Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Dept. of

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details about the frequency or circumstances under which schools can request volunteers, leaving some uncertainty in these areas.

Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer Alliance Act

This bill requires the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to create a volunteer database for mental health professionals who can provide support at schools or public facilities after acts of gun violence or significant traumatic events.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the department of mental health and substance abuse services to create and manage a statewide volunteer database of qualified mental health professionals for providing on-site or virtual mental healthcare services immediately following an act of gun violence or significant trauma at schools or public facilities.
• Establishes a process for mental health professionals to apply to be part of the volunteer database, named 'Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer Alliance'.
• Requires the commissioner or their designee to manage the database, verify qualifications, initiate requests for volunteers, and track service hours and rates.
• Allows lead officials at schools or public facilities to request qualified mental health professionals from the database when needed after an event.
• Funds $250,000 annually for administrative overhead of the volunteer database and additional costs such as virtual counseling software and travel expenses.
• Establishes a school safety fund using unspent funds from the volunteer alliance act to provide technology and equipment for school safety.

Who It Names or Affects

• Qualified mental health professionals who can apply to be part of the volunteer database.
• Schools and public facilities that may request support after an event.
• The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services responsible for managing the program.

Terms To Know

Qualified mental health professional

A licensed individual with expertise in providing mental health services.

In-kind contribution or pro bono services

Voluntary work provided without charge by a qualified mental health professional.

Limits and Unknowns

• The exact amount of funds transferred to the school safety fund is uncertain and depends on various factors such as the number of traumatic events.
• The bill does not specify how often or under what circumstances schools can request volunteers from the database.
• The effectiveness of the program in providing timely mental health support after traumatic events remains to be seen.

Official Summary Text

This bill enacts
the "Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer Alliance Act
,
"
which requires the department
of mental health and
substance abuse services
to
create and manage a statewide volunteer database of qualified mental health professionals for the purpose of volunteering to provide on-site or virtual mental healthcare services at a school or public facility immediately after
an act of gun violence or a significant traumatic event or disaster has taken place in or around the school or public facility for the benefit of students, educators, and staff.

The department
must
create a volunteer application process for qualified ment
al health professionals to be listed in the database
, to be named
the "Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer Alliance."

This bill requires the
commissioner, or the commissioner's designee,
to (i) a
ct as the director of the database; (
ii
)
v
erify the licensure
qualifications of a qualified mental health professional who volunteers and applies to be included in the database; (
iii
)
i
nitiate the requests for volunteers from the database following
a
n event as described
above
; or
a
request made pursuant to
this bill
; and

(
iv
)
t
rack all service hours and hourly rates provided by the qualified mental health professionals as described in
this bill
.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFIED MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

This bill authorizes the
lead official at a school or public facility
to
submit a request for one or more qualified mental health professionals from the database that must specify

(
i
)
t
he type of qualified mental health professionals needed;

(
ii
)
t
he number of qualified mental health professionals needed; and

(
iii
)
t
he durat
ion of the requested services.

The services provided by a qualified mental health professional under this
bill
are an in-kind contribution or pro bono services
, and a
qualified mental health professional
must
submit service hours and the professional's
hourly rate to the department.

AUTHORIZED USES FOR FUNDS

Subject to appropriations,
this bill requires
a recurring amount of $250,000
to
be used to fund the database's administrative overhead and any additional costs, including virtual counseling servic
es software, reimbursing qualified mental health professionals for travel expenses with the federal mileage rate, and lodging when providing on-site services, if requested. The fund must reimburse the school or public office for any direct costs incurred

for using this database. The unexpended balance of such funds remaining at the end of a fiscal year do not revert to the general fund but must be transferred and deposited into the school safety fund, to be expended solely for the purposes of that fund
as
described below.

Rulemaking

The department
of mental health and substance abuse services

is authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this
fund
.

SCHOOL SAFETY FUND

This bill establishes a
school safety fund to provide funding to schools in thi
s state for the sole purpose of purchasing safety technology and equipment.

The school safety fund
must
consist of

(
i
)
m
onies not utilized in a fiscal year by the Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer Alliance Act and deposited to the fund;

(
ii
)
a
ppropriation
s made by the general assembly; and

(
iii
)
o
ther monies, public or private, by way of gift or grant.

