,,ii #aagth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #eae ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #a1 #bjba,ms4 ,warren 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 and ,mr4 ,booker7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,health1 ,education1 ,labor1 and ,pensions ,a ,,bill ,to authorize the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services to award grants to ,states and political subdivisions of ,states to hire1 employ1 train1 and dispatch mental health professionals to respond in lieu of law enforcement officers in emergencies involving one or more persons with a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,mental ,health ,justice ,act of #bjba4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,needless institutionalization 7including in psychiatric hospitals7 of people with disabilities is generally a violation of the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq471 and the failure to provide sufficient community-based services 7such as supported housing1 assertive community treatment1 mobile crisis1 peer support1 and supported employment7 has resulted in needless institutionalization as well as incarceration of persons with mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability4 7#b7 ,in the landmark #aiii ,supreme ,court case ,olmstead v4 ,l4,c41 the ,supreme ,court ruled that the unjustified institutional isolation of persons with disabilities is a form of discrimination prohibited by the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaja et seq474 7#c7 ,regulations promulgated by the ,attorney ,general in #aiia affirm that title ,,ii of the ,americans with ,disabilities ,act of #aiij 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #abaca et seq47 requires public entities to administer services1 programs1 and activities in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified individuals with disabilities 7#bh ,c4,f4,r4 #ce4acj7;d774 ,the regulation defines the most integrated setting as one that enables individuals with disabilities to interact with nondisabled persons to the fullest extent possible 7#bh ,c4,f4,r4 pt4 #ce1 ,app4 ,b74 7#d7 ,yet today1 persons with a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability are more likely to be incarcerated and to be subject to excessive use of force by law enforcement officers3 7,a7 ,one out of every #d of the deaths caused by law enforcement officers is a person with mental illness4 7,b7 ,persons with a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability are often charged with minor1 nonviolent offenses4 ,for many of these persons1 arrest and incarceration could have been avoided if they had access to intensive community-based services and stable housing4 7#e7 ,many of the police encounters that lead to the incarceration 7and in too many cases1 death7 of people with mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability could be avoided by having in place systems that ensure that calls to #iaa or to law enforcement result in dispatch of mental health professionals1 peer support workers1 or others rather than law enforcement officers4 7#f7 ,many people who are incarcerated would be better served in community services4 ,if there were sufficient community services1 and persons with mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability were connected to those services rather than being arrested1 thousands of people with mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability would avoid needless admissions to hospitals or jails4 ,further1 jails and hospitals would experience less crowding4 #c4 ,grants for mental health professionals to act as first responders 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services 7in this section referred to as the ,secretary71 acting through the ,assistant ,secretary for ,mental ,health and ,substance ,use and in consultation with the ,assistant ,attorney ,general for the ,civil ,rights ,division of the ,department of ,justice 7in this section referred to as the ,assistant ,attorney ,general71 shall award grants to ,states and political subdivisions of ,states-- 7#a7 to hire1 employ1 train1 and dispatch mental health professionals to respond in lieu of law enforcement officers in emergencies in which-- 7,a7 an individual calling #iaa1 #ihh1 or another emergency hotline states that a person-- 7i7 is in a mental health crisis2 or 7ii7 may have a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability2 7,b7 a law enforcement officer or other first responder identifies a person as having 7or possibly having7 a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability2 or 7,c7 a law enforcement officer or other first responder identifies a person as being 7or possibly being7 under the influence of a legal or illegal substance2 7#b7 to include in the training for mental health professionals pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 training in-- 7,a7 the principles of de-escalation and anti-racism2 and 7,b7 age-appropriate mechanisms for carrying out the professionals' responsibilities2 7#c7 to ensure that such mental health professionals link persons described in subparagraph 7,a71 7,b71 or 7,c7 of paragraph 7#a7 with voluntary community-based services where appropriate2 and 7#d7 