II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5477 

To establish Federal policies and procedures to notify the next of kin or 

other emergency contact upon the death, or serious illness or serious 

injury, of an individual in Federal custody, to provide model policies 

for States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes to implement 

and enforce similar policies and procedures, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 11, 2024 

Mr. OSSOFF (for himself and Mr. KENNEDY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish Federal policies and procedures to notify the 

next of kin or other emergency contact upon the death, 

or serious illness or serious injury, of an individual in 

Federal custody, to provide model policies for States, 

units of local government, and Indian Tribes to implement and enforce similar policies and procedures, and 

for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Family Notification 

5 of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act of 2024’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In the event an individual dies or becomes 

4 seriously ill or injured while being detained, ar5 rested, or while in law enforcement custody, their 

6 family members deserve to be notified in a timely 

7 and compassionate manner. Such notification is nec8 essary to uphold the basic human dignity of incar9 cerated people, a concept rooted in the Eighth 

10 Amendment and Due Process Clause of the 14th 

11 Amendment to the Constitution of the United 

12 States. 

13 (2) The lack of a national standard governing 

14 notification of death, illness, and injury that occur 

15 in prisons, jails, and police custody can lead to inhu16 mane treatment of incarcerated people and their 

17 loved ones. Poor communication regarding the death 

18 of a loved one may exacerbate the grief and other 

19 physical and psychological reactions of surviving rel20 atives. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) CUSTODIAL RECORD.—The term ‘‘custodial 

24 record’’ means the central file of an individual in 

25 custody. 


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1 (2) DETENTION AGENCY.—The term ‘‘detention 

2 agency’’ means any government agency, including a 

3 law enforcement agency or correctional agency, that 

4 has the authority to detain individuals for violations 

5 or alleged violations of criminal or civil law. 

6 (3) IN THE CUSTODY OF A DETENTION AGEN7 CY.—The term ‘‘in the custody of a detention agen8 cy’’ means an individual who, after being detained 

9 and booked into a jail or holding facility for a Fed10 eral, State, or local offense— 

11 (A) is physically housed at a jail, prison, 

12 boot camp prison, contract correctional facility, 

13 community correctional facility, halfway house, 

14 or other correctional facility (including any ju15 venile detention facility); or 

16 (B) has been or is being transferred to a 

17 medical facility from a correctional facility. 

18 SEC. 4. EMERGENCY CONTACT NOTIFICATION POLICIES 

19 AND PROCEDURES. 

20 (a) EMERGENCY CONTACT NOTIFICATION POLICIES

21 AND PROCEDURES.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall, con23 sistent with the requirements in this section— 

24 (1) implement policies and procedures for the 

25 detention agencies of the Department of Justice to 


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1 notify the next of kin or other emergency contact in 

2 the event of the death, or serious illness or serious 

3 injury, of an individual in the custody of a detention 

4 agency of the Department of Justice; and 

5 (2) develop and distribute model policies and 

6 procedures for detention agencies of States, terri7 tories of the United States, Tribes, and units of 

8 local government to notify the next of kin or other 

9 emergency contact in the event of the death, or seri10 ous illness or serious injury, of an individual in the 

11 custody of the detention agency, and provide assist12 ance to such detention agencies so that the agencies 

13 may implement such procedures or substantially 

14 similar processes. 

15 (b) CONTENTS OF EMERGENCY CONTACT NOTIFICA16 TION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The policies and pro17 cedures described in subsection (a) shall include best prac18 tices that address the following: 

19 (1) EMERGENCY CONTACT INFORMATION.—In 

20 the case of an individual who is in the custody of a 

21 detention agency, the detention agency shall obtain, 

22 to the greatest extent practicable— 

23 (A) the name, last known address, tele24 phone number, and email of any individual or 

25 individuals who— 


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1 (i) shall be notified in the event of the 

2 death or serious illness or serious injury, of 

3 the individual in custody; and 

4 (ii) are authorized to receive the body 

5 and personal effects of the individual in 

6 custody; 

7 (B) whether the individual in custody 

8 would like a faith leader to participate in the 

9 notification process and, if so, of what denomi10 nation; and 

11 (C) whether the individual has in place a 

12 medical proxy decision maker or medical power 

13 of attorney, advanced directive, or do not resus14 citate order, and the name and contact informa15 tion of the individual or individuals holding 

16 such authorities. 

