II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4791 

To provide for a Community-Based Emergency and Non-Emergency Response 

Grant Program. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 1, 2020 

Mr. VAN HOLLEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To provide for a Community-Based Emergency and NonEmergency Response Grant Program. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community-Based Re5 sponse Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to provide an additional option beyond law 

9 enforcement for community-based emergency and 


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1 non-emergency response for covered populations in 

2 need of help or support, in order to— 

3 (A) target the best professional interven4 tion to an individual in need of help or support; 

5 and 

6 (B) avoid escalation of a crisis situation— 

7 (i) that may not require a response 

8 from law enforcement; and 

9 (ii) to which a law enforcement re10 sponse can create increased risk of harm; 

11 and 

12 (2) establishing a grant program to provide 

13 that additional response option by awarding funding 

14 to partnerships described in section 5(a). 

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

16 In this Act: 

17 (1) COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER.— 

18 The term ‘‘community mental health center’’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 1861 of the Social 

20 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x). 

21 (2) COVERED COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZA22 TION.—The term ‘‘covered community-based organi23 zation’’ means an organization that meets the re24 quirements of section 5(b). 


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1 (3) COVERED POPULATION.—The term ‘‘cov2 ered population’’ means— 

3 (A) individuals who are racial or ethnic mi4 norities or members of an Indian tribe; 

5 (B) immigrants, including undocumented 

6 immigrants, immigrants who have recently en7 tered the United States, and refugees; 

8 (C) individuals with limited English pro9 ficiency, meaning their primary language for 

10 communication is not English and communica11 tion with emergency responders may be dif12 ficult; 

13 (D) individuals who are age 60 or older 

14 and determined to be likely to be— 

15 (i) vulnerable to abuse; or 

16 (ii) experiencing health challenges; 

17 (E) people with disabilities, as defined in 

18 section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act 

19 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102); 

20 (F) people in the LGBTQIA+ community; 

21 (G) people who are likely to face dispropor22 tionate or discriminatory law enforcement con23 tact; 

24 (H) people who are or were involved in the 

25 criminal justice system; 


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1 (I) homeless persons, as defined in section 

2 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist3 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302); 

4 (J) people facing or with a history of men5 tal or behavioral health crises or who need 

6 check-ins for health, safety, or substance use 

7 disorder reasons; 

8 (K) people experiencing family violence or 

9 domestic violence under the laws of the jurisdic10 tion involved, or dating violence; 

11 (L) victims of child abuse and children ex12 posed to violence; 

13 (M) people who are likely to be engaged in 

14 or to experience violence in the community; 

15 (N) people with, or recovering from, a sub16 stance use disorder; 

17 (O) current and former foster youth; 

18 (P) youth who are or were involved in the 

19 juvenile justice system; 

20 (Q) victims of conduct described in section 

21 1591 or 2251 of title 18, United States Code; 

22 (R) people who engage in acts defined in 

23 paragraph (4) of section 103 of the Trafficking 

24 Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 

25 7102); 


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1 (S) adult survivors of sexual assault, as de2 fined under the laws of the jurisdiction in3 volved; 

4 (T) victims of trafficking, as defined in 

5 section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protec6 tion Act of 2000; 

7 (U) out-of-school youth; and 

8 (V) people in an acute crisis not covered 

9 under subparagraphs (A) through (U). 

10 (4) DATING VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘dating vio11 lence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 

13 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)). 

14 (5) IMMIGRATION TERMS.— 

15 (A) IMMIGRANT.—The term ‘‘immigrant’’ 

16 means an alien who has entered the United 

17 States. 

18 (B) UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT.—The 

19 term ‘‘undocumented immigrant’’ means an 

20 alien who is unlawfully present in the United 

21 States. 

22 (6) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 

23 The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ 

24 have the meanings given the terms in section 4 of 


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1 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist2 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

3 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

4 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means— 

5 (A) such an institution as defined in sec6 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

7 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 

8 (B) a tribally controlled college or univer9 sity as defined in section 2 of the Tribally Con10 trolled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act 

11 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801). 

12 (8) OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH.—The term ‘‘out13 of-school youth’’ means an individual who is— 

14 (A) not attending any school (as defined 

15 under State law); 

16 (B) not younger than age 16 or older than 

17 age 24; and 

18 (C) one or more of the following: 

19 (i) A young person who has dropped 

20 out of school. 

21 (ii) A youth who is within the age of 

22 compulsory school attendance, but has not 

23 attended school for at least the most recent 

24 complete school year calendar quarter. 


