S. 4514

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4514 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4514

To provide funding to the Bureau of Prisons, States, and localities to 
carry out mental health screenings and provide referrals to mental 
health care providers for certain corrections officers.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 13, 2026

Ms. Duckworth introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To provide funding to the Bureau of Prisons, States, and localities to 
carry out mental health screenings and provide referrals to mental 
health care providers for certain corrections officers.

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 ``Corrections Officer Blake Schwarz 
Suicide Prevention Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Advisory board.--The term ``Advisory Board'' means the 
Advisory Board established pursuant to section 5(a).
(2) Corrections officer.--The term ``corrections officer'' 
means an officer or employee--
(A) of any detention facility, including a prison 
or jail, operated by, or under contract with, a Federal 
agency; and
(B) the job responsibilities of whom include 
providing for the custody of incarcerated individuals.
(3) Eligible detention center.--The term ``eligible 
detention center'' means--
(A) any prison or jail administered by the Bureau 
of Prisons or a State; and
(B) any jail administered by a State or locality.
(4) Jail; prison.--The terms ``jail'' and ``prison'' have 
the meanings given those terms in section 10 of the Prison Rape 
Elimination Act of 2003 (34 U.S.C. 30309).
(5) Jail or prison administrator.--The term ``jail or 
prison administrator'' means an individual who has been 
appointed to a supervisory position in a Federal, State, or 
local jail or prison by the Federal Government, a State, or a 
locality.
(6) Law enforcement officer.--The term ``law enforcement 
officer'' means an officer of an entity administered by the 
Federal Government, a State, or locality that exists primarily 
to prevent and detect crime and enforce criminal laws.
(7) Locality.--The term ``locality'' means any city, 
county, township, town, borough, parish, village, or other 
general purpose political subdivision of a State.
(8) Mental health care center.--The term ``mental health 
care center'' means a facility, such as a hospital or private 
clinic, at which not less than 1 mental health care provider 
offers mental health services.
(9) Mental health care provider.--The term ``mental health 
care provider'' means--
(A) a fully licensed professional or group of 
professionals who--
(i) diagnoses mental health conditions;
(ii) provides mental health treatment; and
(iii) operates near an eligible detention 
center; and
(B) includes a professional or group described in 
subparagraph (A) that provides mental health services 
at a hospital or private clinic.
(10) Mental health screening survey.--The term ``mental 
health screening survey'' means a mental health screening 
survey developed and administered by a State or locality 
pursuant to section 3(d)(1).
(11) Mental illness.--The term ``mental illness'' means a 
mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder that--
(A) results in serious functional impairment; and
(B) substantially interferes with or limits major 
life activities.
(12) State.--The term ``State'' means any State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM.

(a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a grant 
program to award grants to States and localities to--
(1) implement and administer mental health screenings to 
corrections officers at eligible detention centers; and
(2) as applicable, refer corrections officers described in 
paragraph (1) to mental health care providers.
(b) Application.--
(1) In general.--A State or locality seeking a grant under 
this section shall submit to the Attorney General an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Attorney General may reasonably require.
(2) Contents.--A State or locality submitting an 
application under paragraph (1) shall include in the 
application--
(A) a description of and a plan for the use of 
amounts from a grant under this section, as described 
in subsection (c); and
(B) an assurance that the State or locality will 
hire a mental health liaison staff member to coordinate 
among--
(i) eligible detention centers;
(ii) mental health providers;
(iii) the Advisory Board; and
(iv) the outreach team of the State or 
locality established pursuant to subsection 
(e).
(c) Eligible Projects.--A State or locality receiving a grant under 
this section may use amounts from the grant only for the following:
(1) To develop and administer the mental health screening 
survey.
(2) To develop any technology necessary for an eligible 
detention center to provide the mental health screening survey.
(3) To hire any staff necessary for an eligible detention 
center to provide the mental health screening survey.
(4) To establish an outreach team pursuant to subsection 
(e).
(5) To pay the salaries or overtime pay of members of the 
mental health outreach team established pursuant to subsection 
(e), including by providing direct funding to an eligible 
detention center to compensate staff members of the mental 
health outreach team.
(d) Brief Mental Health Screening Survey.--
(1) In general.--A State or locality receiving a grant 
under this section shall develop or adopt a mental health 
screening survey, and administer a mental health screening 
survey, that--
(A) is for corrections officers of eligible 
detention centers;
(B) may be based on the questions and content of--
(i) the standard mental health screening of 
the Employee Assistance Program of the Federal 
Bureau of Prisons; or
(ii) the initial mental health screening 
standard of the Bureau of Prisons;
(C) seeks to identify mental illnesses, including 
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression;
(D) asks an individual about--
(i) the symptoms of mental illness the 
individual may be experiencing or has 
experienced; and
(ii) any prior use of mental health-related 
medications or inpatient care;
(E) identifies the place of residence of an 
individual;
(F) is administered by a trained staff member at 
the applicable eligible detention center to all 
corrections officers; and
(G) is anonymous and confidential.
(2) Referral.--
(A) Notification.--If the responses of a 
correctional officer to the mental health screening 
survey indicate mental illness, the trained staff 
member administering the survey shall immediately 
notify the applicable mental health outreach team 
established pursuant to subsection (e).
(B) Action by outreach team.--Upon receiving a 
notification of a correctional officer with a potential 
mental illness under subparagraph (A), the applicable 
mental health outreach team established pursuant to 
subsection (e) shall--
(i) refer the correctional officer to a 
local mental health care provider for--
(I) further assessment and 
outreach; and
(II) if necessary, admission to a 
mental health care center; and
(ii) support the correctional officer in 
re-establishing ties with a mental health 
provider.
(e) Outreach Team.--A State or locality receiving a grant under 
this section shall establish a mental health outreach team composed 
of--
(1) mental health care providers;
(2) if applicable, staff from an eligible detention center; 
and
(3) a mental health liaison staff member that oversees the 
mental health outreach team.

