I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8470 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make awards 

to increase or improve access to comprehensive mental and behavioral 

health services for individuals exposed to violent encounters involving 

law enforcement personnel, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2024 

Ms. BUSH (for herself, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. CARSON, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mrs. RAMIREZ, Ms. TLAIB, 

and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 

the Committees on Education and the Workforce, and the Judiciary, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to make awards to increase or improve access to comprehensive mental and behavioral health services for individuals exposed to violent encounters involving law enforcement personnel, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Helping Families Heal 

3 Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. HELPING FAMILIES HEAL PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

6 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec7 retary’’), acting through the Assistant Secretary for Men8 tal Health and Substance Use, shall carry out a program, 

9 to be known as the Helping Families Heal Program, con10 sisting of awarding grants, contracts, and cooperative 

11 agreements to eligible entities to— 

12 (1) recruit, hire, train, and dispatch mental 

13 health professionals and community health workers 

14 to provide comprehensive mental health services to 

15 individuals who have suffered traumatic experiences, 

16 or are in grief, in bereavement, or at risk of suicide 

17 or violence, as a result of— 

18 (A) witnessing or experiencing law enforce19 ment personnel violence; 

20 (B) the death of a family member due to 

21 law enforcement personnel violence; or 

22 (C) the death of a colleague or neighbor 

23 due to law enforcement personnel violence; 

24 (2) implement community-based mental health 

25 programs that— 


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1 (A) build awareness of individual, commu2 nity, and intergenerational trauma as a result 

3 of witnessing or experiencing law enforcement 

4 personnel violence; 

5 (B) train staff and volunteers to identify, 

6 and screen for, signs of trauma exposure, men7 tal health disorders, and risk of suicide in the 

8 wake of law enforcement personnel violence; 

9 (C) incorporate community interventions, 

10 family engagement, and intergenerational coun11 seling that encourage the development of posi12 tive mental health, prevent mental health dis13 orders, and diminish the impact of trauma re14 sulting from law enforcement personnel vio15 lence; 

16 (D) facilitate partnerships among families, 

17 mental health and substance use disorder pro18 viders, family-based mental health and sub19 stance use disorder providers, trauma networks, 

20 and health care providers (including mental 

21 health professionals and community health 

22 workers who specialize in pediatric services); 

23 and 

24 (E) establish mechanisms for individuals 

25 who have witnessed or experienced law enforceVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:35 Jun 29, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8470.IH H8470

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1 ment personnel violence to report incidents of 

2 violence or plans to commit violence; or 

3 (3) provide technical assistance to community4 based organizations regarding the activities de5 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2). 

6 (b) DURATION OF AWARDS.—The duration of a 

7 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under 

8 subsection (a) shall be no longer than 1 year. 

9 (c) ADDITIONAL AWARDS.—Subject to the avail10 ability of funds, the Secretary shall make an additional 

11 award of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 

12 under subsection (a) each fiscal year through fiscal year 

13 2029 to each recipient of an award under subsection (a) 

14 that demonstrates that its award resulted in a substantial 

15 increase in the number of individuals provided with mental 

16 health services who have witnessed or experienced law en17 forcement personnel violence. 

18 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants, contracts, and 

19 cooperative agreements under this section, the Secretary 

20 shall give priority to eligible entities in communities 

21 that— 

22 (1) have high rates of interaction with law en23 forcement personnel for residents; 


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1 (2) have been or are currently subject to a Fed2 eral or State investigation regarding racial bias in 

3 the use of force by law enforcement personnel; 

4 (3) have high rates of arrest and incarceration 

5 of persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, 

6 or developmental disability; or 

7 (4) commit to providing in-kind contributions 

8 from non-Federal sources, or volunteer hours, for in9 dividuals served by recipients of awards under this 

10 section. 

