[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9929 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9929
To provide funding to the Bureau of Prisons, States, and localities to
carry out mental health screenings and provide referrals to mental
healthcare providers for certain corrections officers.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 4, 2024
Mrs. Miller-Meeks introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide funding to the Bureau of Prisons, States, and localities to
carry out mental health screenings and provide referrals to mental
healthcare providers for certain corrections officers.
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 ``Corrections Officer Blake Schwarz
Suicide Prevention Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a grant
program (hereinafter referred to as the ``Program'') to implement and
administer mental health screenings to corrections officers at an
eligible detention center and refer such individuals to mental
healthcare providers, as applicable.
(b) Grant Authority.--In carrying out the Program, the Attorney
General may award a grant on a competitive basis to an eligible
recipient in accordance with this section.
(c) Application.--The Attorney General may award a grant under the
Program to a State or locality, determined by the Attorney General to
carry out a project described in subsection (d).
(d) Eligible Recipients.--
(1) Hiring requirement.--To be eligible for a grant under
the Program, a State or locality shall hire a mental health
liaison staff member for eligible detention centers under its
jurisdiction. One mental health liaison staff member may cover
multiple eligible detention centers. The mental health liaison
staff member shall be responsible for--
(A) coordinating efforts between the eligible
detention center and mental health providers in the
local region to help corrections officers;
(B) coordinating with the Advisory Board to ensure
that the Program is operating in accordance with this
section; and
(C) overseeing and coordinating activities of the
outreach team (as described in subsection (g)).
(2) Plan.--To be eligible for a grant under the Program, a
State or locality shall submit a plan to the Advisory Board
established under section 4 explaining how the Program
established shall meet the criteria under subsection (e).
(e) Eligible Projects.--Grant funds awarded under the Program may
only be used to:
(1) Develop and administer a brief mental health screening
survey as required under subsection (f).
(2) Develop any technology necessary for an eligible
detention center to provide the survey under paragraph (1).
(3) Hire any staff necessary for an eligible detention
center to provide the survey under paragraph (1).
(4) Establish an outreach team pursuant to subsection (g)
to refer a correctional officer, if their responses to the
survey indicate severe mental illness, to a local mental
healthcare provider for further assessment and outreach,
admission (when necessary), and support for that officer in re-
establishing ties with a mental health provider.
(5) Pay the salary or overtime pay of an outreach team as
established pursuant to subsection (g), including providing
direct funding to an eligible detention center to compensate
staff members.
(f) Brief Mental Health Screening Survey.--The mental health
screening survey developed and administered under subsection (e) shall:
(1) Be composed of 5 to 10 questions.
(2) Be based on the questions and content of the Employee
Assistance Program standard mental health screening or the
Bureau of Prisons initial mental health screening standard.
(3) Seek to identify severe mental illnesses, including
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression.
(4) Ask individuals about the symptoms of severe mental
illness they may be experiencing or have experienced and any
prior use of mental health-related medications or inpatient
care.
(5) Identify the individual's place of residence.
(6) Be administered by a trained staff member at the
eligible detention center to all corrections officers.
(g) Outreach Team.--
(1) In general.--A referral to a mental healthcare
provider, pursuant to subsection (e), shall be made by a mental
health outreach team that is composed of--
(A) mental healthcare professionals and clinicians
from mental healthcare centers local to the eligible
detention center;
(B) staff from the eligible detention center, when
applicable; and
(C) a mental health liaison staff member who shall
oversee the outreach team.
(2) Alert.--If an individual has been determined to need a
referral to a mental healthcare provider, the mental health
outreach team shall be notified immediately by eligible
detention center staff and informed, when applicable.
SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall establish a program that is
substantially similar to the Program established under section 2 to
implement and administer mental health screenings to corrections
officers at eligible detention centers and refer such officers to
mental healthcare providers, as applicable.
SEC. 4. ADVISORY BOARD ON PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish an Advisory
Board to manage and administer the Program under section 2, with the
responsibility to:
(1) Evaluate and approve the plans submitted by a State or
locality as required under section 2 and to ensure that grant
funding is used as specified under section 2.
