H.R. 2502

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2502 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2502

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.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

March 31, 2025

Ms. Kaptur (for herself, Mr. Carter of Louisiana, Ms. Titus, Mr. Evans 
of Pennsylvania, Mr. Casten, and Ms. Brownley) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

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 2025''.

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 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. 510. 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.--The head of an applicant shall submit to the 
Attorney General an application that--
``(1) shall include--
``(A) a statement describing the program the law 
enforcement officers or corrections officers will 
complete;
``(B) the total number of law enforcement officers 
or corrections officers in the agency;
``(C) 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
``(D) 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
``(2) in addition to the information required under 
paragraph (1), may, at the option of the applicant, include 
information relating to--
``(A) 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 person or persons the law 
enforcement officers encountered; or
``(ii) the corrections officer or inmates 
at the correctional facility; and
``(B) 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 experiencing 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 and people with lived experiences of 
mental health illness to provide crisis intervention 
training focused on understanding mental and behavioral 
health, developing empathy, navigating community 
resources, de-escalation and communications 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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