Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2013 Overview
Title I – Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance use Disorders
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Creates a new position in the Department of Health and Human Services to
oversee all initiatives. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration would move under this new position.
Prioritizes integration of services and early diagnosis and intervention.
Creates the National Mental Health Policy Laboratory to evaluate evidence based
practices and services and expand use of those models. (could restrict services
solely to EBS for grant funds)
Establishes Interagency Serious Mental Illness Coordinating Committee to serve
as planning and evaluation committee to report to Congress
Establishes Assisted Outpatient Treatment grant program for four year pilots
including a judicial approach for states that do not currently have supporting
legislation
Creates a three year grant program for tele-psychiatry and primary care
physical training grant program for early intervention of children.
Title II – Federally Qualified Behavioral Health Clinics
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Creates five year demonstration grant to 10 states in 2016 to integrate primary
and mental health ambulatory services
Standards include evidence based practices, person centered approach, through
a common delivery site
Emphasis on rural and short capacity areas
Prospective payment
Include professionals to address children’s behavioral health
Use of evidence based practices and services
Provide peer and family supports
Title III – HIPAA and FERPA Caregivers
Caregiver assigned personal representative rights to access protected health
information or educational records of an individual under their care
Title IV – Department of Justice Reforms
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Mandate training for law enforcement and corrections officers, training
emergency medical workers and paramedics
Establish peer to peer services for veterans
Establish a veteran’s treatment court and assistance program
Establish a court ordered assisted outpatient treatment program
Title V – Medicare and Medicaid Reforms
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Cease prohibition for payment of same day services at federally qualified health
center
Create state Medical Assistance option for acute inpatient psychiatric services to
nonelderly
Provide access to mental health prescription drugs under Medicare and Medicaid
(Need to research psychiatric residential treatment facility impact)
Title VI – Research by National Institute of Mental Health
Provides $40 million for each fiscal year 2015 – 2019 to research determinants of
violence in mental illness (self or others) and brain research through the Advancing
Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative
Title VII – Community Mental Health Services Block Grant Reform
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Establish integrated service and data collection requirements
Eliminate restriction of funds for services to fiscal year
Creates court ordered treatment (inpatient and outpatient) where not currently
in existence in state law
Dedicate five percent of funds to have evidences based practice incorporated
into systems of care
Title VIII – Behavioral Health Awareness Program
Create and implement national awareness campaign targeted to secondary and
post-secondary students to: reduce stigma, understand how to assist an individual
with signs of mental illness and understand the importance of treatment for mental
illness.
Title IX – Behavioral Health Information Technology
Extend health information technology assistance to professionals, hospitals,
psychiatric hospitals, community mental health centers, residential or outpatient
treatment facility.
Title X – Expanding Access to Care through Health Care Professional Volunteerism
Establish liability protections for professional volunteers at community health and
federally qualified community behavioral health clinics.
Title XI - SAMSHA Reauthorization and Reforms
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Establish standard for composition of advisory council and peer reviews
Establish data collection criteria
Establish Center for Mental Health Services and its authority
Reauthorizes Garrett Lee Smith suicide prevention technical assistance
Establish Suicide Prevention Technical Assistance Center and responsibilities
with special focus on youth suicide early intervention and prevention strategies
Restrict funding to evidence based services for children with serious emotional
disturbances
Reauthorize National Child Traumatic Stress Network
Eliminate funding for state protection and advocacy systems
Prohibits agencies receiving funds to lobby for the rights and protections of
individuals with mental illness
Prohibits federal sponsorship of conferences
Restricts treatment to the use of evidence based practices
Eliminates any programs not explicitly authorized by 2015