II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4892 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 

establish a grant program for first responder mental health and wellness, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2024 

Mrs. GILLIBRAND (for herself and Mr. HAWLEY) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 to establish a grant program for first responder mental health and wellness, 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 ‘‘The First Responders 

5 Wellness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 Section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

3 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10381) is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(q) MENTAL HEALTH DEMONSTRATION PRO6 GRAM.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.—Upon an ap8 proved application by the Attorney General under 

9 paragraph (3), an eligible entity may use amounts 

10 from a grant under subsection (a) to carry out a 

11 mental health service professional demonstration 

12 program to— 

13 ‘‘(A) provide culturally competent, con14 fidential, and independent mental health serv15 ices to law enforcement officers; and 

16 ‘‘(B) increase the number of culturally 

17 competent mental health services providers 

18 available to law enforcement officers. 

19 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sub20 section, the Attorney General shall consult with the 

21 Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health 

22 and Human Services. 

23 ‘‘(3) APPLICATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity 

25 seeking to use amounts from a grant to carry 

26 out a demonstration program described in this 


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1 subsection shall submit to the Attorney General 

2 an application at such time and in such manner 

3 as the Attorney General may reasonably re4 quire. 

5 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In reviewing applications 

6 received from eligible entities under this para7 graph, the Attorney General shall give priority 

8 to— 

9 ‘‘(i) eligible entities planning a part10 nership with an institution of higher edu11 cation for the purposes of placing graduate 

12 students with law enforcement officers to 

13 complete required field work, credit hours, 

14 internships, or related training as applica15 ble for the degree, license, or credential 

16 program of each graduate student; 

17 ‘‘(ii) eligible entities that are located 

18 in rural areas; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) eligible entities that demonstrate 

20 programmatic infrastructure to ensure that 

21 the demonstration program carried out by 

22 the eligible entity under this subsection will 

23 provide mental health services independent 

24 of the leadership or management of law en25 forcement agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(4) CONFIDENTIALITY REQUIREMENTS.—Any 

2 mental health services provider providing services to 

3 a law enforcement officer under the demonstration 

4 program described in this subsection— 

5 ‘‘(A) shall adhere to strict confidentiality 

6 responsibilities; and 

7 ‘‘(B) may not share with the leadership or 

8 management of a law enforcement agency any 

9 identifiable information of a law enforcement 

10 officer resulting from the provision of mental 

11 health programs, counseling, or services. 

12 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

13 There are authorized to be appropriated to the At14 torney General $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

15 2025 through 2031 to carry out this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(6) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

17 ‘‘(A) CONSORTIUM.—The term ‘consor18 tium’ means a partnership that— 

19 ‘‘(i) includes not less than 1 Federal, 

20 State, or local law enforcement agency; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) may include— 

23 ‘‘(I) a unit of local government; 

24 ‘‘(II) an institution of higher 

25 education; 


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1 ‘‘(III) a first responder union; 

2 ‘‘(IV) a benevolent association; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(V) a law enforcement profes5 sional association. 

6 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi7 ble entity’ means a State, unit of local govern8 ment, Indian tribal government, law enforce9 ment agency, or multi-jurisdictional or regional 

10 consortium that receives a grant under sub11 section (a). 

12 ‘‘(C) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDU13 CATION.—The term ‘institution of higher edu14 cation’ has the meaning given the term in sec15 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

16 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

17 ‘‘(D) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The 

18 term ‘law enforcement officer’— 

19 ‘‘(i) has the meaning given the term 

20 in section 1204; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

22 ‘‘(I) a public safety telecommuni23 cator, including 911 operators and 

24 fire dispatchers; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) a retired law enforcement 

2 officer. 

3 ‘‘(E) MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES PRO4 VIDER.—The term ‘mental health service pro5 vider’— 

6 ‘‘(i) includes a State-licensed or State7 certified counselor, trauma counselor, psy8 chologist, or other State-licensed or cer9 tified mental health professional who is 

10 qualified under State law to provide mental 

11 health services; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) may include an individual who 

13 is— 

14 ‘‘(I) enrolled in a graduate pro15 gram; and 

16 ‘‘(II) under the supervision of an 

17 individual described in clause (i).’’. 

18 SEC. 3. FIRST RESPONDERS MENTAL HEALTH HOTLINE. 

19 Part P of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

20 (42 U.S.C. 280g et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 399V–8. FIRST RESPONDERS MENTAL HEALTH HOT23 LINE. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

25 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting 


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1 through the Assistant Secretary for the Substance Abuse 

2 and Mental Health Administration, shall maintain, di3 rectly or by contract or grant, a national first responders 

4 emergency hotline to provide peer and emotional support, 

5 information, brief intervention, and mental or behavioral 

6 health and substance use disorder resources and referrals 

7 to first responders and to their families or household mem8 bers. 

