H.R. 6625 — RISE from Trauma Act

This section establishes a grant program under new section 520D of the Public Health Service Act for eligible entities to serve as local coordinating bodies that prevent or mitigate community trauma and toxic stress or promote resilience by fostering protective factors in infants, children, youth, and families. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the CDC Director and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, awards demonstration grants of up to $6 million for four years to states, counties, localities, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, or nonprofit private entities. To be eligible, an entity must include representatives from at least five specified categories—(1) governmental agencies providing trauma-related services; (2) higher education faculty or National Child Traumatic Stress Network members; (3) health care institutions; (4) criminal justice representatives; (5) local educational agencies or early childhood programs; (6) workforce or business associations; (7) nonprofit or faith-based service organizations; and (8) trauma survivors representing the community—and collectively possess expertise in childhood trauma, resilience, and related services. The Secretary gives priority to applicants serving high-trauma communities, evaluated by above-national-average rates of drug overdose deaths, violence-related injury deaths, or child welfare or juvenile justice involvement. Grant recipients may use funds to convene stakeholders for needs assessments; collect and analyze disaggregated data on local trauma indicators; provide trauma-informed training and outreach; and develop community strategic plans identifying policy goals, coordination opportunities, and resource gaps.

This section expands the Performance Partnership Pilots program—originally authorized in FY2014 to test innovative strategies blending federal funds and waivers to improve outcomes for disconnected youth (i.e., those ages 16-24 not in school or employed)—by (1) adding a definition of improving outcomes for infants, children, youth, and families who have experienced or are at risk of trauma, including specified vulnerable groups such as low-income, homeless, child welfare or juvenile justice-involved, violence victims, unemployed, or school dropouts in high-risk communities; (2) authorizing up to 10 new trauma-informed care pilots using federal discretionary funds for FY2026 through 2030; (3) revising the subsection (b) heading to "Fiscal Years 2026 Through 2030" (from "Fiscal Year 2014"); (4) extending relevant deadlines in subsections (c)(2)(A) and (e) to 2029 (from 2018); and (5) requiring the Office of Management and Budget Director, working with specified agency heads, to explore start-up funding authorities, issue guidance and technical assistance, and align application timelines within nine months of enactment. (Thus, reporting requirements under subsection (c)(2)(F) must now include age ranges for targeted populations.)

This section establishes a grant program under new subsection (c) of Section 393 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-1a) to support hospital-based, trauma-informed interventions that improve outcomes and reduce readmissions or reinjuries for patients presenting after overdoses, suicide attempts, or violent injuries or abuse (such as domestic violence, gunshots, or stabbings). Eligible entities are hospitals or health systems—including those operated by Indian tribes or tribal organizations—with demonstrated experience in such interventions; grant funds may be used to deliver comprehensive services (i.e., education, screening, counseling, discharge planning, skills building, and case management) to such patients and their guardians or caregivers, in coordination with community-based organizations and incorporating best practices under section 7132(d) of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. Grantees must report data, outcomes, and quality measures to prevent readmissions, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must evaluate existing authorities to identify reimbursement opportunities for these activities and disseminate relevant information to grantees.

This section amends the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSI) program—under which the Secretary of Health and Human Services awards grants to a network of centers to develop, support, and deliver trauma-informed interventions, services, training, and resources for children and families exposed to traumatic events—by (1) requiring collaboration among all NCTSI grantees to develop evidence-based resources, training, interventions, practices, and other information as an integral part of required grant activities; (2) permitting all grantees to deliver both training and services, as appropriate; and (3) authorizing appropriations of $93,887,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

This section reauthorizes CDC surveillance and data collection activities on substance use disorders and overdoses (under sec. 7131 of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act) through FY2030, increasing annual funding to $9 million for FY2026 through FY2030 (from $2 million for FY2019 through FY2023).

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in carrying out primary care training and enhancement programs under part B of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (i.e., grants to train primary care physicians, physician assistants, dental professionals, and others to serve in underserved areas), to emphasize recruitment of individuals from communities that have experienced high levels of trauma, violence, or addiction and to conduct appropriate activities in partnership with community-based organizations expert in addressing such challenges to enhance service delivery.

