119-hr4086

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4086 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4086

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
to award grants for providing evidence-based caregiver skills training 
to family caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder or other 
 developmental disabilities or delays, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 23, 2025

 Mr. Min (for himself, Ms. Meng, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. 
 Bacon, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Correa, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. 
 Gottheimer, Ms. Malliotakis, Ms. Norton, Mrs. McIver, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. 
Hayes, Mr. Mannion, Mr. Kennedy of New York, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Khanna, Ms. 
 McBride, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Budzinski, and Mr. Garcia of California) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 
the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
to award grants for providing evidence-based caregiver skills training 
to family caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder or other 
 developmental disabilities or delays, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Autism Family Caregivers Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. CAREGIVER SKILLS TRAINING PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
acting through the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 
Administration (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary''), shall 
carry out a program, to be known as the Caregiver Skills Training Pilot 
Program, under which the Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
entities to provide evidence-based caregiver skills training to family 
caregivers, for the purposes of--

    (1) improving the well-being of children with autism 
 spectrum disorder or another developmental disability or 
 developmental delay and their caregivers; and

    (2) teaching family caregivers evidenced-based intervention 
 strategies to promote--
        (A) improvement in the well-being of such children 
 and their caregivers; and
        (B) the greater inclusion of such children in 
 family and community life.

    (b) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, an eligible 
entity shall submit to the Secretary an application that includes--

    (1) a description of--
        (A) the applicant's experience delivering evidence-
 based caregiver skills training to family caregivers;
        (B) the activities that the applicant proposes to 
 carry out through the grant; and
            (C) how such activities will achieve the purposes 
 described in subsection

    (a) ; and

    (2) a plan for--
        (A) coordination with--
            (i) community-based organizations;
            (ii) State and local early intervention 
 providers;
            (iii) State plans (or waivers of such 
 plans) under the Medicaid program under title 
 XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 
 et seq.);
            (iv) State Directors of Head Start 
 Collaboration (as described in 

section 642B of 
 the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9837b));
            (v) schools; and
            (vi) other providers of early intervening 
 services;
        (B) collaboration with health care payors 
 (including public and private insurance), State 
 departments of insurance, health plans, and other 
 relevant payors;
            (C) expanding the skills training program proposed 
 to be carried out through the grant;
            (D) achieving sustainability of such program; and
        (E) establishing and maintaining a stakeholder 
 implementation committee under subsection

    (e) .
            (c) Reducing Disparities.--In awarding grants under this section, 
the Secretary may consider the extent to which an eligible entity can 
deliver evidence-based, culturally competent and linguistically 
appropriate information to family caregivers from diverse racial, 
ethnic, geographic, or linguistic backgrounds.
            (d) Use of Funds.--The recipient of a grant under this section 
shall use funds received through the grant--

    (1) to provide, at no cost to participants--
        (A) evidence-based caregiver skills training to 
 family caregivers; and
        (B) such training in areas related to children's 
 learning and development, including--
            (i) communication skills;
            (ii) social engagement;
            (iii) daily living skills;
            (iv) caregiver response strategies to 
 challenging behaviors; and
            (v) coping and self-care strategies for 
 family caregivers; and

    (2) to establish and maintain a stakeholder implementation 
 committee under subsection

    (e) .

    (e) Stakeholder Implementation Committee.--

    (1) In general.--An eligible entity shall establish and 
 maintain a stakeholder implementation committee referred to in 
 subsection
            (d) (2) to advise on ensuring that the training 
 provided pursuant to the grant is accessible and culturally 
 appropriate and linguistically appropriate.

    (2) Composition.--The members of the stakeholder 
 implementation committee shall all be from the local community 
 served pursuant to the grant (or the relevant metropolitan 
 statistical area) and shall include, at a minimum, the 
 following:
        (A) Family caregivers, including autistic 
 caregivers and other caregivers with disabilities.
        (B) Pediatric health care and early intervention 
 providers, including developmental behavioral 
 pediatricians, with expertise providing services to 
 children with autism spectrum disorder or other 
 developmental disabilities and delays.
            (C) Educators or related service professionals, 
 including child care providers, with experience serving 
 children with autism spectrum disorder or other 
 developmental disabilities and delays.
            (D) Representatives of local organizations familiar 
 with the cultural values and priorities of individuals 
 in the local community.
        (E) Local government officials.

    (f) Requirements.--

    (1) Number of recipients and states.--The Secretary shall 
 award grants under subsection

    (a) to not fewer than 25 eligible 
 entities in not fewer than 15 States.

    (2) Amount.--The total amount of each grant awarded under 
 subsection

    (a) shall be not less than $500,000 over a 5-year 
 period.

    (g) Supplement Not Supplant.--Amounts received through a grant 
under this section shall be used to supplement, not supplant, other 
amounts received to provide--

    (1) behavioral, medical, habilitative, and other services 
 covered by the Medicaid program under title XIX of the Social 
 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or private health 
 insurance;

    (2) services provided under the Individuals with 
 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.); or

    (3) adaptations of a training program using evidence-based 
 approaches to serve children of different ages, communities, 
 and underrepresented groups.

