,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #cchh  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december #d1  
#bjbc,ms4 ,warren 7for herself1 ,ms4    
,smith1 ,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   
amend the ,public ,health ,service ,act 
to authorize grants to ,states1 ,indian 
,tribes1 ,tribal organizations1 and     
political subdivisions thereof 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   
#bjbc4  #b4 ,grants for mental health   
professionals to act as first responders
 ,subpart #c of part ,b of title ,v of  

the ,public ,health ,service ,act 7#db  
,u4,s4,c4 #bij;bb-#ca et seq47 is       
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  #ebj,o4 ,grants for mental  
health professionals to act as first    
responders  7a7 ,in general ,the        
,secretary1 acting through the          
,assistant ,secretary1 and in           
consultation with the ,assistant        
,attorney ,general for the ,civil       
,rights ,division of the ,department of 
,justice1 shall award grants to ,states1
 ,indian ,tribes1 ,tribal organizations1
 and political subdivisions thereof to  
establish or expand programs-- 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  7ii7 may have a mental illness1
 a substance use disorder1 a            
co-occurring mental illness and         

substance use disorder1 or an           
intellectual or developmental           
disability2 or  7iii7 otherwise appears 
to need the immediate support of mental 
health professionals2  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       
disability 7or otherwise appears to need
 the support of mental health           
professionals72 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 deescalation2 and  7,b7   
developmentally appropriate techniques2 
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  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 and          
techniques referred to in subparagraphs 
7,a7 and 7,b7 of paragraph 7#b72 and    
7#e7 to coordinate with first responder 
agencies4  7b7 ,additional awards ,the  
,secretary shall make an additional     
award of funds under this section each  
fiscal year to grantees that-- 7#a7 are 
in compliance with all conditions of    
their awards under this section1        
including the conditions specified in   
subsections 7a7 and 7d72 and  7#b7      
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  7c7 ,priority ,in awarding 
grants under this section1 the          
,secretary shall give priority to       
,states1 ,indian ,tribes1 ,tribal       
organizations1 and political            
subdivisions thereof that-- 7#a7 have   
high rates of arrests and incarceration 
of persons with a mental illness1 a     
substance use disorder1 a co-occurring  
mental health and substance use         
disorder1 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  7d7 ,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 7b72 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 available and    
permitted to be disclosed under         
applicable privacy law1 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 shall1 to the extent      
determined by the ,secretary to be      
applicable1 be disaggregated by age1    
sex1 gender1 race1 and ethnicity4  7e7  
,revocation of grant ,if the ,secretary 
finds1 based on reporting under         
subsection 7d7 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  7f7 ,technical assistance    

,the ,secretary1 acting through the     
,assistant ,secretary1 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 this       
section 7or other ,federal law71 and to 
other ,states1 ,indian ,tribes1 ,tribal 
organizations1 and political            
subdivisions thereof1 to hire1 employ1  
train1 and dispatch mental health       
professionals to respond in lieu of law 
enforcement officers1 as described in   
subsection 7a74  7g7 ,definitions ,in   
this section3 7#a7 ,the term first      
responder means an individual who1 in   
the course of such individual's         
professional duties1 is dispatched to   
respond to fire1 medical1 public safety1
 or mental health emergencies4  7#b7    
,the terms ,indian ,tribe and ,tribal   
organization have the meanings given to 
the terms ,indian tribe and tribal      
organization1 respectively1 in section  

#d of the ,indian ,health ,care         
,improvement ,act4  7#c7 ,the term peer 
support specialist means an individual  
who-- 7,a7 has lived experience of a    
mental health condition1 a substance use
 disorder1 or a co-occurring mental     
health and substance use disorder2 and  
7,b7 specializes in supporting          
individuals with mental health          
conditions1 substance use disorders1 or 
co-occurring mental health and substance
 use disorders4  7h7 ,funding ,to carry 
out this section1 there is authorized to
 be appropriated #bej1jjj1jjj for the   
period of the #e fiscal years following 
the date of enactment of this section4  
4  #c4 ,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 on the           
effectiveness of programs and activities
 under section #ebj,o of the ,public    
,health ,service ,act1 as added by      

section #b4  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 incarceration or                
institutionalization1 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 the ,congress on the results  
of such study2 and  7#c7 publish such   
report4  #d4 ,best practices  7a7 ,in   
general ,the ,secretary of ,health and  
,human ,services1 acting in consultation
 with the ,assistant ,attorney ,general 

for ,civil ,rights1 shall develop and   
publish best practices relating to the  
deployment of mental health             
professionals acting as first           
responders4  7b7 ,contents ,the best    
practices under subsection 7a7 shall--  
7#a7 be informed by lessons learned from
 the grant program under section #ebj,o 
of the ,public ,health ,service ,act1 as
 added by section #b2 and  7#b7 include 
best practices for the proper handling  
and dispatch of a report of an emergency
 described in each of subparagraphs     
7,a71 7,b71 and 7,c7 of section         
#ebj,o7a77#a7 of the ,public ,health    
,service ,act1 as added by section #b1  
including best practices for training   
in-- 7,a7 the principles and techniques 
in processing calls for persons who--   
7i7 are experiencing a mental health    
crisis2  7ii7 may have a mental illness1
 a substance use disorder1 a            
co-occurring mental health and substance
 use disorder1 or an intellectual or    
developmental disability2 or  7iii7     

otherwise appear to need the immediate  
support of mental health professionals2 
7,b7 the principles of deescalation2 and
  7,c7 developmentally appropriate      
techniques4  7c7 ,timeline2 updates ,the
 ,secretary of ,health and ,human       
,services shall-- 7#a7 not later than #a
 year after the date of enactment of    
this ,act1 develop and publish initial  
best practices under this section2 and  
7#b7 not less than every #e years       
thereafter1 develop and publish updated 
best practices under this section4  7d7 
,definition ,in this section1 the term  
first responder has the meaning given to
 such term in section #ebj,o of the     
,public ,health ,service ,act1 as added 
by section #b4  #e4 ,rules of           
construction  7a7 ,hiring of law        
enforcement officers ,nothing in this   
,act 7or the amendments made by this    
,act7 shall be construed to remove1     
supplant1 alter1 or limit the authority 
of ,states1 public agencies1 or         
municipalities from hiring or recruiting

 career law enforcement officers 7as    
defined in section #agji of the ,omnibus
 ,crime ,control and ,safe ,streets ,act
 of #aifh 7#cd ,u4,s4,c4 #ajchi77 to    
engage in or supervise the prevention1  
detection1 or investigation of          
violations of criminal laws when        
appropriate4  7b7 ,circumstances of     
imminent or immediate danger ,nothing in
 this ,act 7or the amendments made by   
this ,act7 shall be construed to impede1
 supplant1 alter1 or limit the use of   
career law enforcement officers during  
emergencies-- 7#a7 which such career law
 enforcement officers may be best suited
 to handle2 and  7#b7 in which a person 
poses a direct threat to the health and 
safety of others that cannot be         
eliminated by a modification of         
policies1 practices or procedures1 or by
 the provision of auxiliary aids or     
services4  7c7 ,nondiscrimination       
,nothing in this ,act 7or the amendments
 made by this ,act7 shall be construed  
to limit or alter the protections and   

requirements of applicable ,federal and 
,state civil rights laws and            
regulations4  7d7 ,definitions ,in this 
section1 the term direct threat has the 
meaning given to such term in sections  
#ce4aci and #ce4ajd of title #bh1 ,code 
of ,federal ,regulations 7as in effect  
on the date of enactment of this ,act74