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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9929 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

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.
                                 <all>
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