(2) Monitor plans submitted by the Bureau of Prisons and
advise the Attorney General on compliance to ensure that
funding to the Bureau of Prisons is used as specified under
section 2.
(3) Provide technical assistance to a State or locality to
help with the implementation and administration of mental
health screening and referral programs.
(4) Create a working group of mental healthcare providers,
jail and prison administrators, law enforcement officials, and
operators of existing mental health screening and referral
programs to share best practices on how to create and implement
mental health screening and referral programs that have the
largest impact on reducing crime rates and improving employment
and wage rates for individuals released from prison or jail.
(5) Work in coordination with mental health outreach teams
as established under section 2, to ensure that the Program is
operating as required.
(6) Determine if a grant awarded by the Program is not
meeting the requirements of the Program and mandate necessary
changes and reduce funding if such changes are not made.
(b) Technical Assistance.--The Advisory Board shall provide
technical assistance to the Bureau of Prisons, States, and localities
in setting up and administering the Program and shall identify
evidence-backed models for the administration of mental health
screening and referral programs that the Bureau of Prisons, States, and
localities can look to when designing their own programs.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall appoint members
to serve on the Advisory Board established under subsection (a)
who have expertise with respect to--
(A) designing and administering mental health
screenings and providing referrals for corrections
officers;
(B) mental healthcare within prisons or jails; or
(C) program evaluation using rigorous experimental
and quasi-experimental statistical methods.
(2) Number of members.--The Attorney General shall appoint
as many members to the Advisory Board established under
subsection (a) as deemed necessary by the Attorney General.
SEC. 5. FUNDING.
(a) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the
Attorney General to carry out this Act--
(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
(2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
(3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;
(4) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; and
(5) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2029.
(b) Distribution of Funds.--Of the amounts made available under
subsection (a), the Attorney General shall use--
(1) 90 percent of such amount for a grant program under
sections 2 and 3, as applicable, of which--
(A) 20 percent shall go to the Bureau of Prisons
for screening and referral implementation activities at
Federal prisons;
(B) 20 percent shall go to States as competitive
grants to carry out screening and referral
implementation activities at State prisons; and
(C) 50 percent shall go to localities as
competitive grants to carry out screening and referral
implementation activities at locally-administered
jails;
(2) 5 percent of such amount to carry out evaluation
activities under section 5; and
(3) 5 percent of such amount for the Advisory Board to
provide technical assistance to the Bureau of Prisons, States,
and localities and for general operations as described in
section 4.
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(2) Locality.--The term ``locality'' means any city,
county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other
general purpose political subdivision of a State.
(3) Mental healthcare provider.--The term ``mental
healthcare provider'' means a fully-licensed professional or
group of professionals who diagnose mental health conditions
and provide mental health treatment, and who operate near to
the relevant jail or prison. Mental healthcare providers may
provide services at hospitals or at private clinics.
(4) Mental healthcare center.-- The term ``mental
healthcare center'' means any facility where one or more mental
healthcare providers offer mental health services, such as a
hospital or private clinic.
(5) Jail or prison administrator.--The term ``jail or
prison administrator'' means any individual who has been
appointed to a supervisory position in a Federal, State, or
local incarceration facility by the Federal Government, a
State, or a locality.
(6) Law enforcement official.--The term ``law enforcement
official'' means any officer of an entity administered by a
locality, State, or the Federal Government that exists
primarily to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal laws
who is designated by the leadership of that entity to represent
the entity.
(7) Corrections officers.--Any officer or employee of any
prison, jail, or other detention facility, operated by, or
under contract to, a Federal governmental agency, whose job
responsibilities include providing for the custody of
incarcerated individuals.
(8) Eligible detention center.--The term ``eligible
detention center'' means any prison or jail administered by the
Bureau of Prisons or a State or any jail administered by a
State or locality.
(9) Severe mental illness.--The term ``severe mental
illness'' means one or more mental, behavioral, or emotional
disorders that results in serious functional impairment and
substantially interferes with or limits major life activities.
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