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1 (iii) A recipient of a secondary school 

2 diploma or its recognized equivalent who is 

3 a low-income individual and is either basic 

4 skills deficient or an English language 

5 learner (as such 3 terms are defined in 

6 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

7 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)). 

8 (iv) An individual who is subject to 

9 the criminal justice system. 

10 (v) An individual experience homeless11 ness, a homeless child or youth, or a run12 away. 

13 (vi) An individual— 

14 (I) who is in foster care, who has 

15 aged out of the foster care system, or 

16 who has attained 16 years of age and 

17 left foster care for kinship guardian18 ship or adoption; 

19 (II) who is a child eligible for as20 sistance under section 477 of the So21 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677); or 

22 (III) who is a child in an out-of23 home placement. 

24 (vii) An individual who is pregnant or 

25 parenting. 


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1 (viii) An individual with a disability 

2 (as defined in section 3 of the Workforce 

3 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

4 U.S.C. 3102)). 

5 (ix) A low-income individual (as de6 fined in that section 3) who requires addi7 tional assistance to enter or complete an 

8 educational program or to secure or hold 

9 employment. 

10 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after 

12 consultation with the Secretary of Housing and 

13 Urban Development and the Attorney General. 

14 (10) SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER.—The term 

15 ‘‘substance use disorder’’ means such a disorder 

16 within the meaning of title V of the Public Health 

17 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.). 

18 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

20 Community-Based Emergency and Non-Emergency Re21 sponse Grant Program to improve community-based emer22 gency and non-emergency response for public safety and 

23 problem solving, and to promote the safety and well-being 

24 of the populations and communities served under the pro25 gram by— 


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1 (1) identifying eligible organizations with dem2 onstrated capacity for emergency and non-emergency 

3 response work, including violence interruption, com4 munity mediation, and crisis behavioral health re5 sponse, who are capable of providing, and increasing 

6 the capacity of the localities to provide, emergency 

7 and non-emergency response for specified covered 

8 populations; 

9 (2) developing a local infrastructure of systems 

10 and resources needed to develop, implement, and 

11 sustain effective interventions to protect the mental 

12 and physical well-being of members of the commu13 nity, prevent violence, de-escalate volatile situations, 

14 ensure access to human services, protect property 

15 and the environment, reduce law enforcement use of 

16 force, and ensure the health and safety of commu17 nities, while decreasing the sole reliance on law en18 forcement for emergency and non-emergency situa19 tions; 

20 (3) creating and strengthening formal and in21 formal partnerships, for such purposes as providing 

22 solutions and committing resources to sustain and 

23 scale up successful models of community-based 

24 emergency and non-emergency response; and 


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1 (4) providing timely evaluation to clarify the 

2 outcomes and costs of the program, and the new 

3 interventions and service models provided through 

4 the program, for service recipients and law enforce5 ment. 

6 (b) INITIATION GRANTS.—In carrying out the Pro7 gram, the Secretary shall make initiation grants to not 

8 fewer than 40 eligible partnerships, including not fewer 

9 than 4 eligible partnerships that include Indian tribes or 

10 tribal organizations, of which not fewer than 2 shall be 

11 eligible partnerships led by an Indian tribe or tribal orga12 nization, to carry out projects to meet the objectives de13 scribed in subsection (a). The Secretary shall make the 

14 grants for periods of 5 years. The Secretary shall make 

15 the grants to partnerships in geographically diverse areas, 

16 including urban and rural communities, and in commu17 nities with varying population sizes. 

18 (c) CONTINUATION GRANTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Pro20 gram, the Secretary shall make continuation grants 

21 to eligible partnerships who are recipients of the ini22 tiation grants and who are determined by the Sec23 retary to be in good standing on completion of the 

24 grant period for those grants, to pay for the Federal 

25 share of the cost of carrying out projects to meet the 


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1 objectives described in subsection (a). The Secretary 

2 shall make the grants for periods of 2 years. 

3 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 

4 share of the costs described in this subsection shall 

5 be 25 percent. The eligible partnership receiving 

6 such a grant shall provide the non-Federal share 

7 from State, tribal, local, or private sources. 

8 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

10 under this title Act, an entity shall be a partnership of— 

11 (1)(A) a unit of local government (or its con12 tractor), or Indian tribe or tribal organization, act13 ing through an entity that is independent of any law 

14 enforcement agency; and 

15 (B) a covered community-based organiza16 tion; and 

17 (2) if applicable, a nonprofit or public institu18 tion of higher education, community mental health 

19 center, or behavioral health organization. 

