I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3127 

To provide grants to enable nonprofit disability organizations to develop 

training programs that support safe interactions between law enforcement 

officers and individuals with disabilities and older individuals. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2021 

Ms. WILD (for herself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide grants to enable nonprofit disability organizations 

to develop training programs that support safe interactions between law enforcement officers and individuals 

with disabilities and older individuals. 

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 ‘‘Safe Interactions Act 

5 of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Individuals with disabilities are 2.5 times 

2 more likely to be victims of violent crime. 

3 (2) Individuals with disabilities are 3 times 

4 more likely to be victims of a serious crime. 

5 (3) Individuals with disabilities make up be6 tween one-third and one-half of all individuals killed 

7 by law enforcement officers. 

8 SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 

9 The purposes of this Act are to— 

10 (1) authorize the Secretary to award competi11 tive grants to nonprofit disability organizations to 

12 administer enhanced training programs to law en13 forcement officers who may encounter or provide 

14 services to covered individuals, including— 

15 (A) individuals with mental health disabil16 ities, including schizophrenia; 

17 (B) individuals who are deaf, deaf-blind, 

18 hard of hearing, or blind, are autistic, or have 

19 other intellectual or developmental disabilities; 

20 (C) older individuals with dementia or 

21 other cognitive impairments; or 

22 (D) individuals with any other disabilities 

23 or chronic health condition; 

24 (2) support, not replace, other specialized law 

25 enforcement officer training; and 


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1 (3)(A) increase the awareness, knowledge, and 

2 understanding of law enforcement officers about cov3 ered individuals and their unique needs and applica4 ble Federal civil rights laws; 

5 (B) reduce incidences of violence between law 

6 enforcement officers and covered individuals; 

7 (C) expand the knowledge of law enforcement 

8 officers, in areas such as the signs of disabilities, 

9 identifying people with disabilities, communicating 

10 with people with disabilities, and effective ways to 

11 approach covered individuals to minimize situations 

12 of risk to— 

13 (i) those individuals; and 

14 (ii) the law enforcement officers who inter15 vene or provide services to those individuals; 

16 and 

17 (D) increase the knowledge of law enforcement 

18 officers of community resources available for covered 

19 individuals to ultimately limit interactions with law 

20 enforcement officers. 

21 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) COVERED GRANT.—The term ‘‘covered 

24 grant’’ means a grant awarded under section 5(a). 


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1 (2) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 individual’’ means— 

3 (A) an older individual; or 

4 (B) an individual with a disability. 

5 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti6 ty’’ means a nonprofit disability organization that 

7 has formed a partnership with a law enforcement 

8 agency or a consortium of law enforcement agencies 

9 to administer enhanced training programs to law en10 forcement officers of the agency or agencies on how 

11 to interact with covered individuals. 

12 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

13 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 

14 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu15 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

16 (5) INDIVIDUAL WITH A DISABILITY.—The term 

17 ‘‘individual with a disability’’ means any individual 

18 who has a disability, as defined in section 3 of the 

19 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

20 12102). 

21 (6) INITIAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—The term 

22 ‘‘initial training program’’ means a mandatory train23 ing program offered to new law enforcement officers 

24 during their orientation under section 5(d)(1)(A). 


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1 (7) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER.—The term 

2 ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ means any officer, agent, 

3 or employee of a State, political subdivision of a 

4 State, or Indian Tribe— 

5 (A) authorized by law or by a government 

6 agency to engage in or supervise the prevention, 

7 detection, or investigation of any violation of 

8 criminal law; or 

9 (B) authorized by law to supervise sen10 tenced criminal offenders. 

11 (8) NONPROFIT DISABILITY ORGANIZATION.— 

12 The term ‘‘nonprofit disability organization’’ means 

13 a nonprofit organization— 

14 (A) that serves covered individuals; and 

15 (B)(i) that is operated by a board of which 

16 the majority of members are covered individ17 uals; 

18 (ii) that has an advisory panel of which the 

19 majority of members are covered individuals; or 

20 (iii) the majority of the employees of which 

21 are covered individuals. 

22 (9) OLDER INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘‘older indi23 vidual’’ has the meaning given the term in section 

24 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

25 3002). 


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1 (10) PARTNER ACADEMY.—The term ‘‘partner 

2 academy’’, with respect to an eligible entity that re3 ceives a covered grant, means a law enforcement 

4 training academy with which the eligible entity part5 ners to administer an initial training program, as 

6 described in section 5(b)(1). 

7 (11) PARTNER AGENCY.—The term ‘‘partner 

8 agency’’, with respect to an eligible entity that re9 ceives a covered grant, means the law enforcement 

10 agency with which the eligible entity partners, or 

11 that is a member of a consortium with which the eli12 gible entity partners, to administer enhanced train13 ing programs to law enforcement officers of the 

14 agency on how to interact with covered individuals. 

