§ 300d–53 — State Grants For Protection And Advocacy Services

(a) The Secretary, acting through the Administrator for the Administration for Community Living, shall make grants to protection and advocacy systems for the purpose of enabling such systems to provide services to individuals with traumatic brain injury. (b) Services provided under this section may include the provision of— (1) information, referrals, and advice; (2) individual and family advocacy; (3) legal representation; and (4) specific assistance in self-advocacy. (c) To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a protection and advocacy system shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such form and manner, and accompanied by such information and assurances as the Secretary may require. (1) With respect to any fiscal year in which the amount appropriated under subsection (l) to carry out this section is less than $2,700,000, the Secretary shall make grants from such amount to individual protection and advocacy systems within States to enable such systems to plan for, develop outreach strategies for, and carry out services authorized under this section for individuals with traumatic brain injury. (2) The amount of each grant provided under paragraph (1) shall be determined as set forth in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (e). (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), with respect to each fiscal year in which the amount appropriated under subsection (l) to carry out this section is $2,700,000 or more, the Secretary shall make a grant to a protection and advocacy system within each State. (2) The amount of a grant provided to a system under paragraph (1) shall be equal to an amount bearing the same ratio to the total amount appropriated for the fiscal year involved under subsection (l) as the population of the State in which the grantee is located bears to the population of all States. (3) a protection and advocacy system under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year shall— (A) in the case of a protection and advocacy system located in American Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the protection and advocacy system serving the American Indian consortium, not be less than $20,000; and (B) in the case of a protection and advocacy system in a State not described in subparagraph (A), not be less than $50,000. (4) For each fiscal year in which the total amount appropriated under subsection (l) to carry out this section is $5,000,000 or more, and such appropriated amount exceeds the total amount appropriated to carry out this section in the preceding fiscal year, the Secretary shall increase each of the minimum grants amount described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (3) by a percentage equal to the percentage increase in the total amount appropriated under subsection (l) to carry out this section between the preceding fiscal year and the fiscal year involved. (f) Any amount paid to a protection and advocacy system that serves a State or the American Indian consortium for a fiscal year under this section that remains unobligated at the end of such fiscal year shall remain available to such system for obligation during the next fiscal year for the purposes for which such amount was originally provided. (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each fiscal year not later than October 1, the Secretary shall pay directly to any protection and advocacy system that complies with the provisions of this section, the total amount of the grant for such system, unless the system provides otherwise for such payment. (1) Each protection and advocacy system that receives a payment under this section shall submit an annual report to the Secretary concerning the services provided to individuals with traumatic brain injury by such system. (2) Not later than 1 year after November 26, 2014, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report describing the services and activities carried out under this section during the period for which the report is being prepared. (i) The Secretary shall facilitate agreements to coordinate the collection of data by agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services regarding protection and advocacy services. (1) For any fiscal year for which the amount appropriated to carry out this section is $6,000,000 or greater, the Secretary shall use 2 percent of such amount to make a grant to an eligible national association for providing for training and technical assistance to protection and advocacy systems. (2) In this subsection, the term “eligible national association” means a national association with demonstrated experience in providing training and technical assistance to protection and advocacy systems. (k) In providing services under this section, a protection and advocacy system shall have the same authorities, including access to records, as such system would have for purposes of providing services under subtitle C of title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.). (l) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2024. (m) In this section: (1) The term “American Indian consortium” means a consortium established under subtitle C of title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.). (2) The term “protection and advocacy system” means a protection and advocacy system established under subtitle C of title I of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15041 et seq.). (3) The term “State”, unless otherwise specified, means the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.