[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8474 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8474
To provide for a Community-Based Emergency and Non-Emergency Response
Grant Program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 1, 2020
Ms. Bass introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on
Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for a Community-Based Emergency and Non-Emergency Response
Grant Program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Community-Based Response Act''.
SEC. 2. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to provide an additional option beyond law enforcement
for community-based emergency and non-emergency response for
covered populations in need of help or support, in order to--
(A) target the best professional intervention to an
individual in need of help or support; and
(B) avoid escalation of a crisis situation--
(i) that may not require a response from
law enforcement; and
(ii) to which a law enforcement response
can create increased risk of harm; and
(2) establishing a grant program to provide that additional
response option by awarding funding to partnerships described
in section 5(a).
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Community mental health center.--The term ``community
mental health center'' has the meaning given the term in
section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x).
(2) Covered community-based organization.--The term
``covered community-based organization'' means an organization
that meets the requirements of section 5(b).
(3) Covered population.--The term ``covered population''
means--
(A) individuals who are racial or ethnic minorities
or members of an Indian tribe;
(B) immigrants, including undocumented immigrants,
immigrants who have recently entered the United States,
and refugees;
(C) individuals with limited English proficiency,
meaning their primary language for communication is not
English and communication with emergency responders may
be difficult;
(D) individuals who are age 60 or older and
determined to be likely to be--
(i) vulnerable to abuse; or
(ii) experiencing health challenges;
(E) people with disabilities, as defined in section
3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12102);
(F) people in the LGBTQIA+ community;
(G) people who are likely to face disproportionate
or discriminatory law enforcement contact;
(H) people who are or were involved in the criminal
justice system;
(I) homeless persons, as defined in section 103 of
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11302);
(J) people facing or with a history of mental or
behavioral health crises or who need check-ins for
health, safety, or substance use disorder reasons;
(K) people experiencing family violence or domestic
violence under the laws of the jurisdiction involved,
or dating violence;
(L) victims of child abuse and children exposed to
violence;
(M) people who are likely to be engaged in or to
experience violence in the community;
(N) people with, or recovering from, a substance
use disorder;
(O) current and former foster youth;
(P) youth who are or were involved in the juvenile
justice system;
(Q) victims of conduct described in section 1591 or
2251 of title 18, United States Code;
(R) people who engage in acts defined in paragraph
(4) of section 103 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102);
(S) adult survivors of sexual assault, as defined
under the laws of the jurisdiction involved;
(T) victims of trafficking, as defined in section
103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000;
(U) out-of-school youth; and
(V) people in an acute crisis not covered under
subparagraphs (A) through (U).
(4) Dating violence.--The term ``dating violence'' has the
meaning given the term in section 40002(a) of the Violence
Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)).
(5) Immigration terms.--
(A) Immigrant.--The term ``immigrant'' means an
alien who has entered the United States.
(B) Undocumented immigrant.--The term
``undocumented immigrant'' means an alien who is
unlawfully present in the United States.
(6) Indian tribe; tribal organization.--The terms ``Indian
tribe'' and ``tribal organization'' have the meanings given the
terms in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(7) Institution of higher education.--The term
``institution of higher education'' means--
(A) such an institution as defined in section 101
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001);
and
(B) a tribally controlled college or university as
defined in section 2 of the Tribally Controlled
Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (25
U.S.C. 1801).
(8) Out-of-school youth.--The term ``out-of-school youth''
means an individual who is--
(A) not attending any school (as defined under
State law);
(B) not younger than age 16 or older than age 24;
and
(C) one or more of the following:
(i) A young person who has dropped out of
school.
(ii) A youth who is within the age of
compulsory school attendance, but has not
attended school for at least the most recent
complete school year calendar quarter.
(iii) A recipient of a secondary school
diploma or its recognized equivalent who is a
low-income individual and is either basic
skills deficient or an English language learner
(as such 3 terms are defined in section 3 of
the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(29 U.S.C. 3102)).
(iv) An individual who is subject to the
criminal justice system.
(v) An individual experience homelessness,
a homeless child or youth, or a runaway.
(vi) An individual--
(I) who is in foster care, who has
aged out of the foster care system, or
who has attained 16 years of age and
left foster care for kinship
guardianship or adoption;
(II) who is a child eligible for
assistance under section 477 of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677); or
(III) who is a child in an out-of-
home placement.
(vii) An individual who is pregnant or
parenting.
(viii) An individual with a disability (as
defined in section 3 of the Workforce
Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C.
3102)).
(ix) A low-income individual (as defined in
that section 3) who requires additional
assistance to enter or complete an educational
program or to secure or hold employment.
(9) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, after consultation with the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Attorney
General.
(10) Substance use disorder.--The term ``substance use
disorder'' means such a disorder within the meaning of title V
of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.).
