SENATE BILL: Assistance to Rural Farm Stress Assistance Act (Passed)

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A BILL
To establish a farm and ranch stress assistance network

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

Assistance to Rural Farm Stress Assistance Act

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following
1. Agricultural work continues to be highly stressful, characterized by uncertainty, and subject to changing market conditions, the unpredictable nature of weather, and other factors beyond the control of agricultural producers
2. Individuals working in agriculture have the highest overall suicide rate among all occupations
3. Access to behavioral health care is often limited among individuals working in agriculture due to time and geographical constraints
4. Agricultural workers are in need of specialized behavioral health programs that are affordable, available as needed, and carried out with understanding of concerns specific to agricultural work

SECTION 2. FARM AND RANCH STRESS ASSISTANCE NETWORKS.

(a) State Networks.—
(1) Grants.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall establish a program providing competitive grants to State departments of agriculture, State cooperative extension services, and nonprofit organizations.
(2) Eligibility.—Eligibility for competitive grants provided under paragraph (1) shall only be provided in which the purpose of which is to establish a farm and ranch stress assistance network to provide stress assistance programs to affected individuals, including counseling and support through—
 (A) farm telephone helplines and internet websites
 (B) training for advocates for affected individuals and other individuals or entities that may assist affected individuals in crises
 (C) support groups
 (D) outreach services and activities
 (E) home delivery of assistance
(3) Use of Funds.—A competitive grant provided under this subsection may be used to enter into a contract with a community-based, direct-service organization to initiate, expand, or maintain an eligible cooperative program in the State.

(b) National Network.—
(1) Establishment.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall establish a National Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network to coordinate stress assistance programs on a national scale for affected individuals
(2) Director.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall appoint an individual in the Department of Agriculture to be the Director of the national network.

(c) Authorization Of Appropriations
1. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, to carry out activities through the national network and State networks, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
 
SECTION 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) Report.—
(1) In General.—One year after the enactment of this act, a report describing the state of behavioral and mental health in farmers and ranchers shall be submitted to Congress, and made publicly available.
(2) Contents of Report.—The report under paragraph (1) shall include—
 (A) an assessment of efforts made to support the mental health of farmers and ranchers by the federal, state, entities of local government, and communities that are comprised of farmers and ranchers
 (B) a description of challenges faced by farmers and ranchers, including financial, medical, and other challenges, that may impact the mental health of farmers and ranchers
 (C) an evaluation of the impact of farmer and rancher suicides on the agricultural workforce, production, and rural families

People's Regional Senate

Sponsor: Tack50
Senate Designation: SB19:46

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The sponsor has 24 hours to commence advocacy and the other members have 48 hours to respond.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

What is the suicide rate for agriculture versus other occupations?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

What is the suicide rate for agriculture versus other occupations?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

What constitutes "behavior health care" and what does the deployment of that look like?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

To be more specific, I am concerned about the ability to get these resources to the people who need them? It talks of internet resources and phone help lines. Is it safe to assume these workers have access to these things? What is the rates of cell phone ownership among agricultural workers? 

It also talks about "home delivery of assistance", as well, which I think is important component, but that assumes we in a position to know where and when to deploy said resources for home delivery of assistance.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Preventing a problem is always preferred, but if we struggled with identifying existing problems, doing so with problems that are yet to develop seems even more difficult.


I would be in favor of such a study but to be more specific, when it comes to what I meant by "where to deploy the resources" it is not just a question of physically where, but who as well. We can provide resources to people but that requires them taking the initiative to seek that out.

Remember also that stigma plays a big role in this, because the mere act of seeking treatment carries with it a sort of "outing oneself" and that carries with it social consequences, which can in turn lead to depression on top of the original mental difficulties. One of the reasons why I asked about cell phone acquisition is because of the importance of being able to at the very least seek out assistance discretely without having to use a public phone or something like that. Of course that is the easier privacy burden so to speak to accomplish, the harder one is how you go about delivering assistance and how you balance discretion in that process.

One would imagine that as a part of the job requires a lot of moving around, which leaves them dependent both on their employers and on each other, but this also minimizes the ability to discreetly seek out and acquire counseling or therapy or some other kind of treatment.