17 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR DEATH, 

18 SERIOUS ILLNESS, AND SERIOUS INJURY WHILE IN

19 CUSTODY.— 

20 (A) NOTIFICATION OF DEATH IN CUS21 TODY.—In the event an individual dies while in 

22 the custody of the detention agency, the deten23 tion agency shall notify the emergency contact 

24 of the individual not later than 12 hours after 

25 the declaration of death and between the hours 


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1 of 6:00 a.m. and to midnight local time. Such 

2 notification shall include information about the 

3 circumstances surrounding the death, including 

4 the official time of death, the cause of death, 

5 and whether the death is under investigation, 

6 including the reason for opening the investiga7 tion. 

8 (B) NOTIFICATION OF SERIOUS ILLNESS

9 OR SERIOUS INJURY.—In the event an indi10 vidual becomes seriously ill or seriously injured 

11 while in the custody of a detention agency, the 

12 detention agency shall attempt to notify the 

13 emergency contact of the individual as soon as 

14 practicable after the serious injury or serious 

15 illness occurs. Such notification shall include in16 formation about the serious illness or injury, in17 cluding the cause and nature of the serious in18 jury or serious illness event, whether the indi19 vidual is incapacitated, unconscious, or unable 

20 to speak, whether any medical procedures or 

21 life-saving measures were, or will be, performed 

22 in response to the incident, and the contact in23 formation of the facility and provider of medical 

24 treatment. 


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1 (3) COMPASSIONATE AND PROFESSIONAL NOTI2 FICATION.—The policies and procedures described in 

3 subsection (a) shall include best practices to provide 

4 notification of death, serious illness, or serious in5 jury in custody in a compassionate and professional 

6 manner to minimize confusion and trauma suffered 

7 by the next of kin or other emergency contact. The 

8 best practices shall address the manner of notifica9 tion, including— 

10 (A) providing notification by an individual 

11 trained in notification best practices; 

12 (B) if notification occurs in person, pro13 viding the next of kin or other emergency con14 tact a point of contact at the detention facility; 

15 and 

16 (C) providing notification of a death in 

17 custody via a telephone or in-person conversa18 tion, immediately followed by a written letter of 

19 condolence that advises the person of the cir20 cumstances of the death, and providing a de21 scription of what information can and cannot be 

22 provided over voicemail. 

23 (4) DEFINITION OF SERIOUS ILLNESS OR SERI24 OUS INJURY.—The policies and procedures described 

25 in subsection (a) shall define when a medical event, 


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1 episode, condition, accident, or other incident con2 stitutes a serious illness or serious injury. In defin3 ing such term, the Attorney General shall require 

4 notification in at least situations where— 

5 (A) without immediate treatment for the 

6 condition, death is imminent; 

7 (B) admission to a hospital is required; 

8 (C) an individual attempted suicide; 

9 (D) an individual is unconscious or inca10 pacitated such that they are incapable of pro11 viding consent for medical treatment; and 

12 (E) an individual has been diagnosed with 

13 a terminal illness. 

14 (5) EMERGENCY CONTACT FORM.—The policies 

15 and procedures described in subsection (a) shall in16 clude a template form for detention agencies to 

17 record the emergency contact information for inclu18 sion in the custodial record of the individual. 