This section provides $50 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030, in addition to amounts appropriated for FY2023 under section 10503(b)(2)(H) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 254b–2(b)(2)(H)), for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) awards to eligible individuals whose obligated service is in schools or community-based settings as described in section 338N of the Public Health Service Act (i.e., certain health professions schools, nurse-managed health clinics, and behavioral health settings). (Thus, the funding supports NHSC loan repayment and scholarship programs to recruit clinicians to medically underserved educational and community sites.)

This section establishes an Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Leadership Program, administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Associate Administrator of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, to award grants to eligible entities for creating a national network of training institutes in infant and early childhood clinical mental health. Eligible entities include institutions of higher education (IHEs)—such as historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Tribal colleges (as defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965)—or hospitals or state professional medical societies or associations affiliated or partnered with such IHEs. Grant activities equip mental health professionals (e.g., clinical social workers, psychologists, pediatricians) and trainees with culturally responsive skills in trauma prevention, screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for infants, children, and parents, through community-based training and supervision; graduate education tracks; scholarships and stipends (prioritizing underrepresented populations); and mid-career training. The section authorizes $25 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030.

This section amends the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants program (i.e., competitive grants to partnerships of institutions of higher education, high-need local educational agencies, and other entities to improve the preparation, professional development, and retention of general education teachers, special education teachers, principals, and early childhood educators) to incorporate trauma-informed and resilience-focused training requirements, as follows: (1) requires grant applications to describe how partnerships will prepare such educators to support positive learning and social-emotional outcomes for students who have experienced trauma—including those involved in foster care or juvenile justice systems and runaway or homeless youth—and students in alternative education settings with high trauma exposure (e.g., correctional education, juvenile justice facilities, programs for pregnant or parenting students, or reentry programs for dropouts); (2) requires partnerships to prepare prospective and new teachers and early childhood educators to adopt evidence-based approaches, including positive behavior interventions and supports, restorative justice, social-emotional learning, trauma mitigation, learning environment improvements, secondary trauma prevention, and alternatives to punitive discipline such as suspensions, expulsions, corporal punishment, or law enforcement referrals; (3) adds a new required activity to develop trauma-informed teaching skills for recognizing trauma's impact on learning, maximizing student engagement and social-emotional development, implementing non-exclusionary disciplinary alternatives, and fostering schoolwide understanding, with specific training for working with trauma-exposed students (including those in foster care, juvenile justice, homeless, family violence, or trafficking situations) in alternative academic settings; and (4) establishes grant award priority for partnerships with high-quality proposals for such trauma-informed training programs and requires leadership development grants to include identifying trauma-exposed students and connecting them to school- or community-based interventions and services.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in coordination with stakeholders including the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, to develop accessible toolkits within 18 months of enactment for front-line providers (e.g., teachers, social workers, first responders, kinship caregivers) to identify, respond to, and support infants, children, youth, and families experiencing or at risk of trauma or toxic stress. The toolkits must incorporate best practices from section 7132(d) of the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act (Public Law 115-271) and include strategies for safe, stable, nurturing environments, capacity building, and addressing secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout among providers and caregivers.

This section establishes a grant program within the Office of Justice Programs to support states, units of local government, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and nonprofit organizations in implementing trauma-informed policies and practices to prevent children's trauma from exposure to violence or substance use and to aid healing for affected infants, children, youth, and families. Grants may fund (1) public awareness and education on addressing childhood trauma to reduce violence and substance use; (2) training, tools, and resources for parents, guardians, and professionals, including best practices under the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act; and (3) community collaborations and technical assistance, with priority for communities addressing multiple violence types and poly-victimization. The section authorizes $11 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030.

This section establishes a National Law Enforcement Child and Youth Trauma Coordinating Center within the Department of Justice, in coordination with the Civil Rights Division, to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in trauma-informed interactions with infants, children, and youth exposed to violence or other trauma, and their families as appropriate. The Center must (1) disseminate best practices such as trauma-informed conflict resolution, forensic interviewing, de-escalation, crisis intervention, early interventions linking victims to services, and support for officers experiencing secondary trauma; (2) provide professional training and technical assistance; and (3) award grants to agencies or multi-disciplinary consortia for training on trauma responses and establishing referral partnerships with mental health, substance use, health care, or social service professionals. This section authorizes $6 million annually for FY2026 through 2030 for the grants and $2 million annually for FY2026 through 2030 for other Center activities.