to train the staff of dispatch centers regarding the proper handling of a report of an emergency described in paragraph 7#a71 including training in the principles of de-escalation and anti-racism referred to in paragraph 7#b77;,a74 7b7 ,delegation ,the ,secretary shall delegate responsibility for carrying out the ,secretary's responsibilities under this section and section #d to the ,director of the ,center for ,mental ,health ,services of the ,substance ,abuse and ,mental ,health ,services ,administration4 7c7 ,additional awards ,the ,secretary shall make an additional award of funds under this section each fiscal year to grantees that demonstrate that their programs under this section resulted in-- 7#a7 a notable reduction in the incarceration and death of persons with mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability2 or 7#b7 a notable reduction in the use of force by police and a notable increase in referrals of persons with a mental illness or intellectual disability to community-based1 voluntary support services 7other than institutionalization or carceral support services74 7d7 ,priority ,in awarding grants under this section1 the ,secretary shall give priority to ,states and political subdivisions of ,states that-- 7#a7 have high rates of arrests and incarceration of persons with a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability2 7#b7 commit to increasing resources for mental health and community-based support services or solutions for such persons2 or 7#c7 include peer support specialists in their current first responder model4 7e7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,by grantees ,a recipient of a grant under this section shall submit to the ,secretary-- 7,a7 a quarterly report on-- 7i7 the number and percentage of emergencies where mental health professionals were dispatched in lieu of law enforcement officers pursuant to assistance under this section2 7ii7 such other matters as the ,secretary may require for determining whether the recipient should receive an additional award under subsection 7c72 and 7iii7 any increase or decrease1 compared to any previous quarter1 in incarceration or institutionalization as a result of dispatching mental health professionals pursuant to assistance under this section1 disaggregated to include data specific to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental illnesses where available1 so as-- 7,i7 to provide a critical baseline analysis2 and 7,,ii7 to ensure that mental health practitioners are not simply funneling individuals into other institutionalized settings2 and 7,b7 a final report on the use of such grant4 7#b7 ,by ,secretary ,not later than #a year after awarding the first grant under this section1 and annually thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report on the grant program under this section4 7#c7 ,disaggregation of data ,the reporting pursuant to paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 shall be disaggregated by age1 gender1 race1 and ethnicity1 to the extent the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7f7 ,revocation of grant ,if the ,secretary finds1 based on reporting under subsection 7e7 or other information1 that activities funded through a grant under this section are leading to a significant increase in incarceration or institutionalization-- 7#a7 the ,secretary shall revoke the grant2 and 7#b7 the grantee shall repay to the ,federal ,government any amounts that the grantee-- 7,a7 received through the grant2 and 7,b7 has not obligated or expended4 #d4 ,technical assistance for political subdivisions of a ,state ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services1 acting through the ,assistant ,secretary for ,mental ,health and ,substance ,use and in consultation with the ,assistant ,attorney ,general for the ,civil ,rights ,division of the ,department of ,justice1 shall provide technical assistance to grantees under section #c 7or other ,federal law71 other political subdivisions of ,states1 and ,states to hire1 employ1 train1 and dispatch mental health professionals to respond in lieu of law enforcement officers1 as described in section #c4 #e4 ,study 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,assistant ,attorney ,general for the ,civil ,rights ,division of the ,department of ,justice shall conduct a study of the effectiveness of programs and activities under sections #c and #d4 7b7 ,qualitative and longitudinal examination ,the study under subsection 7a7 shall include a qualitative and longitudinal study of-- 7#a7 the number of persons diverted from arrests2 and 7#b7 short- and long-term outcomes for those persons1 including reduced recidivism1 reduced incidences of use of force1 and reduced utilization of resources4 7c7 ,completion2 report ,not later than #c years after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,health and ,human ,services and the ,assistant ,attorney ,general for the ,civil ,rights ,division of the ,department of ,justice shall-- 7#a7 complete the study under subsection 7a72 7#b7 submit a report to ,congress on the results of such study2 and 7#c7 publish such report4 #f4 ,funding ,to carry out this legislation1 there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year #bjba and each subsequent fiscal year4