I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2457 

To help train individuals in effective and evidence-based de-escalation techniques to ensure that individuals at diverse levels of society have and 

retain greater skills to resolve conflicts, manage anger, and control implicit bias without the use of physical or other force, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 1, 2019 

Ms. MOORE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce, 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 help train individuals in effective and evidence-based deescalation techniques to ensure that individuals at diverse 

levels of society have and retain greater skills to resolve 

conflicts, manage anger, and control implicit bias without 

the use of physical or other force, 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 ‘‘National De-Esca3 lation of Violence and Community Safety Training Act of 

4 2019’’. 

5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this Act: 

7 (1) The term ‘‘Advisory Board’’ means the De8 Escalation Advisory Board established pursuant to 

9 section 4. 

10 (2) The term ‘‘at-risk youth’’ means any indi11 vidual who— 

12 (A)(i) has attained age 16 but not age 25; 

13 (ii) has not regularly attended any sec14 ondary, technical, or postsecondary school dur15 ing the preceding 6-month period; 

16 (iii) has not been regularly employed dur17 ing the preceding 6-month period; and 

18 (iv) is not readily employable by reason of 

19 lacking a sufficient number of basic skills; or 

20 (B) has attained age 16 but not age 21 

21 and was in foster care. 

22 (3) The term ‘‘de-escalation’’ means reduction 

23 of the intensity of a conflict or potentially violent sit24 uation. 

25 (4) The term ‘‘implicit bias’’ means the atti26 tudes or stereotypes that affect an individual’s unVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457

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1 derstanding, actions, and decisions in an uncon2 scious manner. 

3 (5) The term ‘‘racial reconciliation’’ means a 

4 process of reconciliation that— 

5 (A) recognizes that racism is both systemic 

6 and institutionalized with far-reaching effects 

7 on both political engagement and economic op8 portunities for minorities; 

9 (B) empowers local communities through 

10 relationship-building and truth-telling; and 

11 (C) emphasizes restorative justice as an es12 sential component. 

13 (6) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

14 of Health and Human Services acting through As15 sistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 

16 Use. 

17 SEC. 3. DE-ESCALATION TRAINING STANDARDS. 

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

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop 

20 and issue training standards for the de-escalation training 

21 to be funded pursuant to section 5. 

22 (b) CONTENTS.—The standards under subsection (a) 

23 shall, at a minimum, outline the types of de-escalation 

24 training that— 


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1 (1) have been determined by the Secretary to be 

2 effective; and 

3 (2) are eligible to be funded pursuant to section 

4 5. 

5 (c) PROCESS.— 

6 (1) SEEKING INPUT.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—In developing and 

8 issuing standards under this section and any re9 lated regulations or guidance, the Secretary 

10 shall seek input from community stakeholders, 

11 health care and wellness professionals, law en12 forcement agencies, Tribes, and nonprofit orga13 nizations involved in de-escalation at the local 

14 level, and others knowledgeable about the need 

15 for and importance of de-escalation, including 

16 through holding public meetings throughout the 

17 Nation and through other media, including 

18 webinars. 

19 (B) DEFINITION.—In this section, the 

20 term ‘‘community stakeholders’’ includes— 

21 (i) members of minority communities, 

22 those with disabilities, persons of color, im23 migrants, noncitizens, Native Americans, 

24 youth, and formerly incarcerated persons; 

25 and 


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1 (ii) nonprofit organizations with long2 standing experience, in communities with 

3 high rates of violence, conducting de-esca4 lation and conflict prevention work tar5 geting the categories of individuals de6 scribed in clause (i). 

7 (2) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING.—In developing 

8 and issuing standards under this section, the Sec9 retary shall consider the use of negotiated rule10 making. 

11 SEC. 4. ADVISORY BOARD. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To assist in carrying out this 

13 Act, the Secretary shall establish an advisory board to be 

14 known as the De-Escalation Advisory Board. 

15 (b) COMPOSITION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Board shall be 

17 composed of— 

18 (A) up to 25 members appointed by the 

19 Secretary in accordance with paragraph (2) (in 

20 this subsection referred to as the ‘‘appointed 

21 members’’), who shall be voting members; and 

22 (B) the ex officio members under para23 graph (3), who shall be nonvoting members. 

24 (2) APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 


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1 (A) SELECTION.—The appointed members 

2 of the Advisory Board shall be appointed (or re3 appointed, as applicable) by the Secretary after 

4 soliciting and reviewing nominations for such 

5 appointments from nonprofit organizations, in6 dividuals, State and local officials, and others 

7 stakeholders. 

