117 HR 5788 IH: Supporting Every at-Risk Veteran In Critical Emergencies Act of 2021
U.S. House of Representatives
2021-10-28
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I
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5788
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 28, 2021
Ms. Salazar (for herself, Mr. Correa, Mr. Baird, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Carl, Mrs. Spartz, Ms. Sherrill, Mr. Wenstrup, Mr. Gonzalez of Ohio, Mr. Budd, Mr. C. Scott Franklin of Florida, Mr. Gibbs, Mrs. Kim of California, Ms. Newman, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Joyce of Ohio, Mr. Cole, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Ryan, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, Mr. Hudson, Mr. Meijer, Mr. Young, Mr. Davidson, Mr. Weber of Texas, Ms. Tenney, Mr. Owens, Mr. Cawthorn, Mr. Kelly of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Costa) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To authorize the Attorney General to make grants for the creation and operation of veterans response teams within law enforcement agencies, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Supporting Every at-Risk Veteran In Critical Emergencies Act of 2021” or the “SERVICE Act of 2021”.
2.

Veteran Response Team Pilot Program
(a)

Grant authorization
The Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, is authorized to operate a pilot program to make grants to States, units of local government, and Indian Tribal governments, to support the creation and operation of veterans response teams in the law enforcement agencies of the jurisdiction, in accordance with subsection (b).
(b)

Grants To develop veterans response teams
(1)

Activities of a veterans response team
A veterans response team may include a program that does the following:
(A)
Provides law enforcement officers who are veterans with a pin that identifies the department of the Armed Forces in which the officer served, which the officer may wear while on duty.
(B)
Uses the Veterans Re-Entry Search Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs;
(C)
Establishes a system of communication and information sharing with the Department of Veterans Affairs and other community resource agencies.
(D)
Establishes a working relationship with the Veterans Justice Outreach specialist.
(E)
Establishes a working relationship with the local justice system and veterans court, if applicable, including identifying veterans upon entry into the court system and local detention facility, with notification to the local Department of Veterans Affairs office for confirmation and appropriate services.
(F)
Provides training and education for law enforcement officers on mental health issues related to military service, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, depression, and anxiety.
(G)
Meets regularly to discuss issues veterans are facing in the community, as well as suitable responses.
(H)
Organizes coordinated and trained teams of first responders to respond 24 hours per day, and 7 days per week, on a volunteer basis, to calls for assistance involving a veteran in crisis.
(I)
Develops a plan to—
(i)
measure the success of veteran response teams; and
(ii)
track nationwide best practices on how veterans response teams provide law enforcement officers with essential information during and following veteran-involved incidents to which veterans response teams respond.
(J)
Offers veterans who have come into contact with the veterans response team the opportunity to maintain ongoing contact with the veterans response team.
(2)

Creation, Hiring, and Training of Veterans Response Team
The creation of a veterans response team within a law enforcement agency pursuant to a grant under this section may include doing the following:
(A)
Identifying a law enforcement officer in the law enforcement agency who is passionate about and committed to forming a veterans response team, and will serve as the leader of such team.
(B)
Identifying other law enforcement officers in the law enforcement agency who are interested and willing to participate on the veterans response team.
(C)
Identifying and inviting interested community members to join the veterans response team, which may include members of veteran resource organizations, the local office of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the regional veterans justice outreach program, other law enforcement agencies, fire and emergency medical services departments, hospitals, social work agencies, other entities within the justice system, nonprofit organizations, and other appropriate entities.
(D)
Immersing veterans response team members in the veteran community by attending veterans events, responding to incidents involving veterans, as described in paragraph (1)(I), and making public appearances to further engage with veterans.
(E)
Providing training on veterans experiencing crisis for individuals involved with the veterans response team, and for other law enforcement officers who are likely to come in contact with veterans.
(c)

Funding
There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
(d)

Termination
The authority under this section shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this section.
(e)

Reporting
The Attorney General shall provide a report to Congress on the progress of the pilot program that includes the following:
(1)
The number of applicants.
(2)
The number of grants awarded.
(3)
The average grant amount sought by an applicant.
(4)
The average amount of a grant awarded.
(5)
Any other information that the Attorney General determines to be appropriate.