    (h) Activities of the Secretary.--The Secretary, acting through the 
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration, 
shall--

    (1) assist recipients of grants under subsection

    (a) in--
        (A) the implementation of caregiver skills training 
 programs using lessons learned from other evidenced-
 based activities or caregiver programs conducted or 
 supported by the Health Resources and Services 
 Administration;
        (B) ensuring the programs of the recipients assist 
 medically underserved communities (as defined in 
 

section 799B

    (6) of the Public Health Service Act (42 
 U.S.C. 295p

    (6) )), when possible; and
            (C) developing plans for achieving sustainability 
 of the programs of the recipients;

    (2) conduct an annual evaluation of activities funded 
 through grants under subsection

    (a) , in consultation with the 
 grant recipients, including evaluation of the effectiveness 
 of--
        (A) the communication, social engagement, and daily 
 living skills of children with autism spectrum disorder 
 or other developmental disabilities and delays; and
        (B) the extent to which family caregivers see 
 improvements in the communication, social engagement, 
 and daily living skills of such children; and

    (3) convene at least one national or regional meeting of 
 such grant recipients to discuss best practices.
            (i) Reports.--

    (1) Initial report.--Not later than 6 months after awarding 
 the first grant under subsection

    (a) , the Secretary shall 
 submit to the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of 
 Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
 and Pensions of the Senate, a report on the implementation of 
 this section. Such report shall include--
        (A) how many grants have been awarded;
        (B) the name and location of the grant recipients;
            (C) the communities served by the grants;
            (D) a description of the kind of activities to be 
 carried out with the grants;
        (E) an analysis, conducted by the Administrator of 
 the Health Resources and Services Administration, based 
 on the evaluation under subsection

    (h)

    (2) , of the 
 effectiveness of such grants with respect to--
            (i) the communication, social engagement, 
 and daily living skills of children with autism 
 spectrum disorder or other developmental 
 disabilities and delays; and
            (ii) the extent to which family caregivers 
 see improvements in the communication, social 
 engagement, and daily living skills of such 
 children; and
        (F) best practices to increase access to caregiver 
 skills training programs described in subsection

    (a) in 
 medically underserved communities.

    (2) Final report.--Not later than the end of fiscal year 
 2027, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 
 Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 
 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, a final 
 report on the implementation of this section, including--
        (A) the information, analysis, and best practices 
 listed in subparagraphs
        (A) through
        (F) of paragraph

    (1) ; and
        (B) recommendations on how to expand and extend the 
 program under this section.

    (j) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Developmental delay.--The term ``developmental delay'' 
 has the meaning given such term in 

section 632

    (3) of the 
 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 
 1432

    (3) ).

    (2) Developmental disability.--The term ``developmental 
 disability'' has the meaning given such term in 

section 102

    (8)
        (A) of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill 
 of Rights Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 15002).

    (3) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means an 
 entity that--
        (A) is--
            (i) a nonprofit or other community-based 
 organization;
            (ii) a Federally qualified health center;
            (iii) an accredited academic medical 
 center;
            (iv) a health system; or
            (v) a collaboration or consortium of 2 or 
 more entities listed in clauses
            (i) through
            (iv) ;
        (B) has at least 3 years of demonstrated 
 experience--
            (i) delivering culturally appropriate and 
 linguistically appropriate services for 
 children with autism spectrum disorder or other 
 developmental disabilities or developmental 
 delays, as well as collaborating directly with 
 their families, including in medically 
 underserved communities;
            (ii) providing services to such children, 
 as well as collaborating directly with their 
 families;
            (iii) providing individual caregiver 
 coaching to caregivers of such children; and
            (iv) working with self-advocates or adults 
 with autism spectrum disorder or other 
 developmental disabilities or developmental 
 delays;
            (C) can demonstrate the ability to access resources 
 from and collaborate with--
            (i) health care providers;
            (ii) allied health professionals;
            (iii) educators, including childcare 
 providers;
            (iv) social workers; and
            (v) direct care professionals; and
            (D) has prior demonstrated experience delivering 
 mental health services that address both developmental 
 disabilities and one or more cooccurring mental health 
 conditions, including depression, anxiety, and 
 attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

    (ADHD)

    (4) Family caregiver.--The term ``family caregiver'' means 
 an adult family member or other individual who has a 
 significant relationship with, and who provides a broad range 
 of assistance to, a child between the ages of 0 and 9 diagnosed 
 with autism spectrum disorder or another developmental 
 disability or developmental delay.

    (5) Federally qualified health center.--The term 
 ``Federally qualified health center'' has the meaning given the 
 term in 

section 1861

    (aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
 1395x

    (aa) ).

    (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section, 
there is authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2026 through 2030.
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