patch mental health professionals to respond in lieu of 
law enforcement officers in emergencies involving one 
or more persons with a mental illness or an intellectual 
or developmental disability, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Mental Health Justice 
Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS TO 
ACT AS FIRST RESPONDERS. 
Subpart 3 of part B of title V of the Public Health 
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb–31 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 520O. GRANTS FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROFES-
SIONALS TO ACT AS FIRST RESPONDERS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 
the Assistant Secretary, and in consultation with the As-
sistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of 
the Department of Justice, shall award grants to States, 
Indian Tribes, Tribal organizations, and political subdivi-
sions thereof to establish or expand programs— 
‘‘(1) to hire, employ, train, and dispatch mental 
health professionals to respond in lieu of law en-
forcement officers in emergencies in which— 
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‘‘(A) an individual calling 911, 988, or an-
other emergency hotline states that a person— 
‘‘(i) is in a mental health crisis; 
‘‘(ii) may have a mental illness, a sub-
stance use disorder, a co-occurring mental 
illness and substance use disorder, or an 
intellectual or developmental disability; or 
‘‘(iii) otherwise appears to need the 
immediate support of mental health profes-
sionals; 
‘‘(B) a law enforcement officer or other 
first responder identifies a person as having (or 
possibly having) a mental illness or an intellec-
tual or developmental disability (or otherwise 
appears to need the support of mental health 
professionals); or 
‘‘(C) a law enforcement officer or other 
first responder identifies a person as being (or 
possibly being) under the influence of a legal or 
illegal substance; 
‘‘(2) to include in the training for mental health 
professionals pursuant to paragraph (1) training 
in— 
‘‘(A) the principles of deescalation; and 
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‘‘(B) developmentally appropriate tech-
niques; 
‘‘(3) to ensure that such mental health profes-
sionals link persons described in subparagraph (A), 
(B), or (C) of paragraph (1) with voluntary commu-
nity-based services where appropriate; 
‘‘(4) to train the staff of dispatch centers re-
garding the proper handling of a report of an emer-
gency described in paragraph (1), including training 
in the principles and techniques referred to in sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2); and 
‘‘(5) to coordinate with first responder agencies. 
‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL AWARDS.—The Secretary shall 
make an additional award of funds under this section each 
fiscal year to grantees that— 
‘‘(1) are in compliance with all conditions of 
their awards under this section, including the condi-
tions specified in subsections (a) and (d); and 
‘‘(2) demonstrate that their programs under 
this section resulted in— 
‘‘(A) a notable reduction in the incarcer-
ation and death of persons with mental illness 
or an intellectual or developmental disability; or 
‘‘(B) a notable reduction in the use of 
force by police and a notable increase in refer-
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rals of persons with a mental illness or intellec-
tual disability to community-based, voluntary 
support services (other than institutionalization 
or carceral support services). 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority to States, Indian 
Tribes, Tribal organizations, and political subdivisions 
thereof that— 
‘‘(1) have high rates of arrests and incarcer-
ation of persons with a mental illness, a substance 
use disorder, a co-occurring mental health and sub-
stance use disorder, or an intellectual or develop-
mental disability; 
‘‘(2) commit to increasing resources for mental 
health and community-based support services or so-
lutions for such persons; or 
‘‘(3) include peer support specialists in their 
current first responder model. 
‘‘(d) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(1) BY
GRANTEES.—A recipient of a grant 
under this section shall submit to the Secretary— 
‘‘(A) a quarterly report on— 
‘‘(i) the number and percentage of 
emergencies where mental health profes-
sionals were dispatched in lieu of law en-
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forcement officers pursuant to assistance 
under this section; 
‘‘(ii) such other matters as the Sec-
retary may require for determining wheth-
er the recipient should receive an addi-
tional award under subsection (b); and 
‘‘(iii) any increase or decrease, com-
pared to any previous quarter, in incarcer-
ation or institutionalization as a result of 
dispatching mental health professionals 
pursuant to assistance under this section, 
disaggregated to include data specific to 
persons with intellectual and developmental 
disabilities and mental illnesses where 
available and permitted to be disclosed 
under applicable privacy law, so as— 
‘‘(I) to provide a critical baseline 
analysis; and 
‘‘(II) to ensure that mental 
health practitioners are not simply 
funneling individuals into other insti-
tutionalized settings; and 
‘‘(B) a final report on the use of such 
grant. 
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‘‘(2) BY SECRETARY.—Not later than 1 year 
after awarding the first grant under this section, 
and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Congress a report on the grant program 
under this section. 
‘‘(3) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—The report-
ing pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (2) shall, to the 
extent determined by the Secretary to be applicable, 
be disaggregated by age, sex, gender, race, and eth-
nicity. 
‘‘(e) REVOCATION
OF GRANT.—If the Secretary 
finds, based on reporting under subsection (d) or other 
information, that activities funded through a grant under 
this section are leading to a significant increase in incar-
ceration or institutionalization— 
‘‘(1) the Secretary shall revoke the grant; and 
‘‘(2) the grantee shall repay to the Federal 
Government any amounts that the grantee— 
‘‘(A) received through the grant; and 
‘‘(B) has not obligated or expended. 
