I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7142 

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 

NOVEMBER 16, 2018 

Ms. MOORE (for herself, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. WATSON

COLEMAN, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. NORTON, Ms. WILSON

of Florida, Mr. KHANNA, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, and Ms. FUDGE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 

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 2018’’. 

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 23:53 Nov 19, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7142.IH H7142

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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 other 

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) State and local public health 

16 agencies. 

17 (v) Faith institutions. 

18 (vi) Other entities dedicated to en19 couraging de-escalation and nonviolence 

20 and resisting implicit bias and racial rec21 onciliation, with a preference for nonprofit 

22 organizations that demonstrate strong ex23 perience— 

24 (I) addressing these issues at the 

25 local and community level; and 


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1 (II) working with the targeted in2 dividuals, especially at-risk youth. 

3 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Advisory 

4 Board shall include the following ex officio members: 

5 (A) The Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services (or the Secretary’s designee). 

7 (B) The Secretary of Education (or the 

8 Secretary’s designee). 

9 (C) The Attorney General of the United 

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

11 (D) The heads of such other Federal de12 partments and agencies as the Secretary deter13 mines appropriate (or their designees). 

14 (4) TERMS.— 

15 (A) DURATION.—The appointed members 

16 of the Advisory Board shall each be appointed 

17 for a term of 3 years. 

18 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Not later 

19 than 4 months after the date of enactment of 

20 this Act, the Secretary shall appoint all of the 

21 initial appointed members of the Advisory 

22 Board. 

23 (5) OFFICERS.—At the first meeting of the Ad24 visory Board, and every other year thereafter, the 

25 members of the Advisory Board shall elect from 


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1 among such members a chairperson and vice chair2 person of the Advisory Board. Federal officials are 

3 not eligible for election as chairperson or vice chair4 person. 

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

6 (1) make recommendations to the Secretary re7 garding— 

8 (A) the training standards under section 3 

9 as may be beneficial to fulfilling the mission 

10 and purposes of the grant program under sec11 tion 5; and 

12 (B) implementation of the grant program 

13 under section 5; 

14 (2) monitor the implementation of such grant 

15 program and provide technical assistance and sup16 port to grantees under such grant program; 

17 (3) determine— 

18 (A) the extent to which such grantees face 

19 challenges to implementing such grant program; 

20 and 

21 (B) the effectiveness of the Department of 

22 Health and Human Services in addressing such 

23 challenges; 

24 (4) continually identify new advances and inno25 vative practices in effective ways to conduct de-escaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:53 Nov 19, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7142.IH H7142

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1 lation training to incorporate such advances and in2 novative practices into the standards under section 

3 3 and implementation of such grant program; and 

4 (5) provide— 

5 (A) on a biennial basis, reports to the Sec6 retary regarding the Advisory Board’s activities 

7 and the effectiveness of such grant program; 

8 and 

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

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

11 years thereafter, a report to the Congress on 

12 the Advisory Board’s activities, challenges to 

13 the programs and activities under this Act, and 

14 the effectiveness of such programs and activi15 ties. 

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

17 than 90 days after the Secretary proposes standards under 

18 section 3 or rules or guidance for implementing the grant 

19 program under section 5, and prior to the Secretary final20 izing such standards, rules, and guidance, respectively, the 

21 Advisory Board shall evaluate— 

22 (1) whether the training to be funded pursuant 

23 to section 5 can be applied practically in everyday 

24 scenarios that have the potential for violence that 

25 are regularly faced by law enforcement officers, 


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1 teachers, health care and wellness professionals, 

2 youth, faith leaders, and other categories of persons 

3 for whom such training could help to reduce tensions 

4 and avoid conflict; 

5 (2) whether the principles of such training can 

6 effectively work with other types of professional 

7 training such as mental health training that employs 

8 evidence-based de-escalation techniques; 

9 (3) the extent to which the proposed standards 

10 under section 3 adequately address and effectively 

11 take into consideration the role of implicit bias, cul12 tural competency, and the intersection of race and 

13 policing; 

14 (4) whether the standards and guidance under 

15 sections 3 and section 5 effectively promote alter16 natives to the use of lethal and nonlethal force; 

17 (5) the extent to which Federal training stand18 ards and guidelines promote or support de-escalation 

19 techniques to help effectively, safely, and respectfully 

20 interact with people with disabilities and behavioral 

21 health issues; 

22 (6) whether the proposed standards under sec23 tion 3 adequately address the need for training in 

24 interpersonal communication on de-escalation for 

25 those working with at-risk youth, including methods 


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

2 to avoid escalation situations; 

3 (7) the time required to properly conduct the 

4 training to be funded under section 5 and the meth5 ods for delivering such training (either online or in 

6 person); and 

7 (8) whether the proposed requirements and 

8 standards under section 3 reflect the latest evidence9 based de-escalation practices and techniques. 

10 (e) LIMITATION.—The Secretary— 

11 (1) shall not finalize any standard under section 

12 3 or rule or guidance for implementing the grant 

13 program under section 5 before the date that is 30 

14 days after the Secretary receives the recommenda15 tions of the Advisory Board on the respective stand16 ard, rule, or guidance; and 

17 (2) shall respond to the Advisory Board in writ18 ing on each recommendation of the Advisory Board 

19 that the Department of Health and Human Re20 sources will not implement and include a detailed ex21 planation of the reasons therefor. 

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

23 Advisory Board shall— 

24 (1) consult with any appropriate Federal de25 partments and agencies; and 


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1 (2) solicit opinions and recommendations from 

2 the public and persons with relevant expertise. 