The department of education
must
administer the fund and distribute the monies to schools based on criteria established by
the
department.

Annual
Report

This bill provides that a
ll expenditures from the fund are subject to review in the form of an annual report submitted on or before January 1 of each year by the commissioner of education to the education committee of the senate and the committee
of the house of representatives having jurisdiction over education matters.

Rulemaking

This bill authorizes t
he department of education and the department of mental health and substance abuse services to promulgate rules to effectuate this
fund
.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1418
By Yarbro

HOUSE BILL 1375
By Clemmons

HB1375
003402
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33;
Title 49; Title 63 and Title 68, relative to mental
health.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33, Chapter 6, is amended by adding
the following as a new part:
33-6-1101.
This part is known and may be cited as the "Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer
Alliance Act."
33-6-1102.
(a) The department shall create and manage a statewide volunteer database of
qualified mental health professionals for the purpose of volunteering to provide on-site or
virtual mental healthcare services at a school or public facility immediately after an act of
gun violence or a significant traumatic event or disaster has taken place in or around the
school or public facility for the benefit of students, educators, and staff.
(b) The department shall create a volunteer application process for qualified
mental health professionals to be listed in the database.
(c) The database is named the "Tennessee Mental Health Volunteer Alliance."
33-6-1103.
The commissioner, or the commissioner's designee, shall:
(1) Act as the director of the database;
(2) Verify the licensure qualifications of a qualified mental health
professional who volunteers and applies to be included in the database;

- 2 - 003402

(3) Initiate the requests for volunteers from the database following:
(i) An event as described in § 33-6-1102; or
(ii) A request made pursuant to § 33-6-1104; and
(4) Track all service hours and hourly rates provided by the qualified
mental health professionals as described in § 33-6-1105.
33-6-1104.
The lead official at a school or public facility may submit a request for one (1) or
more qualified mental health professionals from the database that must specify:
(1) The type of qualified mental health professionals needed;
(2) The number of qualified mental health professionals needed; and
(3) The duration of the requested services.
33-6-1105.
(a) The services provided by a qualified mental health professional under this
part are an in-kind contribution or pro bono services.
(b) The qualified mental health professional shall submit service hours and the
qualified mental health professional's hourly rate to the department.
33-6-1106.
The department is authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this part. The
rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures
Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
33-6-1107.
Subject to appropriations, a recurring amount of two hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($250,000) must be used to fund the database's administrative overhead and any
additional costs, including virtual counseling services software, reimbursing qualified
mental health professionals for travel expenses with the federal mileage rate, and

- 3 - 003402

lodging when providing on-site services, if requested. The fund must reimburse the
school or public office for any direct costs incurred for using this database. The
unexpended balance of such funds remaining at the end of a fiscal year do not revert to
the general fund, but must be transferred and deposited into the school safety fund, as
established in § 49-1-235, to be expended solely for the purposes of that fund.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 49, Chapter 1, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
49-1-235.
(a) A school safety fund is established to provide funding to schools in this state
for the sole purpose of purchasing safety technology and equipment.
(b) The school safety fund consists of:
(1) Monies not utilized in a fiscal year by the Tennessee Mental Health
Volunteer Alliance Act, as established in title 33, chapter 6, part 11, and
deposited to the fund pursuant to § 33-6-1107;
(2) Appropriations made by the general assembly; and
(3) Other monies, public or private, by way of gift or grant.
(c) The state treasurer shall invest moneys in the fund for the benefit of the fund
in accordance with § 9-4-603. Interest accruing on investments and deposits of the fund
must be credited to and remain part of the fund.
(d) Any unencumbered moneys and any unexpended balance of the fund
remaining at the end of a fiscal year do not revert to the general fund, but must be
carried forward until expended in accordance with this section. No part of the fund must
be diverted to the general fund or any other public fund.
(e) The department of education shall administer the fund and distribute the
monies to schools based on criteria established by such department.

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(f) The department of education and the department of mental health and
substance abuse services are authorized to promulgate rules to effectuate this section.
The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative
Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
(g) All expenditures from the fund are subject to review in the form of an annual
report submitted on or before January 1 of each year by the commissioner of education
to the education committee of the senate and the committee of the house of
representatives having jurisdiction over education matters.
SECTION 3. For the purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon
becoming law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1,
2025, the public welfare requiring it.