20 (b) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—A commu21 nity-based organization referred to in subsection (a)(1) 

22 shall be a nonprofit community-based organization, a con23 sortium of nonprofit community-based organizations, a 

24 national nonprofit organization acting as an intermediary 

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1 based organization that has a fiscal sponsor that allows 

2 the organization to function as an organization that is de3 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

4 of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) 

5 of that Code. 

6 SEC. 6. GRANT APPLICATIONS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

8 under this Act for a project, a partnership shall submit 

9 an application (which, for a continuation grant, shall be 

10 an update of the partnership’s initiation grant application) 

11 to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and con12 taining such information as the Secretary may require, in13 cluding— 

14 (1) information that specifies in detail— 

15 (A) the covered populations that the part16 nership will target for services under this Act; 

17 (B) the experience of the members of the 

18 partnership in successfully working in the com19 munity to be served and partnering with the 

20 target populations, including— 

21 (i) for a partnership that includes an 

22 Indian tribe or tribal organization, an un23 derstanding of tribal sovereignty; and 

24 (ii) for a partnership not described in 

25 clause (i), the partnership’s understanding 


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1 of racial equity, systems of oppression, and 

2 the impact of structural racism on the 

3 community and population to be served, 

4 the partnership’s commitment to pro5 moting such equity, dismantling such sys6 tems, and reducing such impact, and an 

7 established record of accomplishment in 

8 improving outcomes or preventing, reduc9 ing, or eliminating inequities in that com10 munity; 

11 (C) how the grant funds will be used; 

12 (D) the expertise of the partnership, in13 cluding its staff, in implementing the project to 

14 provide the proposed services; 

15 (E) how the partnership will implement or 

16 develop evidence-based best practices, including 

17 development of culturally informed evidence18 based best practices, in carrying out the 

19 project, including references to applicable re20 search; and 

21 (F) the partnership’s plan for gathering 

22 feedback from service recipients about the qual23 ity of the services, including contacts and re24 sources, provided through the project; and 

25 (2) a memorandum of understanding that— 


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1 (A) identifies each partner (including each 

2 agency of the unit of local government or In3 dian tribe or tribal organization, as applicable, 

4 involved) and is signed by a representative of 

5 each partner in the partnership carrying out 

6 the project; and 

7 (B) outlines— 

8 (i) the partnership’s engagement with 

9 the community, including members of the 

10 covered population, and the role the en11 gagement played in developing the project; 

12 (ii) the financial and programmatic 

13 commitment of each partner, and the spe14 cific role of a law enforcement agency if in15 volved in a backup role; 

16 (iii) the responsibilities of emergency 

17 dispatch operators, dispatchers, and part18 ners in the national 911 system, in prop19 erly identifying calls in the community to 

20 be served necessitating a community-based 

21 emergency and non-emergency response 

22 and directing those calls to appropriate re23 sponders; 

24 (iv) the responsibilities of information 

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1 nity services (accessed in most localities by 

2 dialing 211) and the National Suicide Pre3 vention Hotline (to be accessed by dialing 

4 988) for participating in efficiently routing 

5 direct callers to services; 

6 (v) the responsibilities of each partner 

7 with respect to data collection and evalua8 tion; 

9 (vi) how each partner’s existing (as of 

10 the date of submission of the application) 

11 vision, theory of change, theory of action, 

12 and activities align with those of the grant 

13 program set forth in this Act; 

14 (vii) the governance structure pro15 posed for the project, including a system 

16 for holding partners accountable; 

17 (viii) how the eligible partners’ gov18 erning boards or advisory boards, and 

19 emergency responders, are representative 

20 of the community to be served; 

21 (ix) how a structure through which 

22 residents of the community and grassroots 

23 organizations will have an active role in the 

24 eligible partnership’s decision making; 


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1 (x) how the partnership anticipates 

2 that the project involved will decrease the 

3 responsibilities of local law enforcement, 

4 including responsibilities related to polic5 ing, arrests, and incarceration, and of 

6 other public safety entities; 

7 (xi) any State or local laws that may 

8 be an impediment to implementation of the 

9 project; and 

10 (xii) any other information the Sec11 retary reasonably determines to be nec12 essary. 

13 (b) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this Act, the 

14 Secretary shall give priority to— 

15 (1) eligible partnerships that include covered 

16 community-based organizations with a documented 

17 record of effectively serving 1 or more covered popu18 lations; and 

19 (2) eligible partnerships that include covered 

20 community-based organizations that are led by indi21 viduals who are members of the covered populations 

22 to be served. 