11 (e) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant, con12 tract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), an 

13 entity shall be— 

14 (1) a community-based mental health care or 

15 substance use disorder provider, including a public 

16 or private mental health entity, health care entity, 

17 family-based mental health entity, or trauma net18 work; or 

19 (2) a community-based organization or non20 profit organization as determined appropriate by the 

21 Secretary. 

22 (f) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not award any 

23 funds under this section to a law enforcement or child pro24 tective services entity. 


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1 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion shall be construed to limit the applicability of the reg3 ulations under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance 

4 Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 

5 1320d–2 note) to any patient records developed by covered 

6 entities through activities funded through an award under 

7 this section. 

8 (h) GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

9 shall ensure that recipients of grants, contracts, and coop10 erative agreements under subsection (a) are distributed 

11 equitably among the regions of the country and among 

12 urban and rural areas. 

13 (i) EVALUATION AND MEASURES OF OUTCOMES.— 

14 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS.—The Sec15 retary shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for 

16 evaluating activities carried out pursuant to an 

17 award under this section. Such process shall in18 clude— 

19 (A) the development of guidelines for the 

20 submission of program data by grant, contract, 

21 and cooperative agreement recipients; 

22 (B) the application by such recipients of 

23 measures of outcomes developed under para24 graph (2) to the programs funded through such 

25 awards; and 


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1 (C) the submission of annual reports by 

2 such recipients concerning the effectiveness of 

3 programs funded through such awards. 

4 (2) MEASURES OF OUTCOMES.—The Secretary 

5 shall develop measures of outcomes to be applied by 

6 recipients of awards under this section to evaluate 

7 the effectiveness of activities funded through such 

8 awards. 

9 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

10 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

11 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

12 SEC. 3. HEALING FOR STUDENTS PROGRAM. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Sec15 retary’’), acting through the Assistant Secretary for Men16 tal Health and Substance Use, shall carry out a program, 

17 to be known as the Healing for Students Program, con18 sisting of awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agree19 ments to eligible entities to— 

20 (1) recruit, hire, train, and dispatch mental 

21 health professionals and community health workers 

22 to provide comprehensive mental health services to 

23 students and school personnel who have suffered 

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1 ment, or at risk of suicide or violence, as a result 

2 of— 

3 (A) witnessing or experiencing law enforce4 ment personnel violence; 

5 (B) the death of a family member due to 

6 law enforcement personnel violence; or 

7 (C) the death of a colleague or neighbor 

8 due to law enforcement personnel violence; 

9 (2) implement school-based mental health pro10 grams that— 

11 (A) build awareness of individual, commu12 nity, and intergenerational trauma as a result 

13 of witnessing or experiencing law enforcement 

14 personnel violence; 

15 (B) train school personnel to identify, and 

16 screen for, signs of trauma exposure, mental 

17 health disorders, and risk of suicide in the wake 

18 of law enforcement personnel violence; 

19 (C) incorporate family engagement, stu20 dent supports, and intergenerational counseling 

21 that encourage the development of positive 

22 mental health, prevent mental health disorders, 

23 and diminish the impact of trauma resulting 

24 from law enforcement personnel violence; 


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1 (D) educate students and their families on 

2 the stigma surrounding mental health; 

3 (E) facilitate partnerships among families, 

4 students, mental health and substance use dis5 order providers, family-based mental health and 

6 substance use disorder providers, trauma net7 works, and health care providers (including 

8 mental health professionals and community 

9 health workers who specialize in pediatric serv10 ices); and 

11 (F) establish mechanisms for students and 

12 school personnel who have witnessed or experi13 enced law enforcement personnel violence to re14 port incidents of violence or plans to commit vi15 olence; or 

16 (3) in the case of a grantee that is a local edu17 cational agency or a consortium of local educational 

18 agencies, provide technical assistance to schools re19 garding the activities described in paragraphs (1) 

20 and (2). 

21 (b) DURATION OF AWARDS.—The duration of a 

22 grant, contract, or cooperative agreement awarded under 

23 subsection (a) shall be no longer than 1 year. 

