 3 additional people 7 with mental health disabilities; 8 (V) at least 1 individual with a [Text truncated for display. 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