I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8767 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through 

the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, to award 

grants to States, territories, political subdivisions of States and territories, Tribal governments, and consortia of Tribal governments to establish an unarmed 911 response program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2020 

Mr. SMITH of Washington introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health 

and Substance Use, to award grants to States, territories, political subdivisions of States and territories, 

Tribal governments, and consortia of Tribal governments 

to establish an unarmed 911 response program, 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 ‘‘911 Diversion to Un5 armed Personnel Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR UNARMED 911 RESPONSE PROGRAMS. 

2 Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 

3 is amended by inserting after section 552 (42 U.S.C. 

4 290ee–7) the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 553. GRANTS FOR UNARMED 911 RESPONSE PRO6 GRAMS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

8 the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 

9 Use, may award grants to States, territories, political sub10 divisions of States and territories, Tribal governments, 

11 and consortia of Tribal governments to establish an un12 armed 911 response program under which nonviolent 911 

13 calls are referred to unarmed professional service pro14 viders for response, instead of to a law enforcement agen15 cy. 

16 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—An unarmed 911 

17 response program funded under this section shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) dispatch unarmed professional service pro19 viders in groups of two or more in a timely manner; 

20 ‘‘(2) be capable of providing screening, assess21 ment, de-escalation, trauma-informed services, refer22 rals to treatment providers, and transportation to 

23 immediately necessary treatment; 

24 ‘‘(3) when necessary, coordinate with health or 

25 social services; 


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1 ‘‘(4) not be subject to oversight of State or local 

2 law enforcement agencies; and 

3 ‘‘(5) clearly outline the scope of calls that must 

4 or may be referred to the unarmed 911 response 

5 program. 

6 ‘‘(c) USES OF FUNDS.—A grant under this section 

7 may be used for— 

8 ‘‘(1) hiring unarmed professional service pro9 viders; 

10 ‘‘(2) training unarmed professional service pro11 viders to respond to 911 calls by identifying, under12 standing, and responding to signs of mental illnesses 

13 and substance use disorders, including by means 

14 of— 

15 ‘‘(A) de-escalation; 

16 ‘‘(B) crisis intervention; and 

17 ‘‘(C) connecting individuals to local social 

18 service providers, health care providers, commu19 nity-based organizations, and the full range of 

20 other available providers and resources; 

21 ‘‘(3) updating 911 response systems to enable 

22 triage between nonviolent 911 calls and those that 

23 require a response from law enforcement; 

24 ‘‘(4) training 911 dispatchers on call diversion; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(5) building the capacity— 

2 ‘‘(A) to coordinate with local social service 

3 providers, health care providers, and commu4 nity-based organizations; and 

5 ‘‘(B) to provide multilingual services. 

6 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An applicant seeking a grant 

7 under this section shall submit to the Secretary an appli8 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 

9 information as the Secretary may reasonably require, in10 cluding the applicant’s plan to train 911 dispatchers to 

11 determine when a call should be diverted to the unarmed 

12 911 response program. 

13 ‘‘(e) REPORTS TO SECRETARY.—A recipient of a 

14 grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary, on 

15 a biannual basis, a report on the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) The number of calls placed to 911 that 

17 were diverted to the grantee’s unarmed 911 response 

18 program. 

19 ‘‘(2) Demographic information on the individ20 uals served by the grantee’s unarmed 911 response 

21 program, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, 

22 sexual orientation, gender identity, and location. 

23 ‘‘(3) The effects of the grantee’s unarmed 911 

24 response program on emergency room visits, hos25 pitalizations, use of ambulances, and involvement of 


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1 law enforcement in mental health or substance use 

2 disorder crises. 

3 ‘‘(4) An assessment of the types of events and 

4 crises to which the grantee’s unarmed 911 response 

5 program responded and the services provided, in6 cluding— 

7 ‘‘(A) the number of individuals to whom 

8 services were provided who were involuntarily 

9 committed for treatment; 

10 ‘‘(B) the number of individuals successfully 

11 transferred to an alternative destination; 

12 ‘‘(C) the time between notification by a 

13 911 dispatcher and arrival at the scene by a 

14 provider; and 

15 ‘‘(D) the time spent by providers at scene. 

16 ‘‘(5) An assessment of the cost-effectiveness 

17 and savings associated with the grantee’s unarmed 

18 911 response program. 

19 ‘‘(f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 

20 submit to the Congress, on a biannual basis, a report on 

21 the program under this section, including a summary of 

22 the reports submitted by grantees pursuant to subsection 

23 (e). 

24 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

25 ‘‘(1) The term ‘alternative destination’— 


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1 ‘‘(A) means any service- or care-providing 

2 site other than a hospital emergency depart3 ment or jail; and 

4 ‘‘(B) includes a clinic, primary care office, 

5 crisis center, and freestanding psychiatric des6 tination. 

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘nonviolent 911 call’ means a 

8 911 call that— 

9 ‘‘(A) relates to mental health, homeless10 ness, addiction crises, social services, truancy, 

11 or public intoxication; and 

12 ‘‘(B) does not involve— 

13 ‘‘(i) a weapon; 

14 ‘‘(ii) obvious violent behavior; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) a subject who has voiced a de16 sire or intention to commit violence against 

17 themselves or others and a reasonable be18 lief of the dispatcher that the threat is im19 minent. 

20 ‘‘(3) The term ‘unarmed professional service 

21 provider’ means a professional (which may include a 

22 nurse, social worker, emergency medical technician, 

23 counselor, community health worker, trauma-in24 formed personnel, social service provider, or peer 

25 support specialist) who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is trained to deal with mental health 

2 or substance abuse crises; and 

3 ‘‘(B) does not carry a firearm.’’. 

Æ 


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