24 (c) ADDITIONAL AWARDS.—Subject to the avail25 ability of funds, the Secretary shall make an additional 


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1 award of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements 

2 under subsection (a) each fiscal year through fiscal year 

3 2029 to each recipient of an award under subsection (a) 

4 that demonstrates that its award resulted in a substantial 

5 increase in the number of individuals provided with mental 

6 health services who have witnessed or experienced law en7 forcement personnel violence. 

8 (d) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants, contracts, and 

9 cooperative agreements under this section, the Secretary 

10 shall give priority to eligible entities serving communities 

11 that— 

12 (1) have high rates of interaction with law en13 forcement personnel for residents; 

14 (2) have been or are currently subject to a Fed15 eral or State investigation regarding racial bias in 

16 the use of force by law enforcement personnel; 

17 (3) have high rates of arrest and incarceration 

18 of persons with mental illness, intellectual disability, 

19 or developmental disability; or 

20 (4) commit to providing in-kind contributions 

21 from non-Federal sources, or volunteer hours, for 

22 students and school personnel served by recipients of 

23 awards under this section. 


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1 (e) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a grant, con2 tract, or cooperative agreement under subsection (a), an 

3 entity shall be— 

4 (1) a local educational agency serving elemen5 tary schools and secondary schools; 

6 (2) a consortium of such local educational agen7 cies; or 

8 (3) an elementary school or secondary school. 

9 (f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec10 tion shall be construed to limit the applicability of the reg11 ulations under section 264(c) of the Health Insurance 

12 Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 

13 1320d–2 note) to any patient records developed by covered 

14 entities through activities funded through an award under 

15 this section. 

16 (g) GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.—The Secretary 

17 shall ensure that recipients of grants, contracts, and coop18 erative agreements under subsection (a) are distributed 

19 equitably among the regions of the country and among 

20 urban and rural areas. 

21 (h) EVALUATION AND MEASURES OF OUTCOMES.— 

22 (1) DEVELOPMENT OF PROCESS.—The Sec23 retary shall develop a fiscally appropriate process for 

24 evaluating activities carried out pursuant to an 


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1 award under this section. Such process shall in2 clude— 

3 (A) the development of guidelines for the 

4 submission of program data by grant, contract, 

5 and cooperative agreement recipients; 

6 (B) the application by such recipients of 

7 measures of outcomes developed under para8 graph (2) to the programs funded through such 

9 awards; and 

10 (C) the submission of annual reports by 

11 such recipients concerning the effectiveness of 

12 programs funded through such awards. 

13 (2) MEASURES OF OUTCOMES.—The Secretary 

14 shall develop measures of outcomes to be applied by 

15 recipients of awards under this section to evaluate 

16 the effectiveness of activities funded through such 

17 awards. 

18 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘ele19 mentary school’’, ‘‘local educational agency’’, and ‘‘sec20 ondary school’’ have the meanings given to such terms in 

21 section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

22 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 

23 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

25 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 


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1 SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Health and 

3 Human Services, the Secretary of Education, and the At4 torney General, acting jointly, shall establish a permanent 

5 interagency task force (referred to in this section as the 

6 ‘‘Task Force’’) to coordinate and promote holistic, quali7 fied responses to victims of law enforcement personnel vio8 lence. 

9 (b) MEMBERS.—The Task Force shall be composed 

10 of the following members: 

11 (1) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv12 ices (or the Secretary’s designee). 

13 (2) The Secretary of Education (or the Sec14 retary’s designee). 

15 (3) The Attorney General of the United States 

16 (or the Attorney General’s designee). 

17 (4) The heads of other Federal departments 

18 and agencies (or their designees), as determined nec19 essary by the Secretary of Health and Human Serv20 ices. 

