S. 3461 — RISE from Trauma Act

This section establishes a grant program in the Public Health Service Act for demonstration projects enabling eligible entities to serve as local coordinating bodies to prevent or mitigate community trauma and toxic stress or to promote resilience by fostering protective factors. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, awards grants of up to $6 million for four-year periods to State, local, county, tribal, or nonprofit entities that include representatives from at least five specified categories—such as public health or child welfare agencies, institutions of higher education or National Child Traumatic Stress Network members, hospitals, criminal justice representatives, local educational agencies, workforce groups, nonprofits, and trauma survivors—with collective expertise in childhood trauma, resilience, and related services. (As background, these coordinating bodies target infants, children, youth, and families in "covered settings" including health care, education, child welfare, and justice systems.) Priority goes to applicants serving high-trauma communities, evaluated by metrics such as above-national-average age-adjusted drug overdose or violence-related death rates or child welfare/juvenile justice involvement. Grantees may use funds to convene stakeholders for needs assessments, collect disaggregated data on local priorities, provide trauma-informed training and outreach, and develop community-partnered strategic plans for policy goals and service coordination (e.g., leveraging existing grants or insurance).

This section expands the Performance Partnership Pilots—pilots allowing states, localities, or tribes to blend certain federal discretionary funds across agencies and receive waivers of statutory program requirements to test strategies improving outcomes for at-risk youth—by (1) adding a new purpose to address infants, children, and youth (and their families, as appropriate) who have experienced or are at risk of trauma (e.g., low-income, homeless, child welfare- or juvenile justice-involved, victims of violence, unemployed, or school dropouts in communities facing discrimination, poverty, unrest, violence, or overdoses); (2) authorizing up to 10 trauma-informed care pilots using funds available for FY2026 through FY2030; (3) changing the relevant subsection heading to "Fiscal Years 2026 Through 2030" (from "Fiscal Year 2014"); (4) extending pilot availability through 2029 (from 2018); and (5) requiring pilot applications to include the target population's age range. This section further requires the Office of Management and Budget Director, working with specified agency heads, to explore start-up funding authorities, issue guidance (including templates, performance measures, and best practices), and align application timelines for flexibility within nine months of enactment.

This section establishes a grant program to support hospital-based trauma-informed interventions that improve outcomes and reduce readmissions or reinjury for patients presenting at hospitals after overdosing, attempting suicide, or suffering violent injury or abuse (e.g., domestic violence, gunshots, or stabbings). Eligible entities—hospitals or health systems, including those operated by Indian tribes or tribal organizations—must demonstrate prior experience in such interventions and use funds for comprehensive services such as education, screening, counseling, discharge planning, skills building, and case management for patients and their guardians or caregivers, potentially in coordination with community-based organizations and incorporating best practices from the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. Grantees must report data and outcomes to the Secretary, including quality measures to prevent readmissions; additionally, the Secretary, through the CMS Administrator, must evaluate and disseminate information on insurance coverage and reimbursement opportunities for these activities.

This section revises the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSI)—which funds a network of centers to develop, deliver, and disseminate trauma-informed interventions, treatments, training, and services for children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events—by (1) requiring collaboration among all grantees to develop evidence-based resources, training, interventions, practices, and other information as an integral part of grant activities; (2) directing the Secretary to permit all grantees to deliver both training and services, as appropriate, under subsection (d); and (3) authorizing $93,887,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

This section reauthorizes and increases funding for CDC surveillance and data collection activities to $9 million for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 (from $2 million for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023). (As background, these activities—authorized under the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act—enhance CDC surveillance systems to monitor non-opioid alternatives for pain management and substance use disorder prevention.)

This section requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in carrying out health professions training programs under part B of title VII of the Public Health Service Act (i.e., grants for training in primary care medicine, dentistry, and other workforce 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.