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a Community-Based
Emergency and Non-Emergency Response Grant Program to improve
community-based emergency and non-emergency response for public safety
and problem solving, and to promote the safety and well-being of the
populations and communities served under the program by--
(1) identifying eligible organizations with demonstrated
capacity for emergency and non-emergency response work,
including violence interruption, community mediation, and
crisis behavioral health response, who are capable of
providing, and increasing the capacity of the localities to
provide, emergency and non-emergency response for specified
covered populations;
(2) developing a local infrastructure of systems and
resources needed to develop, implement, and sustain effective
interventions to protect the mental and physical well-being of
members of the community, prevent violence, de-escalate
volatile situations, ensure access to human services, protect
property and the environment, reduce law enforcement use of
force, and ensure the health and safety of communities, while
decreasing the sole reliance on law enforcement for emergency
and non-emergency situations;
(3) creating and strengthening formal and informal
partnerships, for such purposes as providing solutions and
committing resources to sustain and scale up successful models
of community-based emergency and non-emergency response; and
(4) providing timely evaluation to clarify the outcomes and
costs of the program, and the new interventions and service
models provided through the program, for service recipients and
law enforcement.
(b) Initiation Grants.--In carrying out the Program, the Secretary
shall make initiation grants to not fewer than 40 eligible
partnerships, including not fewer than 4 eligible partnerships that
include Indian tribes or tribal organizations, of which not fewer than
2 shall be eligible partnerships led by an Indian tribe or tribal
organization, to carry out projects to meet the objectives described in
subsection (a). The Secretary shall make the grants for periods of 5
years. The Secretary shall make the grants to partnerships in
geographically diverse areas, including urban and rural communities,
and in communities with varying population sizes.
(c) Continuation Grants.--
(1) In general.--In carrying out the Program, the Secretary
shall make continuation grants to eligible partnerships who are
recipients of the initiation grants and who are determined by
the Secretary to be in good standing on completion of the grant
period for those grants, to pay for the Federal share of the
cost of carrying out projects to meet the objectives described
in subsection (a). The Secretary shall make the grants for
periods of 2 years.
(2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the costs
described in this subsection shall be 25 percent. The eligible
partnership receiving such a grant shall provide the non-
Federal share from State, tribal, local, or private sources.
SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.
(a) In General.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this title
Act, an entity shall be a partnership of--
(1)(A) a unit of local government (or its contractor), or
Indian tribe or tribal organization, acting through an entity
that is independent of any law enforcement agency; and
(B) a covered community-based organization; and
(2) if applicable, a nonprofit or public institution of
higher education, community mental health center, or behavioral
health organization.
(b) Community-Based Organization.--A community-based organization
referred to in subsection (a)(1) shall be a nonprofit community-based
organization, a consortium of nonprofit community-based organizations,
a national nonprofit organization acting as an intermediary for a
community-based organization, or a community-based organization that
has a fiscal sponsor that allows the organization to function as an
organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of
that Code.
SEC. 6. GRANT APPLICATIONS.
(a) In General.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this Act
for a project, a partnership shall submit an application (which, for a
continuation grant, shall be an update of the partnership's initiation
grant application) to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require, including--
(1) information that specifies in detail--
(A) the covered populations that the partnership
will target for services under this Act;
(B) the experience of the members of the
partnership in successfully working in the community to
be served and partnering with the target populations,
including--
(i) for a partnership that includes an
Indian tribe or tribal organization, an
understanding of tribal sovereignty; and
(ii) for a partnership not described in
clause (i), the partnership's understanding of
racial equity, systems of oppression, and the
impact of structural racism on the community
and population to be served, the partnership's
commitment to promoting such equity,
dismantling such systems, and reducing such
impact, and an established record of
accomplishment in improving outcomes or
preventing, reducing, or eliminating inequities
in that community;
(C) how the grant funds will be used;
(D) the expertise of the partnership, including its
staff, in implementing the project to provide the
proposed services;
(E) how the partnership will implement or develop
evidence-based best practices, including development of
culturally informed evidence-based best practices, in
carrying out the project, including references to
applicable research; and
(F) the partnership's plan for gathering feedback
from service recipients about the quality of the
services, including contacts and resources, provided
through the project; and
(2) a memorandum of understanding that--
(A) identifies each partner (including each agency
of the unit of local government or Indian tribe or
tribal organization, as applicable, involved) and is
signed by a representative of each partner in the
partnership carrying out the project; and
(B) outlines--
(i) the partnership's engagement with the
community, including members of the covered
population, and the role the engagement played
in developing the project;
(ii) the financial and programmatic
commitment of each partner, and the specific
role of a law enforcement agency if involved in
a backup role;
(iii) the responsibilities of emergency
dispatch operators, dispatchers, and partners
in the national 911 system, in properly
identifying calls in the community to be served
necessitating a community-based emergency and
non-emergency response and directing those
calls to appropriate responders;
(iv) the responsibilities of information
and referral systems for essential community
services (accessed in most localities by
dialing 211) and the National Suicide
Prevention Hotline (to be accessed by dialing
988) for participating in efficiently routing
direct callers to services;
(v) the responsibilities of each partner
with respect to data collection and evaluation;
(vi) how each partner's existing (as of the
date of submission of the application) vision,
theory of change, theory of action, and
activities align with those of the grant
program set forth in this Act;
(vii) the governance structure proposed for
the project, including a system for holding
partners accountable;
(viii) how the eligible partners' governing
boards or advisory boards, and emergency
responders, are representative of the community
to be served;
(ix) how a structure through which
residents of the community and grassroots
organizations will have an active role in the
eligible partnership's decisionmaking;
(x) how the partnership anticipates that
the project involved will decrease the
responsibilities of local law enforcement,
including responsibilities related to policing,
arrests, and incarceration, and of other public
safety entities;
(xi) any State or local laws that may be an
impediment to implementation of the project;
and
(xii) any other information the Secretary
reasonably determines to be necessary.
