42 U.S.C. § 290ff–4 — General provisions

(a) Duration of support: Payments to a public entity from a grant under section 290ff(a) of this title can't continue for more than 6 fiscal years. (b) Technical assistance: (1) If asked, the Secretary must — whether or not the public entity currently has a grant under section 290ff(a) of this title — (A) help the entity apply for grants under that section, and (B) provide training and technical assistance on planning, developing, and running systems of care described in section 290ff–1 of this title. (2) The Secretary may provide this assistance directly, or through grants to, or contracts with, public and nonprofit private entities. (c) Evaluations and reports by the Secretary: (1) The Secretary must, directly or through contracts with public or private entities, provide for annual evaluations of programs carried out under section 290ff(a) of this title. These evaluations must assess how well the systems of care work, including long-term outcomes of the services provided, other outcome studies, how these activities affect use of hospitals and other institutional settings, what helps or hinders interagency collaboration in delivering community-based services, and parents' assessments of the systems of care. (2) Starting not later than 1 year after money is first appropriated under subsection (c), and every year after that, the Secretary must send Congress a report summarizing these evaluations from the preceding fiscal year, along with any recommendations for administrative or legislative changes the Secretary thinks are appropriate. (d) Definitions: (1) "Child" means an individual through age 21. (2) "Family," for a child given access to a system of care under section 290ff–1(a) of this title, means (A) the child's legal guardian, and (B) as appropriate for the child's mental health services, the child's biological or adoptive parents, kinship caregivers, and any foster parents. (3) "Funding agreement," for a grant under section 290ff(a) of this title to a public entity, means that the Secretary may only make the grant if the entity agrees to the condition involved. (4) "Serious emotional disturbance" includes, for a child, any serious emotional disorder, serious behavioral disorder, or serious mental disorder. (e) No effect on other rights: Nothing in this part limits the rights of a child with a serious emotional disturbance under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. (f) Funding: (1) Congress authorized $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 to carry out this part. (2) No more than 10 percent of the money appropriated for a fiscal year under paragraph (1) may be spent on the technical assistance described in subsection (b).