I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2305 
To provide funding to the Bureau of Prisons, States, and localities to carry 
out mental health screenings and provide referrals to mental health 
care providers for certain corrections officers. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 24, 2025 
Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS (for herself and Mr. BACON) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide funding to the Bureau of Prisons, States, and 
localities to carry out mental health screenings and pro-
vide referrals to mental health care providers for certain 
corrections officers. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Corrections Officer 
Blake Schwarz Suicide Prevention Act of 2025’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-
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eral is authorized establish a grant program to make 
grants to States and units of local government to imple-
ment and administer mental health screenings to correc-
tions officers at eligible detention centers and refer such 
individuals to mental health care providers, as applicable. 
(b) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Attorney General 
an application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Attorney General may rea-
sonably require, including— 
(1) a description of and a plan for the project 
under subsection (d) that the entity will carry out; 
and 
(2) an assurance that the entity will hire a 
mental health liaison staff member to coordinate 
among eligible detention centers, mental health pro-
viders, the Advisory Board, and the outreach team. 
(c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—A grant under this section 
may only be used for the following: 
(1) To develop and administer a brief mental 
health screening survey as required under subsection 
(d). 
(2) To develop any technology necessary for an 
eligible detention center to provide the survey under 
paragraph (1). 
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(3) To hire any staff necessary for an eligible 
detention center to provide the survey under para-
graph (1). 
(4) To establish an outreach team pursuant to 
subsection (e) to refer a correctional officer, if their 
responses to the survey indicate severe mental ill-
ness, to a local mental health care provider for fur-
ther assessment and outreach, admission (when nec-
essary), and support for that officer in re-estab-
lishing ties with a mental health provider. 
(5) To pay the salary or overtime pay of an 
outreach team as established pursuant to subsection 
(e), including providing direct funding to an eligible 
detention center to compensate staff members. 
(d) BRIEF MENTAL HEALTH SCREENING SURVEY.— 
A mental health screening survey developed and adminis-
tered pursuant to a grant under this section shall— 
(1) be composed of 5 to 10 questions; 
(2) be based on the questions and content of 
the Employee Assistance Program standard mental 
health screening or the Bureau of Prisons initial 
mental health screening standard; 
(3) seek to identify severe mental illnesses, in-
cluding schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major 
depression; 
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(4) ask individuals about the symptoms of se-
vere mental illness they may be experiencing or have 
experienced and any prior use of mental health-re-
lated medications or inpatient care; 
(5) identify the individual’s place of residence; 
(6) be administered by a trained staff member 
at the eligible detention center to all corrections offi-
cers; and 
(7) be anonymous and confidential. 
(e) OUTREACH TEAM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A referral to a mental health 
care provider made pursuant to subsection (d) shall 
be made by a mental health outreach team that is 
composed of— 
(A) mental health care professionals and 
clinicians from mental health care centers local 
to the eligible detention center; 
(B) staff from the eligible detention center, 
when applicable; and 
(C) a mental health liaison staff member 
who shall oversee the outreach team. 
(2) ALERT.—If an individual has been deter-
mined to need a referral to a mental health care pro-
vider, the mental health outreach team shall be noti-
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fied immediately by eligible detention center staff 
and informed, when applicable. 
SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall— 
(1) establish a program to develop and admin-
ister mental heath surveys (as described in sub-
section (d) of section 2) to corrections officers of the 
Bureau of Prisons, and establish and maintain an 
outreach team (as described in subsection (e) of sec-
tion 2) to refer such corrections officer to mental 
health care providers, as appropriate; and 
(2) submit to the Advisory Board a plan for the 
implementation of the program described in para-
graph (1). 
SEC. 4. ADVISORY BOARD ON PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-
eral shall establish an Advisory Board to manage and ad-
minister the grant program under section 2, with the re-
sponsibility for the following: 
(1) Evaluating and approving the plans sub-
mitted by a State or locality as required under sec-
tion 2 and ensuring that grant funding is used as 
specified under section 2. 
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(2) Monitoring plans submitted by the Bureau 
of Prisons and advise the Attorney General on com-
pliance to ensure that funding to the Bureau of 
Prisons is used as specified under section 3. 
(3) Providing technical assistance to a State or 
locality to help with the implementation and admin-
istration of mental health screening and referral pro-
grams. 