15 (12) REFRESHER TRAINING PROGRAM.—The 

16 term ‘‘refresher training program’’ means a training 

17 program offered to existing law enforcement officers 

18 under section 5(d)(1)(B). 

19 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

20 means the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

21 SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award com23 petitive grants to nonprofit disability organizations to ad24 minister enhanced training programs to law enforcement 


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1 officers who may encounter or provide services to covered 

2 individuals. 

3 (b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a cov4 ered grant shall submit to the Secretary an application 

5 that— 

6 (1)(A) identifies a law enforcement training 

7 academy with which the eligible entity will partner 

8 to administer an initial training program; and 

9 (B) includes a memorandum of understanding 

10 entered into between the eligible entity and the law 

11 enforcement training academy; 

12 (2) describes the training program curriculum, 

13 which shall include training on how to interact with, 

14 identify, approach, and communicate with covered 

15 individuals that is provided, as of the date of sub16 mission of the application— 

17 (A) by the partner academy to new law en18 forcement officers; or 

19 (B) by any partner agency to existing law 

20 enforcement officers; 

21 (3) describes the learning objectives of the 

22 training programs that the eligible entity will admin23 ister using the grant; 

24 (4) describes the activities that will be carried 

25 out under the grant; 


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1 (5) includes a timeline of the activities de2 scribed in paragraph (4); and 

3 (6) demonstrates expertise in training related to 

4 covered individuals. 

5 (c) PREFERENCES.—In awarding covered grants, the 

6 Secretary shall ensure— 

7 (1) geographic diversity of grant recipients, in8 cluding grant recipients that serve rural localities; 

9 and 

10 (2) that the training funded by the grant is 

11 provided to multiple levels of law enforcement agen12 cies, including local, county, State, and Tribal agen13 cies. 

14 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

15 (1) MANDATORY USES.—An eligible entity that 

16 receives a covered grant shall use the grant funds 

17 to— 

18 (A) modify the training provided by the 

19 partner academy to new law enforcement offi20 cers of each partner agency so that the acad21 emy provides not fewer than 8 hours of training 

22 on topics such as how to interact with, identify, 

23 approach, and communicate with covered indi24 viduals and applicable Federal civil rights laws, 


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1 including not fewer than 4 hours of interactive 

2 learning taught by covered individuals; and 

3 (B) develop and implement an enhanced 

4 training program for existing law enforcement 

5 officers of each partner agency on safe, effec6 tive, and respectful interactions with covered in7 dividuals— 

8 (i) that includes— 

9 (I) awareness of and education 

10 about covered individuals, including— 

11 (aa) individuals with mental 

12 health disabilities, including 

13 schizophrenia; 

14 (bb) individuals who are 

15 deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing, 

16 or blind, are autistic, or have 

17 other intellectual or develop18 mental disabilities; 

19 (cc) older individuals with 

20 dementia or other cognitive im21 pairments; and 

22 (dd) individuals with any 

23 other disabilities or chronic 

24 health condition; 


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1 (II) escalation avoidance and de2 escalation techniques to be used when 

3 interacting with covered individuals, 

4 including procedures a law enforce5 ment officer should follow to ensure 

6 the health and safety of a covered in7 dividual; and 

8 (III) communication strategies to 

9 be used when interacting with covered 

10 individuals, including individuals who 

11 do not use speech to communicate; 

12 (ii) that utilizes— 

13 (I) instructors who are covered 

14 individuals; or 

15 (II) guest instructors or speakers 

16 who are covered individuals; and 

17 (iii) in which each law enforcement of18 ficer participates not less frequently than 4 

19 hours every year. 

20 (2) OPTIONAL USES.—An eligible entity that re21 ceives a covered grant may use the grant funds to— 

22 (A) expand an existing training program 

23 regarding topics such as interacting with, iden24 tifying, approaching, and communicating with 

25 covered individuals that was provided to law enVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3127.IH H3127

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1 forcement officers by a nonprofit disability or2 ganization in conjunction with the partner 

3 academy or a partner agency before the eligible 

4 entity received the grant; 

5 (B) reimburse staff members of the eligible 

6 entity for mileage and travel time expended to 

7 attend an initial training program or refresher 

8 training program occurring in person or online; 

9 (C) develop a model of training that uti10 lizes volunteer instructors, except that the eligi11 ble entity shall pay any instructor, including a 

12 guest instructor, who is a covered individual; 

13 (D) acquire a computer system or software 

14 needed for the training programs; or 

15 (E) support the paid participation of indi16 viduals with disabilities and their family mem17 bers as advisors. 

