SEC. 2. VETERAN RESPONSE TEAM PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General, 
acting through the Director of the Office of Community 
Oriented Policing Services, is authorized to operate a pilot 
program to make grants to States, units of local govern-
ment, and Indian Tribal governments, to support the cre-
ation and operation of veterans response teams in the law 
enforcement agencies of the jurisdiction, in accordance 
with subsection (b). 
(b) GRANTS TO DEVELOP VETERANS RESPONSE 
TEAMS.— 
(1) ACTIVITIES
OF
A
VETERANS
RESPONSE 
TEAM.—A veterans response team may include a 
program that does the following: 
(A) Provides law enforcement officers who 
are veterans with a pin that identifies the de-
partment of the Armed Forces in which the of-
ficer served, which the officer may wear while 
on duty. 
(B) Uses the Veterans Re-Entry Search 
Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs; 
(C) Establishes a system of communication 
and information sharing with the Department 
of Veterans Affairs and other community re-
source agencies. 
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(D) Establishes a working relationship 
with the Veterans Justice Outreach specialist. 
(E) Establishes a working relationship 
with the local justice system and veterans court, 
if applicable, including identifying veterans 
upon entry into the court system and local de-
tention facility, with notification to the local 
Department of Veterans Affairs office for con-
firmation and appropriate services. 
(F) Provides training and education for 
law enforcement officers on mental health 
issues related to military service, such as post- 
traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain in-
jury, depression, and anxiety. 
(G) Meets regularly to discuss issues vet-
erans are facing in the community, as well as 
suitable responses. 
(H) Organizes coordinated and trained 
teams of first responders to respond 24 hours 
per day, and 7 days per week, on a volunteer 
basis, to calls for assistance involving a veteran 
in crisis. 
(I) Develops a plan to— 
(i) measure the success of veteran re-
sponse teams; and 
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(ii) track nationwide best practices on 
how veterans response teams provide law 
enforcement officers with essential infor-
mation during and following veteran-in-
volved incidents to which veterans response 
teams respond. 
(J) Offers veterans who have come into 
contact with the veterans response team the op-
portunity to maintain ongoing contact with the 
veterans response team. 
(2) CREATION, HIRING, AND TRAINING OF VET-
ERANS
RESPONSE
TEAM.—The creation of a vet-
erans response team within a law enforcement agen-
cy pursuant to a grant under this section may in-
clude doing the following: 
(A) Identifying a law enforcement officer 
in the law enforcement agency who is pas-
sionate about and committed to forming a vet-
erans response team, and will serve as the lead-
er of such team. 
(B) Identifying other law enforcement offi-
cers in the law enforcement agency who are in-
terested and willing to participate on the vet-
erans response team. 
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(C) Identifying and inviting interested 
community members to join the veterans re-
sponse team, which may include members of 
veteran resource organizations, the local office 
of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the re-
gional veterans justice outreach program, other 
law enforcement agencies, fire and emergency 
medical services departments, hospitals, social 
work agencies, other entities within the justice 
system, nonprofit organizations, and other ap-
propriate entities. 
(D) Immersing veterans response team 
members in the veteran community by attend-
ing veterans events, responding to incidents in-
volving veterans, as described in paragraph 
(1)(I), and making public appearances to fur-
ther engage with veterans. 
(E) Providing training on veterans experi-
encing crisis for individuals involved with the 
veterans response team, and for other law en-
forcement officers who are likely to come in 
contact with veterans. 
(c) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro-
priated $5,000,000 to carry out this section for each of 
fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 
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(d) TERMINATION.—The authority under this section 
shall terminate on the date that is 5 years after the date 
of the enactment of this section. 
(e) REPORTING.—The Attorney General shall provide 
a report to Congress on the progress of the pilot program 
that includes the following: 
(1) The number of applicants. 
(2) The number of grants awarded. 
(3) The average grant amount sought by an ap-
plicant. 
(4) The average amount of a grant awarded. 
(5) Any other information that the Attorney 
General determines to be appropriate. 
Æ 
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