(b) Priority.--In making grants under this Act, the Secretary shall
give priority to--
(1) eligible partnerships that include covered community-
based organizations with a documented record of effectively
serving 1 or more covered populations; and
(2) eligible partnerships that include covered community-
based organizations that are led by individuals who are members
of the covered populations to be served.
SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS.
(a) In General.--An eligible partnership that receives a grant
under this Act for a project may use the grant funds for--
(1) project planning and community engagement;
(2) project implementation;
(3) staffing and recruitment;
(4) facilities;
(5) operational costs, including costs of startup or
expansion activities, marketing, language translation, and
transportation;
(6) engagement with technical assistance providers;
(7) consulting services;
(8) training;
(9) program and project evaluation, including evaluation of
program and project efficacy, staff performance, and service
delivery;
(10) programming and service interventions that include--
(A) activities that prioritize human service
interventions, by entities other than law enforcement,
over interventions by law enforcement; or
(B) activities that include triaging emergencies,
through emergency dispatch operators, in a manner that
results in referral to a wholly nonpolice entity; and
(11) programming and service interventions that may
include--
(A) activities that include co-occurring law
enforcement and human services activities, such as
responses to calls about dating violence;
(B) activities that include followup by human
services organizations after contact by law
enforcement, such as community mediation, social
services, or behavioral health services;
(C) training for emergency dispatch operators; and
(D) training for community members, or family
members of people requiring emergency or non-emergency
response, to facilitate comprehensive and clear
communication with emergency dispatch operators to
ensure that necessary information is conveyed about
when an intervention by a nonpolice human services
organization is the most appropriate response.
(b) Funding Limitation.--None of the grant funds shall be provided
to State, tribal, or local law enforcement agencies.
SEC. 8. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary shall arrange for a national technical assistance
provider for organizations described in section 5, to provide technical
assistance support and develop and disseminate best practices for
projects carried out under this Act.
SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
Each recipient of a grant for a project under this section is
required to submit an annual report to the Secretary that details--
(1) the specific uses of the grant funds;
(2) the number of individuals contacted through the
project;
(3) the number of individuals connected with ongoing
services or resources through the project, disaggregated by
race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender
identity, disability status, and other characteristics;
(4) the quality of the contacts, services, and resources,
as reported by the individuals contacted;
(5) any evidence of positive outcomes following the
contacts or connections;
(6) any evidence of negative outcomes that may have
occurred following the contacts or connections;
(7) the percentage of total emergency calls diverted from
law enforcement to the grant recipient;
(8) the percentage of emergency calls diverted to the grant
recipient that have been addressed;
(9) the extent to which the grant recipient is hiring or
training individuals from within the covered population, and
the recruitment, hiring, training, and retention practices for
such individuals;
(10) any related reduction in the number of calls to law
enforcement over the period of the project;
(11) any changes in the types of calls made to the 911
system, to the extent that it is practicable to report
information on such changes;
(12) any increases in the number of calls to the 211 (or
equivalent) systems for essential non-emergency community
services or calls to the 988 National Suicide Prevention
Hotline over the period of the project;
(13) any related reduction in the budget of the law
enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over the community
served by the eligible partnership over that period;
(14) any State or local laws that were an impediment to
implementation of the project; and
(15) any evidence of completed in-home, teletherapy, or in-
community responses that included counseling, crisis response,
family treatment, mediation, or other evidence-based
interventions that addressed complex needs not able to be
resolved by non-emergency calls alone.
SEC. 10. EVALUATION AND REPORT.
Not later than October 1, 2026, the Secretary shall--
(1) complete an evaluation detailing the implementation of,
outcomes of, and best practices from the grant program carried
out under this Act, including program-wide information on the
factors described in paragraphs (2) through (15) of section 9;
and
(2) submit to Congress a report containing the evaluation.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated--
(1) to carry out initiation grants under this section,
$100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025; and
(2) to carry out continuation grants under this section,
$75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027.
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