18 (e) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—An eligible enti19 ty that receives a covered grant shall use the grant funds 

20 to supplement, and not supplant, any funds that would, 

21 in the absence of the grant funds, be made available from 

22 a State, political subdivision of a State, or Indian Tribe 

23 for the activities described in subsection (d). 

24 (f) ADVISORY COUNCIL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that re2 ceives a covered grant shall establish an advisory 

3 council composed of 15 members to advise the eligi4 ble entity on activities carried out using the grant. 

5 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—An advisory council estab6 lished under paragraph (1) shall— 

7 (A) be composed of— 

8 (i) 1 representative of the eligible en9 tity who is a covered individual and shall 

10 serve as chair of the advisory council; 

11 (ii) 1 representative of the State law 

12 enforcement training academy or law en13 forcement agency for the State that the eli14 gible entity serves, who shall serve as vice 

15 chair of the advisory council; 

16 (iii) 3 representatives of community17 based organizations that support individ18 uals with disabilities, not fewer than 2 of 

19 whom have a disability; 

20 (iv) 2 representatives of community21 based organizations that support older 

22 adults; 

23 (v) 2 State officials or their designees; 

24 (vi) 1 representative of an organiza25 tion providing victim services; 


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1 (vii) 1 representative of a State public 

2 safety agency; 

3 (viii) 3 members of the public with 

4 knowledge of individuals with disabilities 

5 and older adults with cognitive impair6 ment, including not fewer than 2 self-advo7 cates or family members of a covered indi8 vidual; and 

9 (ix) 1 active local or State law en10 forcement officer representing a labor or 

11 representative organization; and 

12 (B) include a majority of representation 

13 from racial and ethnic minority communities. 

14 (3) DUTIES.—An advisory council established 

15 under paragraph (1) shall— 

16 (A) advise the eligible entity and provide 

17 general oversight of grant activities carried out 

18 by the eligible entity, including development of 

19 the training curriculum and implementation of 

20 the training programs; and 

21 (B) provide the advisory council with rec22 ommendations for the sustainability and expan23 sion of the training programs, such as the de24 velopment of a train-the-trainer model. 

25 (g) ANNUAL REPORT.— 


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1 (1) REPORT TO SECRETARY BY ELIGIBLE ENTI2 TIES.—Not later than 1 year after receiving a cov3 ered grant, and each year thereafter for the duration 

4 of the grant period, an eligible entity that receives 

5 a covered grant shall submit the following informa6 tion to the Secretary with respect to the preceding 

7 year: 

8 (A) The number of individuals who bene9 fitted from the training programs provided by 

10 the eligible entity using grant funds, includ11 ing— 

12 (i) the number of individuals who 

13 were trained through the training pro14 grams, including the total number of new 

15 law enforcement officers who participated 

16 in the initial training program and existing 

17 law enforcement officers who participated 

18 in the refresher training program; and 

19 (ii) the estimated number of individ20 uals who were impacted by the training 

21 programs. 

22 (B) Demographic data, including age, sex, 

23 and race, for the law enforcement officers who 

24 received the training. 


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1 (C) The number of partner agencies that 

2 participated in the training programs. 

3 (D) Each partner law enforcement agency, 

4 including the city and State in which the head5 quarters and each local office of the agency are 

6 located, and the result of that partnership. 

7 (E) Any recommendations for improving 

8 the grant program carried out under this Act. 

9 (2) REPORT TO CONGRESS AND THE ATTORNEY

10 GENERAL BY THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 2 

11 years after the date of enactment of this Act, and 

12 each year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit a re13 port on the grant program carried out under this 

14 Act, with respect to the preceding year, to— 

15 (A) the Attorney General; 

16 (B) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

17 Senate; 

18 (C) the Committee on Appropriations of 

19 the Senate; 

20 (D) the Special Committee on Aging of the 

21 Senate; 

22 (E) the Committee on the Judiciary of the 

23 House of Representatives; and 

24 (F) the Committee on Appropriations of 

25 the House of Representatives. 


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1 (h) EVALUATION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use not 

3 more than 2 percent of the amounts made available 

4 under section 6 for administrative purposes and for 

5 an evaluation of the grant program carried out 

6 under this Act. 

7 (2) INDEPENDENT EVALUATOR.—The Secretary 

8 shall enter into a contract with a third-party entity 

9 that is unrelated to any recipient of a covered grant 

10 to carry out the evaluation under paragraph (1). 

11 (3) CONTENTS.—In carrying out the evaluation 

12 under paragraph (1), the third-party entity con13 tracted under paragraph (2) shall report to the Sec14 retary and the Attorney General on— 

15 (A) the demographic characteristics of the 

16 population served by the training conducted by 

17 eligible entities using covered grants; and 

18 (B) any change in the occurrence of vio19 lence in the communities served by training de20 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 

23 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2025 to carry out 

24 this Act. 

Æ 


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