8 (B) REPRESENTATIVES.—The appointed 

9 members of the Advisory Board shall include 

10 representatives of each the following: 

11 (i) Law enforcement. 

12 (ii) Tribes. 

13 (iii) Health care and wellness profes14 sionals. 

15 (iv) Disability and behavioral health 

16 organizations. 

17 (v) State and local public health agen18 cies. 

19 (vi) Faith institutions. 

20 (vii) Other entities dedicated to en21 couraging de-escalation and nonviolence 

22 and resisting implicit bias and racial rec23 onciliation, with a preference for nonprofit 

24 organizations that demonstrate strong ex25 perience— 


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1 (I) addressing these issues at the 

2 local and community level; and 

3 (II) working with the targeted in4 dividuals, especially at-risk youth. 

5 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Advisory 

6 Board shall include the following ex officio members: 

7 (A) The Secretary of Health and Human 

8 Services (or the Secretary’s designee). 

9 (B) The Secretary of Education (or the 

10 Secretary’s designee). 

11 (C) The Attorney General of the United 

12 States (or the Attorney General’s designee). 

13 (D) The heads of such other Federal de14 partments and agencies as the Secretary deter15 mines appropriate (or their designees). 

16 (4) TERMS.— 

17 (A) DURATION.—The appointed members 

18 of the Advisory Board shall each be appointed 

19 for a term of 3 years. 

20 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Not later 

21 than 4 months after the date of enactment of 

22 this Act, the Secretary shall appoint all of the 

23 initial appointed members of the Advisory 

24 Board. 


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1 (5) OFFICERS.—At the first meeting of the Ad2 visory Board, and every other year thereafter, the 

3 members of the Advisory Board shall elect from 

4 among such members a chairperson and vice chair5 person of the Advisory Board. Federal officials are 

6 not eligible for election as chairperson or vice chair7 person. 

8 (c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall— 

9 (1) make recommendations to the Secretary re10 garding— 

11 (A) the training standards under section 3 

12 as may be beneficial to fulfilling the mission 

13 and purposes of the grant program under sec14 tion 5; and 

15 (B) implementation of the grant program 

16 under section 5; 

17 (2) monitor the implementation of such grant 

18 program and provide technical assistance and sup19 port to grantees under such grant program; 

20 (3) determine— 

21 (A) the extent to which such grantees face 

22 challenges to implementing such grant program; 

23 and 


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1 (B) the effectiveness of the Department of 

2 Health and Human Services in addressing such 

3 challenges; 

4 (4) continually identify new advances and inno5 vative practices in effective ways to conduct de-esca6 lation training to incorporate such advances and in7 novative practices into the standards under section 

8 3 and implementation of such grant program; and 

9 (5) provide— 

10 (A) on a biennial basis, reports to the Sec11 retary regarding the Advisory Board’s activities 

12 and the effectiveness of such grant program; 

13 and 

14 (B) not later than 2 years after the award 

15 of the first grant under section 5, and every 5 

16 years thereafter, a report to the Congress on 

17 the Advisory Board’s activities, challenges to 

18 the programs and activities under this Act, and 

19 the effectiveness of such programs and activi20 ties. 

21 (d) EVALUATION OF HHS PROPOSALS.—Not later 

22 than 90 days after the Secretary proposes standards under 

23 section 3 or rules or guidance for implementing the grant 

24 program under section 5, and prior to the Secretary finalVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457

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1 izing such standards, rules, and guidance, respectively, the 

2 Advisory Board shall evaluate— 

3 (1) whether the training to be funded pursuant 

4 to section 5 can be applied practically in everyday 

5 scenarios that have the potential for violence that 

6 are regularly faced by law enforcement officers, edu7 cators, public transit operators including bus drivers, 

8 health care and wellness professionals, youth, faith 

9 leaders, and other categories of persons for whom 

10 such training could help to reduce tensions and 

11 avoid conflict; 

12 (2) whether the principles of such training can 

13 effectively work with other types of professional 

14 training such as mental health training that employs 

15 evidence-based de-escalation techniques; 

16 (3) the extent to which the proposed standards 

17 under section 3 adequately address and effectively 

18 take into consideration the role of implicit bias, cul19 tural competency, and the intersection of race and 

20 policing; 

21 (4) whether the standards and guidance under 

22 sections 3 and section 5 effectively promote alter23 natives to the use of lethal and nonlethal force; 

24 (5) the extent to which Federal training stand25 ards and guidelines promote or support de-escalation 


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1 techniques to help effectively, safely, and respectfully 

2 interact with people with disabilities and behavioral 

3 health issues; 

4 (6) whether the proposed standards under sec5 tion 3 adequately address the need for training in 

6 interpersonal communication on de-escalation for 

7 those working with at-risk youth, including methods 

8 that use time, tone, distance, cover, and concealment 

9 to avoid escalation situations; 

10 (7) the time required to properly conduct the 

11 training to be funded under section 5 and the meth12 ods for delivering such training (either online or in 

13 person); and 

14 (8) whether the proposed requirements and 

15 standards under section 3 reflect the latest evidence16 based de-escalation practices and techniques. 