9 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR HOTLINE.—The hotline 

10 established under subsection (a) shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) operate as a separate, widely recognizable 

12 number with bidirectional transfer options with the 

13 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline established pursuant 

14 to section 520E–3 of this Act; 

15 ‘‘(2) provide toll-free, real-time, live assistance 

16 24/7; 

17 ‘‘(3) provide voice and text support; 

18 ‘‘(4) be sufficiently staffed by, at a minimum, 

19 culturally competent first responder peer specialists 

20 or first responder mental health services providers 

21 who have distinct knowledge of, and are trained 

22 on— 

23 ‘‘(A) the essential functions of first re24 sponders and public safety organizations; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the working conditions unique to first 

2 responders; 

3 ‘‘(C) common and novel stressors inherent 

4 in public safety and emergency response work; 

5 ‘‘(D) normal and abnormal adaptation to 

6 occupational stress and trauma; and 

7 ‘‘(E) the unique aspects of confidentiality 

8 and testimonial privilege; and 

9 ‘‘(5) provide peer support, mental and behav10 ioral health and substance use disorder assistance, 

11 and referral services to meet the needs of first re12 sponders and family members or household members 

13 at risk of experiencing mental or behavioral health 

14 or substance use disorders. 

15 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In maintaining the hotline 

17 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) consult with the Domestic Violence 

19 Hotline, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 

20 and Veterans Crisis Line to ensure that first 

21 responders are connected in real-time to the ap22 propriate specialized hotline service, when appli23 cable; 

24 ‘‘(B) conduct a public awareness campaign 

25 for the hotline; 


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1 ‘‘(C) consult with Federal departments and 

2 agencies, including the Substance Abuse and 

3 Mental Health Services Administration and the 

4 Department of Justice, to increase awareness 

5 regarding the hotline; and 

6 ‘‘(D) consult with organizations that oper7 ate existing crisis or peer support hotlines for 

8 first responders with respect to best practices 

9 for operating such hotlines. 

10 ‘‘(2) EXISTING HOTLINES.—The Secretary or 

11 an entity receiving a grant or contract under sub12 section (a), as applicable, shall form partnerships be13 tween the existing national first responders mental 

14 health hotline and other first responder helplines 

15 and websites. 

16 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall en17 sure that calls from public safety personnel received 

18 through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline are ap19 propriately referred to the hotline under subsection 

20 (a). 

21 ‘‘(4) TRAINING CURRICULUM.—Not later than 2 

22 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

23 Secretary shall develop, in coordination with mental 

24 health providers and first responder associations or 

25 personnel, trauma-informed, culturally competent 


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1 training for 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline network 

2 centers for the purposes of informing all 988 Suicide 

3 and Crisis Lifeline personnel about the unique con4 cerns, resources, linkages, and stressors of first re5 sponders. 

6 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit 

7 an annual report to Congress on the hotline under sub8 section (a) and implementation of this section, including— 

9 ‘‘(1) an evaluation of the effectiveness of activi10 ties conducted or supported under subsection (a); 

11 ‘‘(2) a directory of entities or organizations to 

12 which staff maintaining the hotline funded under 

13 this section may make referrals; and 

14 ‘‘(3) such additional information as the Sec15 retary determines appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) CULTURALLY COMPETENT FIRST RE18 SPONDER PEER SPECIALIST.—The term ‘culturally 

19 competent first responder peer specialist’ may in20 clude an individual with familiarity with, and under21 standing of, the duties and unique stressors of first 

22 responders, which may include experience working as 

23 a first responder. 

24 ‘‘(2) FIRST RESPONDER.—The term ‘first re25 sponder’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means— 

2 ‘‘(i) a law enforcement officer, fire3 fighter, or member of a rescue squad or 

4 ambulance crew (as such terms are defined 

5 in section 1204 of title I of the Omnibus 

6 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

7 1968); or 

8 ‘‘(ii) a public safety telecommunicator, 

9 including 9–1–1 operators and dispatchers; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) includes a retired first responder. 

12 ‘‘(3) FIRST RESPONDER MENTAL HEALTH

13 SERVICES PROVIDER.—The term ‘first responder 

14 mental health services provider’ includes a State-li15 censed or State-certified counselor, trauma coun16 selor, psychologist or other State licensed or certified 

17 mental health professional who— 

18 ‘‘(A) is qualified under State law to pro19 vide mental health services; and 

20 ‘‘(B) has a familiarity with and under21 standing of the duties and unique stressors of 

22 first responders. 

23 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To 

24 carry out this section, there are authorized to be approVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:29 Aug 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4892.IS S4892

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1 priated $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

2 2031.’’. 

Æ 


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