§ 290ff–4 — General Provisions

(a) The period during which payments are made to a public entity from a grant under section 290ff(a) of this title may not exceed 6 fiscal years. (1) The Secretary shall, upon the request of a public entity, regardless of whether such public entity is receiving a grant under section 290ff(a) of this title— (A) provide technical assistance to the entity regarding the process of submitting to the Secretary applications for grants under section 290ff(a) of this title; and (B) provide to the entity training and technical assistance with respect to the planning, development, and operation of systems of care described in section 290ff–1 of this title. (2) The Secretary may provide technical assistance under subsection (a) directly or through grants to, or contracts with, public and nonprofit private entities. (1) The Secretary shall, directly or through contracts with public or private entities, provide for annual evaluations of programs carried out pursuant to section 290ff(a) of this title. The evaluations shall assess the effectiveness of the systems of care operated pursuant to such section, including longitudinal studies of outcomes of services provided by such systems, other studies regarding such outcomes, the effect of activities under this part on the utilization of hospital and other institutional settings, the barriers to and achievements resulting from interagency collaboration in providing community-based services to children with a serious emotional disturbance, and assessments by parents of the effectiveness of the systems of care. (2) The Secretary shall, not later than 1 year after the date on which amounts are first appropriated under subsection (c), and annually thereafter, submit to the Congress a report summarizing evaluations carried out pursuant to paragraph (1) during the preceding fiscal year and making such recommendations for administrative and legislative initiatives with respect to this section as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. (d) For purposes of this part: (1) The term “child” means an individual through the age of 21 years. (2) The term “family”, with respect to a child provided access to a system of care under section 290ff–1(a) of this title, means— (A) the legal guardian of the child; and (B) as appropriate regarding mental health services for the child, the parents of the child (biological or adoptive, as the case may be), kinship caregivers of the child, and any foster parents of the child. (3) The term “funding agreement”, with respect to a grant under section 290ff(a) of this title to a public entity, means that the Secretary may make such a grant only if the public entity makes the agreement involved. (4) The term “serious emotional disturbance” includes, with respect to a child, any child who has a serious emotional disorder, a serious behavioral disorder, or a serious mental disorder. (e) Nothing in this part shall be construed as limiting the rights of a child with a serious emotional disturbance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.]. (1) For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are authorized to be appropriated $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027. (2) Not more than 10 percent of the amounts appropriated under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year may be expended for carrying out subsection (b).