‘‘(f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary, act-
ing through the Assistant Secretary, and in consultation 
with the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights 
Division of the Department of Justice, shall provide tech-
nical assistance to grantees under this section (or other 
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Federal law), and to other States, Indian Tribes, Tribal 
organizations, and political subdivisions thereof, to hire, 
employ, train, and dispatch mental health professionals to 
respond in lieu of law enforcement officers, as described 
in subsection (a). 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘first responder’ means an indi-
vidual who, in the course of such individual’s profes-
sional duties, is dispatched to respond to fire, med-
ical, public safety, or mental health emergencies. 
‘‘(2) The terms ‘Indian Tribe’ and ‘Tribal orga-
nization’ have the meanings given to the terms ‘In-
dian tribe’ and ‘tribal organization’, respectively, in 
section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement 
Act. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘peer support specialist’ means 
an individual who— 
‘‘(A) has lived experience of a mental 
health condition, a substance use disorder, or a 
co-occurring mental health and substance use 
disorder; and 
‘‘(B) specializes in supporting individuals 
with mental health conditions, substance use 
disorders, or co-occurring mental health and 
substance use disorders. 
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‘‘(h) FUNDING.—To carry out this section, there is 
authorized to be appropriated $250,000,000 for the period 
of the five fiscal years following the date of enactment of 
this section.’’. 
SEC. 3. STUDY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services and the Assistant Attorney General for 
the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice 
shall conduct a study on the effectiveness of programs and 
activities under section 520O of the Public Health Service 
Act, as added by section 2. 
(b) QUALITATIVE
AND LONGITUDINAL EXAMINA-
TION.—The study under subsection (a) shall include a 
qualitative and longitudinal study of— 
(1) the number of persons diverted from ar-
rests; and 
(2) short- and long-term outcomes for those 
persons, including reduced incarceration or institu-
tionalization, reduced incidences of use of force, and 
reduced utilization of resources. 
(c) COMPLETION; REPORT.—Not later than 3 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services and the Assistant Attorney 
General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department 
of Justice shall— 
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(1) complete the study under subsection (a); 
(2) submit a report to the Congress on the re-
sults of such study; and 
(3) publish such report. 
SEC. 4. BEST PRACTICES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, acting in consultation with the Assistant 
Attorney General for Civil Rights, shall develop and pub-
lish best practices relating to the deployment of mental 
health professionals acting as first responders. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The best practices under subsection 
(a) shall— 
(1) be informed by lessons learned from the 
grant program under section 520O of the Public 
Health Service Act, as added by section 2; and 
(2) include best practices for the proper han-
dling and dispatch of a report of an emergency de-
scribed in each of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) 
of section 520O(a)(1) of the Public Health Service 
Act, as added by section 2, including best practices 
for training in— 
(A) the principles and techniques in proc-
essing calls for persons who— 
(i) are experiencing a mental health 
crisis; 
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(ii) may have a mental illness, a sub-
stance use disorder, a co-occurring mental 
health and substance use disorder, or an 
intellectual or developmental disability; or 
(iii) otherwise appear to need the im-
mediate support of mental health profes-
sionals; 
(B) the principles of deescalation; and 
(C) 
developmentally 
appropriate 
tech-
niques. 
(c) TIMELINE; UPDATES.—The Secretary of Health 
and Human Services shall— 
(1) not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of this Act, develop and publish initial best 
practices under this section; and 
(2) not less than every 5 years thereafter, de-
velop and publish updated best practices under this 
section. 
(d) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘first re-
sponder’’ has the meaning given to such term in section 
520O of the Public Health Service Act, as added by sec-
tion 2. 
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) HIRING OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS.— 
Nothing in this Act (or the amendments made by this Act) 
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shall be construed to remove, supplant, alter, or limit the 
authority of States, public agencies, or municipalities from 
hiring or recruiting career law enforcement officers (as de-
fined in section 1709 of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10389)) to engage 
in or supervise the prevention, detection, or investigation 
of violations of criminal laws when appropriate. 
(b) CIRCUMSTANCES OF IMMINENT OR IMMEDIATE 
DANGER.—Nothing in this Act (or the amendments made 
by this Act) shall be construed to impede, supplant, alter, 
or limit the use of career law enforcement officers during 
emergencies— 
(1) which such career law enforcement officers 
may be best suited to handle; and 
(2) in which a person poses a direct threat to 
the health and safety of others that cannot be elimi-
nated by a modification of policies, practices or pro-
cedures, or by the provision of auxiliary aids or serv-
ices. 
(c) NONDISCRIMINATION.—Nothing in this Act (or 
the amendments made by this Act) shall be construed to 
limit or alter the protections and requirements of applica-
ble Federal and State civil rights laws and regulations. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the term ‘‘direct 
threat’’ has the meaning given to such term in sections 
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35.139 and 35.104 of title 28, Code of Federal Regula-
tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 
Æ 
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