I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1859 
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 terri-
tories, Tribal governments, and consortia of Tribal governments to estab-
lish an unarmed 911 response program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 11, 2021 
Mr. SMITH of Washington (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Mr. CARSON, and Ms. 
GARCIA of Texas) 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, terri-
tories, political subdivisions of States and territories, 
Tribal governments, and consortia of Tribal governments 
to establish an unarmed 911 response program, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘911 Diversion to Un-
armed Personnel Act of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR UNARMED 911 RESPONSE PROGRAMS. 
Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act 
is amended by inserting after section 552 (42 U.S.C. 
290ee–7) the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 553. GRANTS FOR UNARMED 911 RESPONSE PRO-
GRAMS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 
Use, may award grants to States, territories, political sub-
divisions of States and territories, Tribal governments, 
and consortia of Tribal governments to establish an un-
armed 911 response program under which nonviolent 911 
calls are referred to unarmed professional service pro-
viders for response, instead of to a law enforcement agen-
cy. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—An unarmed 911 
response program funded under this section shall— 
‘‘(1) dispatch unarmed professional service pro-
viders in groups of two or more in a timely manner; 
‘‘(2) be capable of providing screening, assess-
ment, de-escalation, trauma-informed culturally com-
petent services, referrals to treatment providers, and 
transportation to immediately necessary treatment; 
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‘‘(3) when necessary, coordinate with health or 
social services; 
‘‘(4) not be subject to oversight of State or local 
law enforcement agencies; and 
‘‘(5) clearly outline the scope of calls that must 
or may be referred to the unarmed 911 response 
program. 
‘‘(c) USES OF FUNDS.—A grant under this section 
may be used for— 
‘‘(1) hiring unarmed professional service pro-
viders and 911 dispatchers; 
‘‘(2) training unarmed professional service pro-
viders to respond to 911 calls by identifying, under-
standing, and responding to signs of mental ill-
nesses, developmental or intellectual disabilities, and 
substance use disorders, including by means of— 
‘‘(A) de-escalation; 
‘‘(B) crisis intervention; and 
‘‘(C) connecting individuals to local social 
service providers, health care providers, commu-
nity-based organizations, and the full range of 
other available providers and resources, with a 
focus on culturally competent service providers; 
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‘‘(3) updating 911 response systems to enable 
triage between nonviolent 911 calls and those that 
require a response from law enforcement; 
‘‘(4) training 911 dispatchers on call diversion; 
‘‘(5) building the capacity— 
‘‘(A) to coordinate with local social service 
providers, health care providers, suicide hotline 
operators, and community-based organizations; 
and 
‘‘(B) to provide multilingual and culturally 
competent services; and 
‘‘(6) collecting data for reports to the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(d) APPLICATION.—An applicant seeking a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary an appli-
cation at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may reasonably require, in-
cluding the applicant’s plan to train 911 dispatchers to 
determine when a call should be diverted to the unarmed 
911 response program. 
‘‘(e) REPORTS
TO SECRETARY.—A recipient of a 
grant under this section shall submit to the Secretary, on 
a biannual basis, a report on the following: 
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‘‘(1) The number of calls placed to 911 that 
were diverted to the grantee’s unarmed 911 response 
program. 
‘‘(2) Demographic information on the individ-
uals served by the grantee’s unarmed 911 response 
program, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, sex, 
sexual orientation, gender identity, and location. 
‘‘(3) The effects of the grantee’s unarmed 911 
response program on emergency room visits, hos-
pitalizations, use of ambulances, and involvement of 
law enforcement in mental health or substance use 
disorder crises. 
‘‘(4) An assessment of the types of events and 
crises to which the grantee’s unarmed 911 response 
program responded and the services provided, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(A) the number of individuals to whom 
services were provided who were involuntarily 
committed for treatment; 
‘‘(B) the number of individuals successfully 
transferred to an alternative destination; 
‘‘(C) the time between notification by a 
911 dispatcher and arrival at the scene by a 
provider; and 
‘‘(D) the time spent by providers at scene. 
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‘‘(5) A cost analysis of the grantee’s unarmed 
911 response program. 
‘‘(6) An assessment of data sharing limitations 
or problems associated with adherence to— 
‘‘(A) Federal regulations (concerning the 
privacy of individually identifiable health infor-
mation) promulgated under section 264(c) of 
the Health Insurance Portability and Account-
ability Act of 1996; and 
‘‘(B) part II of title 42, Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall 
submit to the Congress, on a biannual basis, a report on 
the program under this section, including a summary of 
the reports submitted by grantees pursuant to subsection 
(e). 
‘‘(g) GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary may make 
grants to applicants that do not meet all of the criteria 
under subsection (b)(1), but applicants that do not meet 
all such criteria may not receive the full grant amount. 
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘alternative destination’— 
‘‘(A) means any service- or care-providing 
site other than a hospital emergency depart-
ment or jail; and 
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‘‘(B) includes a clinic, primary care office, 
crisis center, and community care center. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘nonviolent 911 call’ means a 
911 call that— 
‘‘(A) relates to mental health, homeless-
ness, addiction problems, social services, tru-
ancy, intellectual and developmental disabilities, 
or public intoxication; and 
‘‘(B) does not involve obvious violent be-
havior. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘unarmed professional service 
provider’ means a professional (which may include a 
nurse, social worker, emergency medical technician, 
counselor, community health worker, trauma-in-
formed personnel, social service provider, or peer 
support specialist) who— 
‘‘(A) is trained to deal with mental health 
or substance abuse crises or intellectual and de-
velopmental disabilities; and 
‘‘(B) does not carry a firearm.’’. 
Æ 
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