[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 515 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 515
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants
to States and political subdivisions of States to hire, employ, train,
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 disability, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 1, 2021
Ms. Warren (for herself, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Booker) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants
to States and political subdivisions of States to hire, employ, train,
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 disability, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Mental Health Justice Act of 2021''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Needless institutionalization (including in psychiatric
hospitals) of people with disabilities is generally a violation
of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101
et seq.), and the failure to provide sufficient community-based
services (such as supported housing, assertive community
treatment, mobile crisis, peer support, and supported
employment) has resulted in needless institutionalization as
well as incarceration of persons with mental illness or an
intellectual or developmental disability.
(2) In the landmark 1999 Supreme Court case Olmstead v.
L.C., 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 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
(3) Regulations promulgated by the Attorney General in 1991
affirm that title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.) requires public entities to
``administer services, programs, and activities in the most
integrated setting appropriate to the needs of qualified
individuals with disabilities'' (28 C.F.R. 35.130(d)). The
regulation defines ``the most integrated setting'' as one that
``enables individuals with disabilities to interact with
nondisabled persons to the fullest extent possible'' (28 C.F.R.
pt. 35, App. B).
(4) Yet today, 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 officers:
(A) One out of every 4 of the deaths caused by law
enforcement officers is a person with mental illness.
(B) Persons with a mental illness or an
intellectual or developmental disability are often
charged with minor, nonviolent offenses. For many of
these persons, arrest and incarceration could have been
avoided if they had access to intensive community-based
services and stable housing.
(5) Many of the police encounters that lead to the
incarceration (and in too many cases, death) of people with
mental illness or an intellectual or developmental disability
could be avoided by having in place systems that ensure that
calls to 911 or to law enforcement result in dispatch of mental
health professionals, peer support workers, or others rather
than law enforcement officers.
(6) Many people who are incarcerated would be better served
in community services. If there were sufficient community
services, and persons with mental illness or an intellectual or
developmental disability were connected to those services
rather than being arrested, thousands of people with mental
illness or an intellectual or developmental disability would
avoid needless admissions to hospitals or jails. Further, jails
and hospitals would experience less crowding.
SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO ACT AS FIRST
RESPONDERS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services (in
this section referred to as the ``Secretary''), 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 (in this section referred to as
the ``Assistant Attorney General''), shall award grants to States and
political subdivisions of States--
(1) to hire, employ, train, and dispatch mental health
professionals to respond in lieu of law enforcement officers in
emergencies in which--
(A) an individual calling 911, 988, or another
emergency hotline states that a person--
(i) is in a mental health crisis; or
(ii) may have a mental illness or an
intellectual or developmental disability;
(B) a law enforcement officer or other first
responder identifies a person as having (or possibly
having) a mental illness or an intellectual or
developmental disability; or
(C) a law enforcement officer or other first
responder identifies a person as being (or possibly
being) under the influence of a legal or illegal
substance;
(2) to include in the training for mental health
professionals pursuant to paragraph (1) training in--
(A) the principles of de-escalation and anti-
racism; and
(B) age-appropriate mechanisms for carrying out the
professionals' responsibilities;
(3) to ensure that such mental health professionals link
persons described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph
(1) with voluntary community-based services where appropriate;
and
(4) to train the staff of dispatch centers regarding the
proper handling of a report of an emergency described in
paragraph (1), including training in the principles of de-
escalation and anti-racism referred to in paragraph (2)(A).
(b) Delegation.--The Secretary shall delegate responsibility for
carrying out the Secretary's responsibilities under this section and
section 4 to the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services of
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
(c) 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--
(1) a notable reduction in the incarceration and death of
persons with mental illness or an intellectual or developmental
disability; or
(2) 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-based, voluntary
support services (other than institutionalization or carceral
support services).
(d) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary
shall give priority to States and political subdivisions of States
that--
(1) have high rates of arrests and incarceration of persons
with a mental illness or an intellectual or developmental
disability;
(2) commit to increasing resources for mental health and
community-based support services or solutions for such persons;
or
(3) include peer support specialists in their current first
responder model.
(e) Reporting.--
(1) By grantees.--A recipient of a grant under this section
shall submit to the Secretary--
(A) a quarterly report on--
(i) the number and percentage of
emergencies where mental health professionals
were dispatched in lieu of law enforcement
officers pursuant to assistance under this
section;
(ii) such other matters as the Secretary
may require for determining whether the
recipient should receive an additional award
under subsection (c); and
(iii) any increase or decrease, compared to
any previous quarter, in incarceration or
institutionalization as a result of dispatching
mental health professionals pursuant to
assistance under this section, disaggregated to
include data specific to persons with
intellectual and developmental disabilities and
mental illnesses where available, so as--
(I) to provide a critical baseline
analysis; and
(II) to ensure that mental health
practitioners are not simply funneling
individuals into other
institutionalized settings; and
(B) a final report on the use of such grant.
(2) By secretary.--Not later than 1 year after awarding the
first grant under this section, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the grant
program under this section.
(3) Disaggregation of data.--The reporting pursuant to
paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be disaggregated by age, gender,
race, and ethnicity, to the extent the Secretary determines
appropriate.
(f) Revocation of Grant.--If the Secretary finds, based on
reporting under subsection (e) or other information, that activities
funded through a grant under this section are leading to a significant
increase in incarceration or institutionalization--
(1) the Secretary shall revoke the grant; and
(2) the grantee shall repay to the Federal Government any
amounts that the grantee--
(A) received through the grant; and
(B) has not obligated or expended.
SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF A STATE.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, 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, shall provide technical
assistance to grantees under section 3 (or other Federal law), other
political subdivisions of States, and States to hire, employ, train,
and dispatch mental health professionals to respond in lieu of law
enforcement officers, as described in section 3.
SEC. 5. STUDY.
(a) 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 3 and 4.
(b) Qualitative and Longitudinal Examination.--The study under
subsection (a) shall include a qualitative and longitudinal study of--
(1) the number of persons diverted from arrests; and
(2) short- and long-term outcomes for those persons,
including reduced recidivism, reduced incidences of use of
force, and reduced utilization of resources.
(c) Completion; Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and
the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the
Department of Justice shall--
(1) complete the study under subsection (a);
(2) submit a report to Congress on the results of such
study; and
(3) publish such report.
SEC. 6. FUNDING.
To carry out this legislation, there are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2021 and
each subsequent fiscal year.
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