(4) Creating a working group of mental health 
care providers, jail and prison administrators, law 
enforcement officials, and operators of existing men-
tal health screening and referral programs to share 
best practices on how to create and implement men-
tal health screening and referral programs that have 
the largest impact on reducing crime rates and im-
proving employment and wage rates for individuals 
released from prison or jail. 
(5) Working in coordination with mental health 
outreach teams as established under section 2, to en-
sure that the grant program under such section is 
operating as required. 
(6) Determining if a grant awarded by the Pro-
gram is not meeting the requirements of the Pro-
gram and mandate necessary changes and reducing 
funding if such changes are not made. 
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(7) Developing a self-reporting process for men-
tal health assistance that protects the anonymity 
and privacy of the officer and identifies and neutral-
izes any impediment to self-reporting, including loss 
of job and benefits. 
(b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Advisory Board 
shall provide technical assistance to the Bureau of Pris-
ons, States, and localities in setting up and administering 
the Program and shall identify evidence-backed models for 
the administration of mental health screening and referral 
programs that the Bureau of Prisons, States, and local-
ities can look to when designing their own programs. 
(c) MEMBERSHIP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 
appoint members to serve on the Advisory Board es-
tablished under subsection (a) who have expertise 
in— 
(A) designing and administering mental 
health screenings and providing referrals for 
corrections officers; 
(B) mental health care within prisons or 
jails; or 
(C) program evaluation using rigorous ex-
perimental and quasi-experimental statistical 
methods. 
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(2) NUMBER
OF
MEMBERS.—The Attorney 
General shall appoint as many members to the Advi-
sory Board established under subsection (a) as the 
Attorney General determines appropriate. 
SEC. 5. FUNDING. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION.—There is authorized to be ap-
propriated to the Attorney General to carry out this Act— 
(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 
(2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 
(3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; 
(4) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2029; and 
(5) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2030. 
(b) DISTRIBUTION
OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts 
made available under subsection (a), the Attorney General 
shall use— 
(1) 90 percent of such amount for a grant pro-
gram under section 2 and the purposes described 
under section 3, as applicable, of which— 
(A) 20 percent shall be for the Bureau of 
Prisons to carry out the requirements under 
section 3; 
(B) 20 percent shall be for grants to 
States under section 2; and 
(C) 50 percent shall be for grants to units 
of local government under section 2; 
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(2) 5 percent of such amount for the Advisory 
Board to carry out evaluation activities under sec-
tion 4(a); and 
(3) 5 percent of such amount for the Advisory 
Board to carry out the activities under section 4(b). 
SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is-
lands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Common-
wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. 
(2) LOCALITY.—The term ‘‘locality’’ means any 
city, county, township, town, borough, parish, vil-
lage, or other general purpose political subdivision of 
a State. 
(3) MENTAL
HEALTH
CARE
PROVIDER.—The 
term ‘‘mental health care provider’’ means a fully- 
licensed professional or group of professionals who 
diagnose mental health conditions and provide men-
tal health treatment, and who operate near to the 
relevant jail or prison. Mental health care providers 
may provide services at hospitals or at private clin-
ics. 
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(4) MENTAL
HEALTH
CARE
CENTER.—The 
term ‘‘mental health care center’’ means any facility 
where one or more mental health care providers 
offer mental health services, such as a hospital or 
private clinic. 
(5) JAIL
OR
PRISON
ADMINISTRATOR.—The 
term ‘‘jail or prison administrator’’ means any indi-
vidual who has been appointed to a supervisory posi-
tion in a Federal, State, or local incarceration facil-
ity by the Federal Government, a State, or a local-
ity. 
(6) LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL.—The term 
‘‘law enforcement official’’ means any officer of an 
entity administered by a locality, State, or the Fed-
eral Government that exists primarily to prevent and 
detect crime and enforce criminal laws. 
(7) CORRECTIONS OFFICERS.—The term ‘‘cor-
rections officer’’ means any officer or employee of 
any prison, jail, or other detention facility, operated 
by, or under contract to, a Federal governmental 
agency, whose job responsibilities include providing 
for the custody of incarcerated individuals. 
(8) ELIGIBLE DETENTION CENTER.—The term 
‘‘eligible detention center’’ means any prison or jail 
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administered by the Bureau of Prisons or a State or 
any jail administered by a State or locality. 
(9) SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS.—The term ‘‘se-
vere mental illness’’ means one or more mental, be-
havioral, or emotional disorders that results in seri-
ous functional impairment and substantially inter-
feres with or limits major life activities. 
Æ 
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