21 (c) DUTIES.—The Task Force shall— 

22 (1) solicit regular and detailed input from 

23 stakeholders, including victims of law enforcement 

24 personnel violence and their families, students, edu25 cators, mental health professionals, community 


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1 health workers, researchers, experts in infant, child, 

2 and youth trauma, and the public; 

3 (2) recommend mechanisms for the Department 

4 of Health and Human Services, the Department of 

5 Education, and the Department of Justice to collect 

6 and review statistical data about interactions with 

7 law enforcement personnel; 

8 (3) identify options for coordinating existing 

9 grants that support people who have experienced law 

10 enforcement personnel violence; 

11 (4) recommend other ways to improve coordina12 tion, planning, and communication within and across 

13 Federal agencies, offices, and programs, to better 

14 serve people who have experienced law enforcement 

15 personnel violence; and 

16 (5) facilitate ongoing efforts to streamline the 

17 application, monitoring, and reporting processes to 

18 make Federal funds provided pursuant to awards 

19 under this Act and other similar existing grants 

20 maximally accessible to small, grassroots organiza21 tions that support communities acutely impacted by 

22 high rates of law enforcement personnel violence. 

23 (d) MEETINGS.—For the purpose of carrying out this 

24 section, the Task Force may hold such meetings, and sit 


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1 and act at such times and places, as the Task Force con2 siders appropriate. 

3 (e) INFORMATION.—The Task Force may secure di4 rectly from any Federal agency such information as may 

5 be necessary to enable the Task Force to carry out this 

6 section. Upon request of the Chairperson of the Task 

7 Force, the head of such agency shall furnish such informa8 tion to the Task Force. 

9 (f) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

10 of the first meeting of the Task Force, and at least once 

11 every 2 years thereafter, the Task Force shall— 

12 (1) submit to the general public, the heads of 

13 relevant Federal departments and agencies other 

14 than those represented on the Task Force, the Com15 mittee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee on 

16 the Judiciary, and the Committee on Education and 

17 the Workforce of the House of Representatives, and 

18 the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 

19 Pensions and the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

20 Senate, a report containing all of the findings and 

21 recommendations required under this section; and 

22 (2) make such report available online in an ac23 cessible format. 

24 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER.—The term 

2 ‘‘community health worker’’ means a frontline public 

3 health worker who— 

4 (A) is a trusted member of, or has a close 

5 understanding of, the community served, ena6 bling the worker to serve as a link between 

7 health and social services and the community, 

8 so as to facilitate access to services and improve 

9 the quality and cultural competence of service 

10 delivery; and 

11 (B) builds individual and community ca12 pacity by increasing health knowledge and self13 sufficiency through a range of activities such as 

14 outreach, community education, informal coun15 seling, social support, and advocacy. 

16 (2) INTERACTION WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT

17 PERSONNEL.—The term ‘‘interaction with law en18 forcement personnel’’ means an interaction in 

19 which— 

20 (A) a law enforcement agent uses force or 

21 threatens to use force; 

22 (B) an individual is stopped by a law en23 forcement agent while such individual is— 

24 (i) driving a motor vehicle; or 

25 (ii) otherwise in public; 


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1 (C) an individual is a passenger in a motor 

2 vehicle that is stopped by a law enforcement 

3 agent; 

4 (D) an individual is arrested; or 

5 (E) an individual is otherwise stopped or 

6 approached by a law enforcement agent. 

7 (3) LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL VIO8 LENCE.—The term ‘‘law enforcement personnel vio9 lence’’ means a situation where a law enforcement 

10 agent uses force. 

11 (4) USE FORCE; USES FORCE.—The terms ‘‘use 

12 force’’ and ‘‘uses force’’ include pushing, grabbing, 

13 handcuffing, hitting, kicking, using chemical or pep14 per spray, using an electroshock weapon, pointing or 

15 shooting a gun, engaging in sexual assault, and 

16 other acts that can cause bodily harm. 

Æ 


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