17 (e) LIMITATION.—The Secretary— 

18 (1) shall not finalize any standard under section 

19 3 or rule or guidance for implementing the grant 

20 program under section 5 before the date that is 30 

21 days after the Secretary receives the recommenda22 tions of the Advisory Board on the respective stand23 ard, rule, or guidance; and 

24 (2) shall respond to the Advisory Board in writ25 ing on each recommendation of the Advisory Board 


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1 that the Department of Health and Human Re2 sources will not implement and include a detailed ex3 planation of the reasons therefor. 

4 (f) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

5 Advisory Board shall— 

6 (1) consult with any appropriate Federal de7 partments and agencies; and 

8 (2) solicit opinions and recommendations from 

9 the public and persons with relevant expertise. 

10 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—On request of the Ad11 visory Board, the head of a Federal department or agency 

12 may provide technical assistance to the Advisory Board, 

13 but no Federal employee may be detailed to the Advisory 

14 Board. 

15 (h) PAY AND REIMBURSEMENT.—Members of the 

16 Advisory Board may not receive pay, allowances, or bene17 fits by reason of their service on the Advisory Board, but 

18 members of the Advisory Board shall receive travel ex19 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence under 

20 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 (i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Ad22 visory Board is deemed to have filed a charter for the pur23 pose of section 9(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee 

24 Act (5 U.S.C. App.). Notwithstanding section 14 of the 


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1 Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Advisory Board shall 

2 continue in effect until terminated by an Act of Congress. 

3 (j) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall meet on 

4 a regular basis and no less than twice a year to carry out 

5 the duties of the Advisory Board under this section. 

6 (k) FUNDING.—Out of the amounts made available 

7 to the Secretary each fiscal year for general departmental 

8 management, not more than $500,000 are authorized to 

9 be used by the Advisory Board to carry out this section. 

10 SEC. 5. DE-ESCALATION GRANTS. 

11 (a) GRANTS.— 

12 (1) TRAINING GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

13 award grants to eligible entities to provide training, 

14 in accordance with the standards issued under sec15 tion 3, on de-escalation of violence to enhance com16 munity safety. 

17 (2) COMMUNITY OUTREACH, EVALUATION, AND

18 SOCIAL MEDIA GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award 

19 grants to eligible entities to support— 

20 (A) the dissemination to targeted popu21 lations of information about de-escalation train22 ing provided through grants under paragraph 

23 (1) to encourage such populations to participate 

24 in the training; 


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1 (B) the development of social media and 

2 online training tools to educate the larger public 

3 about the methods and goals of such de-esca4 lation training; and 

5 (C) the conduct of evaluations of the im6 pact and effectiveness of such de-escalation 

7 training, include consideration of community 

8 stakeholders and those who have received such 

9 training. 

10 (b) TRAINING DESCRIBED.—Training provided 

11 through a grant under subsection (a)(1)— 

12 (1) shall include training on— 

13 (A) techniques to de-escalate situations to 

14 avoid violence; 

15 (B) understanding implicit bias and how it 

16 contributes to violence; 

17 (C) understanding how to promote racial 

18 reconciliation in communities affected by racial 

19 division that leads to violence and conflict; 

20 (D) verbal and physical tactics to minimize 

21 the need for the use of force, with an emphasis 

22 on communication, negotiation, and techniques 

23 that help to provide the time needed to resolve 

24 the incident safely for everyone; 


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1 (E) awareness and recognition of mental 

2 health and substance abuse issues and crisis 

3 intervention strategies to appropriately identify 

4 and respond to individuals suffering from men5 tal health or substance abuse issues, with an 

6 emphasis on de-escalation tactics and pro7 moting effective communication with such indi8 viduals; 

9 (F) the critical decision-making model and 

10 other evidence-based approaches that are found 

11 by the Secretary to be appropriate to enhance 

12 de-escalation skills and tactics; 

13 (G) techniques that can be used by a wide 

14 range of audiences, including those with disabil15 ities and or behavioral health issues; and 