19 (6) ADDITIONAL BEST PRACTICES.—The poli20 cies and practices described in subsection (a) shall 

21 include best practices to— 

22 (A) permit individuals in custody to modify 

23 their emergency contact information as needed; 

24 (B) provide individuals in custody the op25 portunity to fill out a medical power of attorVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Jan 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5477.IS S5477

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1 ney, health care proxy, advanced directive, a do 

2 not resuscitate order, or any other similar docu3 ment that complies with the State law in the lo4 cation of detention; 

5 (C) return the belongings and remains of 

6 the individual to the emergency contact, if de7 sired; 

8 (D) document and maintain within the 

9 custodial record of the individual each notifica10 tion attempt performed pursuant to this Act by 

11 the detention agency; 

12 (E) provide the emergency contact mean13 ingful opportunity to visit with a seriously ill or 

14 seriously injured individual in custody and to 

15 communicate with the medical staff caring for 

16 that individual; 

17 (F) provide the individual in custody infor18 mation about the purpose and permissible uses 

19 of the emergency contact information provided 

20 pursuant to this section; and 

21 (G) in the event of a death in custody, no22 tify the emergency contact if an autopsy is 

23 going to be performed and the procedures for 

24 obtaining an autopsy report. 


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1 (c) WRITTEN NOTIFICATION PLAN.—The policies 

2 and procedures described in subsection (a) shall instruct 

3 detention agencies to develop a written notification plan, 

4 or revise an existing written notification plan, that pro5 vides for notification of a death, serious illness, or serious 

6 injury of an individual in custody that conforms with the 

7 policies described in subsection (b). Such written notifica8 tion plans shall be published on the website of the deten9 tion agency and made accessible to individuals in the cus10 tody of the detention agency through inclusion in any in11 take information, manuals, or other materials distributed 

12 or made available to individuals upon being taken into cus13 tody. 

14 (d) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) DOJ SUPPORT OF STATE AND LOCAL IM16 PLEMENTATION OF MODEL POLICIES.—To support 

17 implementation of the model policies and procedures 

18 described in subsection (a)(2), the Attorney General 

19 shall provide ongoing online training and directed 

20 outreach to law enforcement, prosecution and de21 fense agencies through national and State member22 ship associations, and by other means. 

23 (2) PUBLICATION OF EMERGENCY CONTACT

24 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.—The Attorney GenVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Jan 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5477.IS S5477

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1 eral, acting through the Assistant Attorney General 

2 of the Office of Justice Programs, shall— 

3 (A) publish on the website of the Office of 

4 Justice Programs the policies and procedures 

5 described in subsection (b); and 

6 (B) shall include a copy of the procedures 

7 described subsection (b)(1) in any intake infor8 mation, manuals, or other materials distributed 

9 or made available to individuals upon being 

10 taken into the custody of a detention agency of 

11 the Department of Justice. 

12 (3) INTERGOVERNMENTAL SERVICE CONTRACTS

13 AND AGREEMENTS.—Any Department of Justice de14 tention agency, including the United States Mar15 shals Service, that contracts with State, munici16 pality, Tribal, private, or other entities to house in17 dividuals in custody shall require adoption of the 

18 procedures or substantially similar procedures as de19 scribed in subsection (b)(2) as a condition of such 

20 contract or contract renewal. 

21 (4) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO MONITOR

22 COMPLIANCE WITH NOTIFICATION AND COMMUNICA23 TION REQUIREMENTS.—The Attorney General shall 

24 appoint an individual within the Department of JusVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:14 Jan 13, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5477.IS S5477

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1 tice with the authority to receive and investigate 

2 complaints regarding the failure to provide— 

3 (A) the notifications required under this 

4 Act, including inadequate notifications; and 

5 (B) opportunities for communication and 

6 visitation in accordance with this Act. 

7 (e) VOLUNTARY COLLECTION.—A detention agency 

8 may not— 

9 (1) attempt to persuade or coerce an individual 

10 in the custody of a detention agency to provide the 

11 information described in subsection (a); or 

12 (2) impose any penalty, fine, or fee on the indi13 vidual for— 

14 (A) the failure or refusal of the individual 

15 to provide the information requested; or 

16 (B) providing information that is later de17 termined to be inaccurate. 

18 SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 

19 Nothing in this Act may be construed to— 

20 (1) create any legal or financial obligation on 

21 the part of any individual designated as a next of 

22 kin or other emergency contact under this Act; 

23 (2) require the individual in the custody of a 

24 detention agency to provide the emergency contact 

25 information described in section 4(a); or 


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1 (3) create a private right of action to enforce 

2 any provision of this Act. 

Æ 


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