911 Diversion to Unarmed Personnel Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1859 | Sponsor: Rep. Smith, Adam (D-WA)
Policy area: Health

Summary:
911 Diversion to Unarmed Personnel Act of 2021
This bill authorizes grants to dispatch unarmed, specialized health care or social service providers to respond to nonviolent 9–1–1 calls instead of law enforcement officers. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration may award grants to states and other jurisdictions for this purpose.

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 
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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``911 Diversion to Unarmed 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 PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Assistant 
Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, may award grants to 
States, territories, political subdivisions of States and territories, 
Tribal governments, and consortia of Tribal governments to establish an 
unarmed 911 response program under which nonviolent 911 calls are 
referred to unarmed professional service providers for response, 
instead of to a law enforcement agency.
    ``(b) Program Requirements.--An unarmed 911 response program funded 
under this section shall--
            ``(1) dispatch unarmed professional service providers in 
        groups of two or more in a timely manner;
            ``(2) be capable of providing screening, assessment, de-
        escalation, trauma-informed culturally competent services, 
        referrals to treatment providers, and transportation to 
        immediately necessary treatment;
            ``(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 providers and 911 
        dispatchers;
            ``(2) training unarmed professional service providers to 
        respond to 911 calls by identifying, understanding, and 
        responding to signs of mental illnesses, 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, community-
                based organizations, and the full range of other 
                available providers and resources, with a focus on 
                culturally competent service providers;
            ``(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 Secretary.
    ``(d) Application.--An applicant seeking a grant under this section 
shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably 
require, including 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:
            ``(1) The number of calls placed to 911 that were diverted 
        to the grantee's unarmed 911 response program.
            ``(2) Demographic information on the individuals 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, hospitalizations, 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, including--
                    ``(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.
            ``(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 information) 
                promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health 
                Insurance Portability and Accountability 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 department or jail; and
                    ``(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, homelessness, 
                addiction problems, social services, truancy, 
                intellectual and developmental disabilities, or public 
                intoxication; and
                    ``(B) does not involve obvious violent behavior.
            ``(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-informed personnel, social service provider, or 
        peer support specialist) who--
                    ``(A) is trained to deal with mental health or 
                substance abuse crises or intellectual and 
                developmental disabilities; and
                    ``(B) does not carry a firearm.''.
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