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1 SEC. 7. USE OF FUNDS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—An eligible partnership that re3 ceives a grant under this Act for a project may use the 

4 grant funds for— 

5 (1) project planning and community engage6 ment; 

7 (2) project implementation; 

8 (3) staffing and recruitment; 

9 (4) facilities; 

10 (5) operational costs, including costs of startup 

11 or expansion activities, marketing, language trans12 lation, and transportation; 

13 (6) engagement with technical assistance pro14 viders; 

15 (7) consulting services; 

16 (8) training; 

17 (9) program and project evaluation, including 

18 evaluation of program and project efficacy, staff per19 formance, and service delivery; 

20 (10) programming and service interventions 

21 that include— 

22 (A) activities that prioritize human service 

23 interventions, by entities other than law en24 forcement, over interventions by law enforce25 ment; or 


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1 (B) activities that include triaging emer2 gencies, through emergency dispatch operators, 

3 in a manner that results in referral to a wholly 

4 nonpolice entity; and 

5 (11) programming and service interventions 

6 that may include— 

7 (A) activities that include co-occurring law 

8 enforcement and human services activities, such 

9 as responses to calls about dating violence; 

10 (B) activities that include followup by 

11 human services organizations after contact by 

12 law enforcement, such as community mediation, 

13 social services, or behavioral health services; 

14 (C) training for emergency dispatch opera15 tors; and 

16 (D) training for community members, or 

17 family members of people requiring emergency 

18 or non-emergency response, to facilitate com19 prehensive and clear communication with emer20 gency dispatch operators to ensure that nec21 essary information is conveyed about when an 

22 intervention by a nonpolice human services or23 ganization is the most appropriate response. 


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1 (b) FUNDING LIMITATION.—None of the grant funds 

2 shall be provided to State, tribal, or local law enforcement 

3 agencies. 

4 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

5 The Secretary shall arrange for a national technical 

6 assistance provider for organizations described in section 

7 5, to provide technical assistance support and develop and 

8 disseminate best practices for projects carried out under 

9 this Act. 

10 SEC. 9. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

11 Each recipient of a grant for a project under this sec12 tion is required to submit an annual report to the Sec13 retary that details— 

14 (1) the specific uses of the grant funds; 

15 (2) the number of individuals contacted through 

16 the project; 

17 (3) the number of individuals connected with 

18 ongoing services or resources through the project, 

19 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual ori20 entation and gender identity, disability status, and 

21 other characteristics; 

22 (4) the quality of the contacts, services, and re23 sources, as reported by the individuals contacted; 

24 (5) any evidence of positive outcomes following 

25 the contacts or connections; 


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1 (6) any evidence of negative outcomes that may 

2 have occurred following the contacts or connections; 

3 (7) the percentage of total emergency calls di4 verted from law enforcement to the grant recipient; 

5 (8) the percentage of emergency calls diverted 

6 to the grant recipient that have been addressed; 

7 (9) the extent to which the grant recipient is 

8 hiring or training individuals from within the cov9 ered population, and the recruitment, hiring, train10 ing, and retention practices for such individuals; 

11 (10) any related reduction in the number of 

12 calls to law enforcement over the period of the 

13 project; 

14 (11) any changes in the types of calls made to 

15 the 911 system, to the extent that it is practicable 

16 to report information on such changes; 

17 (12) any increases in the number of calls to the 

18 211 (or equivalent) systems for essential non-emer19 gency community services or calls to the 988 Na20 tional Suicide Prevention Hotline over the period of 

21 the project; 

22 (13) any related reduction in the budget of the 

23 law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over 

24 the community served by the eligible partnership 

25 over that period; 


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1 (14) any State or local laws that were an im2 pediment to implementation of the project; and 

3 (15) any evidence of completed in-home, tele4 therapy, or in-community responses that included 

5 counseling, crisis response, family treatment, medi6 ation, or other evidence-based interventions that ad7 dressed complex needs not able to be resolved by 

8 non-emergency calls alone. 

9 SEC. 10. EVALUATION AND REPORT. 

10 Not later than October 1, 2026, the Secretary shall— 

11 (1) complete an evaluation detailing the imple12 mentation of, outcomes of, and best practices from 

13 the grant program carried out under this Act, in14 cluding program-wide information on the factors de15 scribed in paragraphs (2) through (15) of section 9; 

16 and 

17 (2) submit to Congress a report containing the 

18 evaluation. 

19 SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated— 

21 (1) to carry out initiation grants under this sec22 tion, $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 

23 through 2025; and 


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1 (2) to carry out continuation grants under this 

2 section, $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 

3 and 2027. 

Æ 


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