This section authorizes an additional $50 million for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 (in addition to amounts under subparagraph (H) for fiscal year 2023) for National Health Service Corps (NHSC) awards to eligible individuals whose obligated service locations are in schools or community-based settings as described in section 338N of the Public Health Service Act (i.e., service on the faculty of certain schools of medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, public health, pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine, or other health professions, or in community-based settings). (Thus, the funding supports recruitment and retention of health professionals in educational and community-based primary care training environments to address shortages in medically underserved areas.)

This section establishes the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Clinical Leadership Program under the Public Health Service Act, directing the Secretary, acting through the Associate Administrator of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, to award grants to eligible entities for a national network of training institutes in infant and early childhood clinical mental health. Eligible entities include institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965), including historically Black colleges and universities and Tribal colleges (as defined in section 316(b) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1059c)); hospitals affiliated with such institutions; or state professional medical societies or infant mental health associations partnered with such institutions. Grant funds support training for mental health professionals (e.g., clinical social workers, psychologists, pediatricians) and others in evidence-based, culturally responsive prevention, screening, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of trauma in infants, young children, and parents, through community-based training, graduate tracks, scholarships and stipends (prioritizing underrepresented populations), and mid-career development. The section authorizes $25 million for each of FY2026 through FY2030.

This section amends the Teacher Quality Partnership Grants program, which awards competitive grants to partnerships of institutions of higher education, high-need local educational agencies, and other entities to improve teacher preparation, professional development, and retention, by requiring grant applications to describe how partnerships will prepare general education teachers, special education teachers, and early childhood educators to support learning and social-emotional development for students who have experienced trauma—including those in foster care, juvenile justice, runaway or homeless situations—or in alternative education settings with high trauma populations (e.g., correctional education, juvenile justice facilities, programs for pregnant or parenting students, or reentry programs for dropouts. It further requires grant-funded activities to prepare such educators in evidence-based approaches to improve behavior (e.g., positive behavioral interventions and supports, restorative justice), support social-emotional learning, mitigate trauma effects, enhance school environments, prevent educator burnout, and use alternatives to punitive discipline (e.g., suspensions, expulsions, law enforcement referrals). (Thus, grants must now incorporate trauma-informed and resilience-focused strategies, including recognizing trauma signs, maximizing student engagement, implementing non-exclusionary discipline, and coordinating with school staff, with targeted training for work in alternative settings serving vulnerable youth.) This section also establishes an administrative priority for partnerships proposing high-quality trauma-informed training programs and requires leadership development grants to include identifying students who have experienced trauma and connecting them to school- or community-based interventions and services.

This section directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, not later than 18 months after enactment and in coordination with stakeholders such as the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, to develop toolkits for front-line service 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 to build safe, stable, and nurturing environments; enhance capacity; and address secondary trauma, compassion fatigue, and burnout among providers and caregivers.

This section establishes a grant program under the Office of Justice Programs authorizing the Attorney General to award grants to states, units of local government, Indian tribes and tribal organizations, and nonprofits to reduce violence and substance use by preventing children's trauma from exposure to violence or substance use and supporting affected infants, children, youth, and families. Grants may fund (1) public awareness and education on addressing childhood trauma to improve outcomes; (2) training, tools, and resources for parents, guardians, and professionals, incorporating best practices from 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 for each of FY2026 through FY2030.

This section establishes a National Law Enforcement Child and Youth Trauma Coordinating Center within the Department of Justice, to be led by the Attorney General in coordination with the Civil Rights Division, to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies—including those operated by Indian tribes—in interacting with infants, children, and youth exposed to violence or trauma, and their families as appropriate. The center must disseminate best practices (e.g., trauma-informed approaches to conflict resolution, forensic interviewing, de-escalation, crisis intervention, early interventions linking victims to services, and support for officers experiencing secondary trauma); provide professional training and technical assistance; and 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. The section authorizes $6 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030 for the grant program and $2 million annually for FY2026 through FY2030 for the center's other activities.