16 (H) first aid, including mental health first 

17 aid techniques and training to identify, under18 stand, and respond to signs of mental illnesses 

19 and substance use disorders; 

20 (2) shall include scenario-based training that 

21 applies evidence-based de-escalation techniques to 

22 practical on-the-job scenarios that are regularly 

23 faced by law enforcement officers, educators, public 

24 transit operators including bus drivers, health care 

25 and wellness professionals in emergency rooms, 


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1 youth in neighborhoods, faith leaders at faith insti2 tutions, and other situations that regularly encoun3 ter potentially violent situations; 

4 (3) shall appropriately incorporate cultural 

5 competency to reach a range of audiences; 

6 (4) may consist of— 

7 (A) initial training; or 

8 (B) subsequent or periodic training to 

9 renew, reinforce, and update knowledge and 

10 skills, including updates on new legal require11 ments and new de-escalation techniques and 

12 strategies; and 

13 (5) shall emphasize training for law enforce14 ment officials, teachers and educators, school admin15 istrators, school service employees, public transit op16 erators including bus drivers, citizens returning from 

17 prison, faith leaders, recreational professionals (such 

18 as recreation facility staff and youth sport coaches), 

19 health care and wellness professionals, youth, staff 

20 of nonprofit organizations dedicated to violence pre21 vention, security guards, ex-gang members, and per22 forming artists. 

23 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to receive a 

24 grant under subsection (a)(1), an entity shall be a State 

25 or local government, nonprofit organization, faith instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457

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1 tions, institutions of higher education including commu2 nity colleges, other schools, professional teacher associa3 tions, and small businesses (including minority- and 

4 women-owned small businesses). 

5 (d) PREFERENCE.—In selecting among nonprofit or6 ganizations applying for a grant under subsection (a)(1), 

7 subject to subsection (e), the Secretary shall give pref8 erence to those organizations that— 

9 (1) interact with youth, including at-risk youth; 

10 (2) have a sound track record of de-escalation 

11 work in a local community; or 

12 (3) employ individuals who reside in the geo13 graphic area to be served under the grant or which 

14 offices or facilities in that area. 

15 (e) EQUITY IN DISTRIBUTION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—In any fiscal year in which 

17 insufficient funds are appropriated to fund a grant 

18 under subsection (a)(1) for an eligible entity in each 

19 State, the Secretary shall limit the award of grants 

20 under subsection (a)(1) to eligible entities in States 

21 for which no eligible entity received funds through a 

22 grant under subsection (a)(1) for the prior fiscal 

23 year. 

24 (2) TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—In applying 

25 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not— 


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1 (A) consider any grant recipient that is a 

2 tribal organization in determining whether 

3 grant funds were made available to an eligible 

4 entity in any State for the prior fiscal year; or 

5 (B) limit the award of grants to tribal or6 ganizations pursuant to the reservation of funds 

7 for grants to tribal organizations under sub8 section (g)(1). 

9 (f) DURATION OF GRANTS.—The period of a grant 

10 under this section may not exceed 3 years. 

11 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 (1) TRAINING GRANTS.—For grants under sub13 section (a)(1), there is authorized to be appropriated 

14 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

15 2025, of which $10,000,000 for each of such fiscal 

16 years shall be for grants under subsection (a)(1) to 

17 tribal organizations (as defined in section 4 of the 

18 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

19 Act). 

20 (2) COMMUNITY EVALUATION, AND SOCIAL

21 MEDIA GRANTS.—For grants under subsection 

22 (a)(2), there is authorized to be appropriated 

23 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 through 

24 2025. 


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1 SEC. 6. REAUTHORIZATION OF MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID 

2 TRAINING GRANTS. 

3 Section 520J(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 290bb–41(b)) is amended— 

5 (1) in the header, by striking ‘‘MENTAL

6 HEALTH AWARENESS TRAINING GRANTS’’ and in7 serting ‘‘MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID TRAINING

8 GRANTS’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including training on 

11 how to safely de-escalate crisis situations involv12 ing such individuals)’’ after ‘‘disorders’’; and 

13 (B) by inserting ‘‘(including training on 

14 how to safely de-escalate crisis situations involv15 ing such individuals)’’ after ‘‘to identify and ap16 propriately respond to persons with a mental ill17 ness’’; 

18 (3) in paragraph (5)— 

19 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

20 end; 

21 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the period at 

22 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(iii) crisis intervention training pro25 grams’’; and 


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1 (4) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘$14,693,000 

2 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022’’ and in3 serting ‘‘$21,900,000 for each of fiscal years 2020 

4 through 2025’’. 

Æ 


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