Law Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Response Act of 2021
Bill: S.1837 | Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod (D-OH)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Law Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Response Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the Office of Justice Programs within the Department of Justice to award grants to law enforcement and corrections agencies for behavioral health crisis response training.

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
authorize a grant program for law enforcement agencies and corrections 
 agencies to obtain behavioral health crisis response training for law 
 enforcement officers and corrections officers, 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 ``Law Enforcement Training for Mental 
Health Crisis Response Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Law enforcement and corrections officers routinely 
        respond to emergencies involving individuals suffering from a 
        mental health crisis.
            (2) Recent statistics have shown that as many as--
                    (A) 1 in every 10 calls for police response involve 
                a person suffering from a mental illness;
                    (B) 1 in every 4 people killed by police suffer 
                from a mental health problem; and
                    (C) 1 in 3 people transported to a hospital 
                emergency room for psychiatric reasons are taken by the 
                police.
            (3) Law enforcement response calls to individuals suffering 
        from substance use disorder have increased during the current 
        opioid epidemic.
            (4) There is a need to ensure that law enforcement officers 
        have access to proper evidence-based training in responding to 
        mental health crises.
            (5) Proper training for response to individuals suffering 
        from a mental health crisis can better protect the safety of 
        the general public and law enforcement officers.
            (6) Law enforcement and corrections officers in the United 
        States can better serve their communities if the officers 
        receive training to effectively and safely resolve the mental 
        health crises.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide grants to 
State, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies and corrections 
agencies to obtain behavioral health crisis response training for law 
enforcement officers and corrections officers to--
            (1) better train law enforcement officers and corrections 
        officers to resolve behavioral health crisis situations;
            (2) reduce the number of law enforcement officers and 
        corrections officers killed or injured while responding to a 
        behavioral health crisis; and
            (3) reduce the number of individuals killed or injured 
        during a behavioral health crisis in which a law enforcement 
        officer or corrections officer responds.

SEC. 3. LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) Reservation of Funds.--Section 506 of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10157) is amended 
by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Of the total amount made available to carry out this subpart 
for a fiscal year, the Attorney General may reserve not more than 
$10,000,000 to carry out the program under section 509.''.
    (b) Law Enforcement Training for Mental Health Crisis Grant 
Program.--Subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 509. LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Grants Authorized.--Subject to the availability of 
appropriations, the Attorney General is authorized to award grants to 
applicants for--
            ``(1) law enforcement officers or corrections officers to 
        receive training from a program; and
            ``(2) the cost of transportation and lodging associated 
        with law enforcement officers or corrections officers attending 
        such program.
    ``(b) Program Standards.--The Attorney General shall establish and 
publish qualification standards for organizations that provide 
programs.
    ``(c) Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--The head of an applicant shall submit to 
        the Attorney General an application that--
                    ``(A) shall include--
                            ``(i) a statement describing the program 
                        the law enforcement officers or corrections 
                        officers will complete;
                            ``(ii) the total number of law enforcement 
                        officers or corrections officers in the agency;
                            ``(iii) the number of law enforcement 
                        officers or corrections officers of the agency 
                        that have been killed, or seriously injured 
                        while responding to a behavioral health crisis 
                        during the 5-year-period preceding the date of 
                        the application; and
                            ``(iv) whether the law enforcement officers 
                        or corrections officers employed by the agency 
                        receive any behavioral health crisis response 
                        training, including during basic officer 
                        training; and
                    ``(B) in addition to the information required under 
                subparagraph (A), may, at the option of the applicant, 
                include information relating to--
                            ``(i) recent incidents involving officers 
                        of the agency during which behavioral health 
                        crisis response training could have played a 
                        role in protecting the safety of--
                                    ``(I) the law enforcement officer 
                                or the public, including the persons or 
                                persons the law enforcement officers 
                                encountered; or
                                    ``(II) the corrections officer or 
                                inmates at the correctional facility; 
                                and
                            ``(ii) estimated cost of attendance of a 
                        program per officer.
    ``(d) Restrictions.--
            ``(1) Supplemental funds.--Grant funds shall be used to 
        supplement, and not supplant, State, local, and Tribal funds 
        made available to any applicant for any of the purposes 
        described in subsection (a).
            ``(2) Administrative costs.--Not more than 3 percent of any 
        grant made under this section may be used for administrative 
        costs.
    ``(e) Reports and Records.--
            ``(1) Reports.--For each year during which grant funds are 
        used, the recipient shall submit to the Attorney General a 
        report containing--
                    ``(A) a summary of any activity carried out using 
                grant funds;
                    ``(B) the number of officers that received training 
                using grant funds; and
                    ``(C) any other information relevant to the purpose 
                of this Act that the Attorney General may determine 
                appropriate.
            ``(2) Records.--For the purpose of an audit by the Attorney 
        General of the receipt and use of grant funds, a recipient 
        shall--
                    ``(A) keep--
                            ``(i) any record relating to the receipt 
                        and use of grant funds; and
                            ``(ii) any other record as the Attorney 
                        General may require; and
                    ``(B) make the records described in subparagraph 
                (A) available to the Attorney General upon request by 
                the Attorney General.
    ``(f) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Applicant.--The term `applicant' means a law 
        enforcement agency or corrections agency that applies for a 
        grant under this section.
            ``(2) Attorney general.--The term `Attorney General' means 
        the Attorney General, acting through the Assistant Attorney 
        General for the Office of Justice Programs.
            ``(3) Grant funds.--The term `grant funds' means funds from 
        a grant awarded under this section.
            ``(4) Law enforcement agency.--The term `law enforcement 
        agency' means an agency of a State or unit of local government 
        that is authorized by law or by a government agency to engage 
        in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, or 
        prosecution of any violation of criminal law.
            ``(5) Program.--The term `program' means a program or class 
        that--
                    ``(A) provides instructional training to law 
                enforcement officers or corrections officers for 
                response to a behavioral health crisis, including 
                response to people suspected to be under the influence 
                of a drug or psychoactive substance, and response to 
                circumstances in which a person is suspected to be 
                suicidal or suffering from a mental illness;
                    ``(B) includes training on techniques and 
                strategies designed to protect--
                            ``(i) the health and safety of law 
                        enforcement officers and the public, including 
                        the person or persons a law enforcement officer 
                        encounters during a behavioral health crisis 
                        response; or
                            ``(ii) the health and safety of corrections 
                        officers and inmates at the correctional 
                        facility, including the inmate a corrections 
                        officer encounters during a behavioral health 
                        crisis response, or in the normal course of 
                        business of interactions with the inmate; and
                    ``(C) is developed in conjunction with healthcare 
                professionals to provide crisis intervention training 
                focused on understanding mental and behavioral health, 
                developing empathy, navigating community resources, de-
                escalation skills, and practical application training 
                for officers.
            ``(6) Recipient.--The term `recipient' means an applicant 
        that receives a grant under this section.''.
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