GRANTS FOR FINANCIALLY STRESSED FARMERS. DISLOCATED FARMERS, AND RURAL FAMILIES.

SEC. 2389. GRANTS FOR FINANCIALLY STRESSED FARMERS. DISLOCATED FARMERS, AND RURAL FAMILIES. (a) Extension of Grant Program.— Section 502(f)(2) of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2662(f)(2)) is amended— (1) by striking “1990” and inserting “1995”; and (2) by inserting after “under paragraph (1)” the following: “to eligible applicants in any State applying for such grants”. 104 STAT. 4054 (b) Changes to Grant Program.— Section 502(f)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2662(f)(1)) is amended— (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking “special grants” and all that follows through “counseling” and inserting the following: “competitive grants for programs that meet the criteria specified in subparagraph (B) to develop counseling, retraining, and educational”; (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respectively; (3) in subparagraph (B)— (A) by striking “(B) Services to be provided”, the matter preceding the clauses, and clause (i); and (B) by redesignating clauses (ii) through (viii) as clauses (i) through (vii) of subparagraph (D); (4) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new subparagraphs: “(B) Grant criteria.— In order to be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, an applicant must provide suitable assurances that— “(i) not less than one-half of the grant funds to the applicant will be used for clinical outreach counseling and crisis management assistance, as required by subparagraph (C); “(ii) a significant number of farms within the State have a ratio of debts to assets of 40 percent or more, the State’s rural economy has been facing adverse economic conditions for a period of years, or such other conditions exist, as determined by the Secretary, such that the assistance provided under this subsection is necessary or appropriate; “(iii) the planning and implementation of the provision of services under this subsection will be coordinated with the appropriate State agency for mental health, department of health, office of rural health, and any other State agency or department responsible for assisting persons in rural areas of the State; and “(iv) the planning and implementation of the provision of services under this subsection will be coordinated with the appropriate local governments and other public and private nonprofit agencies and organizations located in rural areas and involved in addressing problems related to the mental health of rural residents. “(C) Counseling and outreach required.— Not less than 50 percent of the grant funds to a State under this subsection shall be used to provide clinical outreach counseling and crisis management assistance. “(D) Other services to be provided.— In addition to the counseling and outreach services required under subparagraph (C), the following services may also be provided through programs funded under this section:”; (5) by adding at the end of subparagraph (D) (as added by paragraph (4) of this subsection) the following new clause: “(viii) Assistance for local officials and groups in developing income and employment alternatives.’, and (6) in subparagraph (F) (as so redesignated by paragraph (2) of this subsection)— 104 STAT. 4055 (A) by striking “is encouraged to work with” and inserting “shall work with the appropriate State office of rural health, State department or agency of mental health, and other”; (B) by striking “a comprehensive plan” and inserting “an annual comprehensive plan”; (C) by striking “special”; and (D) by adding at the end the following: “For recipients in a State to be eligible for a grant under this subsection in any fiscal year, the Cooperative Extension Service within the State must develop and sign a Memorandum of Agreement with the appropriate State department or agency of mental health and other State agencies as may be appropriate to carry out the comprehensive plan. Such agreement and plan must emphasize the development and delivery of counseling and outreach programs as provided under subparagraph (B).”. (c) Conforming Amendments.— (1) Such section is further amended by striking “(f) Special” and inserting “(f) Competitive”. (2) Section 503(c) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2663(c)) is amended— (A) by inserting “Additional Distributions.—(1)” after “(c)”; (B) by striking “and section 502(f)” each place such term appears; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(2) The Secretary shall distribute the amounts appropriated to carry out section 502(f) to colleges and universities in accordance with the requirements of such subsection.”. (d) Effect of Amendments on Current Grant Recipients.— The eight States receiving grants under section 502(f) of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2662(f)) during fiscal year 1990 shall continue to be eligible to receive grants (in an amount not to exceed the amount received during that fiscal year) under that section notwithstanding that such grants be awarded competitively, so long as such States comply with the requirement under subparagraph (C) that not less than one-half of such grant amount shall be used for clinical outreach counseling and crisis management assistance.