Even with all that, I am a realist, I don't think we can fix all of these problems here within the scope of this bill, but my objective is to make sure that we are thinking along these lines of how do we 1. get treatment within reach, 2. get to a sweet spot where people are willing to seek out and utilize those resources when needed and finally 3. What role does family/community play in that process, when does it discourage seeking help and when is it the last barrier separating the possibility of seeking care from some form of bad outcome?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

On Wednesday, NBC news I think did a story on farm suicides. It caught my attention since we are discussing this bill but with the Hurricane and such I wasn't able to comment on it. They talked about the issue I discussed a few days ago, namely the difficulty in convincing people to seek out help and removing the barriers, discouraging factors that hinder that seeking of help. I think that is where a lot of our efforts have to be focused, beyond just providing resources to ensure they are utilized.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

On Wednesday, NBC news I think did a story on farm suicides. It caught my attention since we are discussing this bill but with the Hurricane and such I wasn't able to comment on it. They talked about the issue I discussed a few days ago, namely the difficulty in convincing people to seek out help and removing the barriers, discouraging factors that hinder that seeking of help. I think that is where a lot of our efforts have to be focused, beyond just providing resources to ensure they are utilized.

Any chance that story is somewhere in the internet and can be found? It could be a valuable resource when discussing this bill.

Is there a reason that rather than funding 1 suicide hotline we need to create a brand new redundant one just for farmers? Its not a dating website.  Doesn't seem like much benefit in creating a mental health helpline for ONLY farmers ... like do stressed family members get helped? If so why, if not are they at least referred to a different hotline?

Yeah, you are probably right. Probably a better course of action would be to fund rural suicide hotlines as a whole (or even just all suicide hotlines), not just for farmers.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/mental-health/suicide-rates-are-rising-especially-rural-america-n1050806

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Senators have 24 hours to object to the amendment.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The amendment is adopted.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Have you had a chance to review the article and such?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

So final vote in that case?

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A final vote is now open on this bill, Senators please vote Aye, Nay or Abstain.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Aye FTR

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

Vote on final passage of the Assistance to Rural Farm Stress Assistance Act

Aye (5): Devout Centrist, NC Yankee, OntarioProgressive, Pyro, Tack50
Nay (0):
Abstain (0):

Didn't Vote (1): TPH

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

A BILL
To establish a farm and ranch stress assistance network

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

Assistance to Rural Farm Stress Assistance Act

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following
1. Agricultural work continues to be highly stressful, characterized by uncertainty, and subject to changing market conditions, the unpredictable nature of weather, and other factors beyond the control of agricultural producers
2. Individuals working in agriculture have the highest overall suicide rate among all occupations
3. Access to behavioral health care is often limited among individuals working in agriculture due to time and geographical constraints
4. Agricultural workers are in need of specialized behavioral health programs that are affordable, available as needed, and carried out with understanding of concerns specific to agricultural work

SECTION 2. FARM AND RANCH STRESS ASSISTANCE NETWORKS.

(a) State Networks.—
(1) Grants.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall establish a program providing competitive grants to State departments of agriculture, State cooperative extension services, and nonprofit organizations.
(2) Eligibility.—Eligibility for competitive grants provided under paragraph (1) shall only be provided in which the purpose of which is to establish a rural stress assistance network to provide stress assistance programs to affected individuals, including counseling and support through—
 (A) telephone helplines and internet websites
 (B) training for advocates for affected individuals and other individuals or entities that may assist affected individuals in crises
 (C) support groups
 (D) outreach services and activities
 (E) home delivery of assistance
(3) Use of Funds.—A competitive grant provided under this subsection may be used to enter into a contract with a community-based, direct-service organization to initiate, expand, or maintain an eligible cooperative program in the State.

(b) National Network.—
(1) Establishment.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall establish a National Rural Stress Assistance Network to coordinate stress assistance programs on a national scale for affected individuals
(2) Director.—The Secretary of Internal Affairs shall appoint an individual in the Department of Agriculture to be the Director of the national network.

(c) Authorization Of Appropriations
1. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, to carry out activities through the national network and State networks, $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.
 
SECTION 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS.
(a) Report.—
(1) In General.—One year after the enactment of this act, a report describing the state of behavioral and mental health in farmers and ranchers shall be submitted to Congress, and made publicly available.
(2) Contents of Report.—The report under paragraph (1) shall include—
 (A) an assessment of efforts made to support the mental health of farmers and ranchers by the federal, state, entities of local government, and communities that are comprised of farmers and ranchers
 (B) a description of challenges faced by farmers and ranchers, including financial, medical, and other challenges, that may impact the mental health of farmers and ranchers
 (C) an evaluation of the impact of farmer and rancher suicides on the agricultural workforce, production, and rural families

People's Regional Senate
Passed 5-0 in the Atlasian Senate Assembled,