SEC. 4. BUREAU OF PRISONS.

Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall--
(1) establish a program to develop and administer mental 
health surveys meeting the requirement of mental health 
screening surveys described in section 2(d)(1) to corrections 
officers of the Bureau of Prisons;
(2) establish and maintain an outreach team meeting the 
requirements of a mental health outreach team under section 
2(e) to refer corrections officers to mental health care 
providers, as appropriate; and
(3) submit to the Advisory Board a plan for the 
implementation of the program described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 5. ADVISORY BOARD ON PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION.

(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish an 
Advisory Board to manage and administer the grant program under 
section 3.
(2) Duties.--The Advisory Board shall have responsibility 
for the following:
(A) Evaluating and approving the plans submitted by 
a State or locality under section 3(b)(2)(A).
(B) Ensuring that amounts from a grant under 
section 3 are used in accordance with section 3(c).
(C) Monitoring plans submitted by the Bureau of 
Prisons in accordance with section 4(3) and advise the 
Attorney General on compliance to ensure that the 
Bureau of Prisons uses amounts appropriated to the 
Bureau of Prisons to carry out section 4.
(D) Providing technical assistance to a State or 
locality to help with the implementation and 
administration of mental health screening and referral 
programs established by States and localities receiving 
a grant under section 3.
(E) Creating a working group of mental health care 
providers, jail or prison administrators, law 
enforcement officers, and operators of existing mental 
health screening and referral programs to share best 
practices on how to create and implement mental health 
screening and referral programs that have the largest 
impact on reducing crime rates and improving employment 
and wage rates for individuals released from prison or 
jail.
(F) Working in coordination with mental health 
outreach teams established pursuant to section 3(e) to 
ensure that the grant program under section 3 operates 
in accordance with that section.
(G) Determining whether a State or locality 
receiving a grant under section 3 is not complying with 
the requirements of that section.
(H) Mandating necessary changes for States and 
localities not complying with the requirements of 
section 3 and reducing grant funding to those States 
and localities if the States and localities do not make 
those changes.
(b) Technical Assistance.--The Advisory Board shall--
(1) provide technical assistance to--
(A) the States and localities receiving a grant 
under section 3 in carrying out the requirements of the 
grant; and
(B) the Director of the Bureau of Prisons in 
carrying out the requirements under section 4; and
(2) identify evidence-backed models for the administration 
of mental health screening and referral programs that the 
Bureau of Prisons, States, and localities can look to when 
designing their own programs.
(c) Membership.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall appoint members 
to serve on the Advisory Board who have expertise in--
(A) designing and administering employee mental 
health screenings and providing mental health referrals 
for employees;
(B) mental health care within prisons or jails; or
(C) mental health program evaluation using rigorous 
experimental and quasi-experimental statistical 
methods.
(2) Number of members.--The Attorney General--
(A) shall appoint to the Advisory Board not less 
than 3 members; and
(B) in addition to the members required under 
subparagraph (A), may appoint to the Advisory Board as 
many members as the Attorney General determines 
appropriate.

SEC. 6. SAFE HARBOR.

A State or locality receiving a grant under section 3 and the 
Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall ensure that, with respect to a 
corrections officer experiencing a mental health issue, the corrections 
officer--
(1) does not suffer an adverse employment outcome, 
including a fitness for duty evaluation as a result of the 
mental health issue while the corrections officer is seeking 
and receiving treatment for the mental health issue; and
(2) determines the proper course of treatment in 
conjunction with the mental health care provider of the of the 
corrections officer.

SEC. 7. FUNDING.

(a) Authorization.--There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
Attorney General to carry out this Act--
(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
(2) $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2027;
(3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2028;
(4) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2029; and
(5) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2030.
(b) Distribution of Funds.--Of the amounts made available pursuant 
to subsection (a), the Attorney General shall use--
(1) 90 percent to carry out sections 3 and 4, of which--
(A) 20 percent shall be for the Director of the 
Bureau of Prisons to carry out section 4;
(B) 20 percent shall be for grants to States under 
section 3; and
(C) 50 percent shall be for grants to localities 
under section 3;
(2) 5 percent for the Advisory Board to carry out section 
5(a)(2); and
(3) 5 percent for the Advisory Board to carry out section 
5(b).
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