3 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—On request of the Ad4 visory Board, the head of a Federal department or agency 

5 may provide technical assistance to the Advisory Board, 

6 but no Federal employee may be detailed to the Advisory 

7 Board. 

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

9 Advisory Board may not receive pay, allowances, or bene10 fits by reason of their service on the Advisory Board, but 

11 members of the Advisory Board shall receive travel ex12 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence under 

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

14 (i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Ad15 visory Board is deemed to have filed a charter for the pur16 pose of section 9(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee 

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

18 Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Advisory Board shall 

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

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

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

22 the duties of the Advisory Board under this section. 

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

24 to the Secretary each fiscal year for general departmental 


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

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

3 SEC. 5. DE-ESCALATION GRANTS. 

4 (a) GRANTS.— 

5 (1) TRAINING GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

6 award grants to eligible entities to provide training, 

7 in accordance with the standards issued under sec8 tion 3, on de-escalation of violence to enhance com9 munity safety. 

10 (2) COMMUNITY OUTREACH, EVALUATION, AND

11 SOCIAL MEDIA GRANTS.—The Secretary shall award 

12 grants to eligible entities to support— 

13 (A) the dissemination to targeted popu14 lations of information about de-escalation train15 ing provided through grants under paragraph 

16 (1) to encourage such populations to participate 

17 in the training; 

18 (B) the development of social media and 

19 online training tools to educate the larger public 

20 about the methods and goals of such de-esca21 lation training; and 

22 (C) the conduct of evaluations of the im23 pact and effectiveness of such de-escalation 

24 training, include consideration of community 


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1 stakeholders and those who have received such 

2 training. 

3 (b) TRAINING DESCRIBED.—Training provided 

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

5 (1) shall include training on— 

6 (A) techniques to de-escalate situations to 

7 avoid violence; 

8 (B) understanding implicit bias and how it 

9 contributes to violence; 

10 (C) understanding how to promote racial 

11 reconciliation in communities affected by racial 

12 division that leads to violence and conflict; 

13 (D) verbal and physical tactics to minimize 

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

15 on communication, negotiation, and techniques 

16 that help to provide the time needed to resolve 

17 the incident safely for everyone; 

18 (E) awareness and recognition of mental 

19 health and substance abuse issues and crisis 

20 intervention strategies to appropriately identify 

21 and respond to individuals suffering from men22 tal health or substance abuse issues, with an 

23 emphasis on de-escalation tactics and pro24 moting effective communication with such indi25 viduals; 


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1 (F) the critical decision-making model and 

2 other evidence-based approaches that are found 

3 by the Secretary to be appropriate to enhance 

4 de-escalation skills and tactics; 

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

6 range of audiences, including those with disabil7 ities and or behavioral health issues; and 

8 (H) first aid; 

9 (2) shall include scenario-based training that 

10 applies evidence-based de-escalation techniques to 

11 practical on-the-job scenarios that are regularly 

12 faced by law enforcement officers, teachers, health 

13 care and wellness professionals in emergency rooms, 

14 youth in neighborhoods, faith leaders at faith insti15 tutions, and other situations that regularly encoun16 ter potentially violent situations; 

17 (3) shall appropriately incorporate cultural 

18 competency to reach a range of audiences; 

19 (4) may consist of— 

20 (A) initial training; or 

21 (B) subsequent or periodic training to 

22 renew, reinforce, and update knowledge and 

23 skills, including updates on new legal require24 ments and new de-escalation techniques and 

25 strategies; and 


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1 (5) shall emphasize training for law enforce2 ment officials, teachers and educators, school admin3 istrators, school service employees, citizens returning 

4 from prison, faith leaders, recreational professionals 

5 (such as recreation facility staff and youth sport 

6 coaches), health care and wellness professionals, 

7 youth, staff of nonprofit organizations dedicated to 

8 violence prevention, security guards, ex-gang mem9 bers, and performing artists. 

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

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

12 or local government, nonprofit organization, faith institu13 tions, institutions of higher education including commu14 nity colleges, other schools, professional teacher associa15 tions, and small businesses (including minority- and 

16 women-owned small businesses). 

17 (d) PREFERENCE.—In selecting among nonprofit or18 ganizations applying for a grant under subsection (a)(1), 

19 subject to subsection (e), the Secretary shall give pref20 erence to those organizations that— 

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

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

23 work in a local community; or 


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1 (3) employ individuals who reside in the geo2 graphic area to be served under the grant or which 

3 offices or facilities in that area. 

4 (e) EQUITY IN DISTRIBUTION.— 

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

6 insufficient funds are appropriated to fund a grant 

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

8 State, the Secretary shall limit the award of grants 

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

10 for which no eligible entity received funds through a 

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

12 year. 

13 (2) TRIBAL ORGANIZATIONS.—In applying 

14 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not— 

15 (A) consider any grant recipient that is a 

16 tribal organization in determining whether 

17 grant funds were made available to an eligible 

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

19 (B) limit the award of grants to tribal or20 ganizations pursuant to the reservation of funds 

21 for grants to tribal organizations under sub22 section (f)(1). 

23 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

24 (1) TRAINING GRANTS.—For grants under sub25 section (a)(1), there is authorized to be appropriated 


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1 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

2 2024, of which $10,000,000 for each of such fiscal 

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

4 tribal organizations (as defined in section 4 of the 

5 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

6 Act). 

7 (2) COMMUNITY EVALUATION, AND SOCIAL

8 MEDIA GRANTS.—For grants under subsection 

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

10 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

11 2024. 

Æ 


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