[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2228 Introduced in House (IH)]
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115th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2228
To provide support for law enforcement agency efforts to protect the
mental health and well-being of law enforcement officers, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 28, 2017
Mrs. Brooks of Indiana (for herself, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Collins of
Georgia, Mr. Pascrell, and Mr. Reichert) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide support for law enforcement agency efforts to protect the
mental health and well-being of law enforcement 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 Mental Health and
Wellness Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
(a) Interagency Collaboration.--The Attorney General shall consult
with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to
submit to Congress a report, which shall be made publicly available, on
Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs mental health
practices and services that could be adopted by Federal, State, local,
or tribal law enforcement agencies.
(b) Case Studies.--The Director of the Office of Community Oriented
Policing Services shall submit to Congress a report--
(1) that is similar to the report entitled ``Health,
Safety, and Wellness Program Case Studies in Law Enforcement''
published by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services
in 2015; and
(2) that focuses on case studies of programs designed
primarily to address officer psychological health and well-
being.
(c) Peer Mentoring Pilot Program.--Section 1701(b) of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(b)) is
amended--
(1) in paragraph (21), by striking ``; and'' and inserting
a semicolon;
(2) in paragraph (22), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(23) to establish peer mentoring mental health and
wellness pilot programs within State, tribal, and local law
enforcement agencies.''.
SEC. 3. SUPPORT FOR MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDERS.
The Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Health
and Human Services, shall develop resources to educate mental health
providers about the culture of Federal, State, tribal, and local law
enforcement agencies and evidence-based therapies for mental health
issues common to Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement
officers.
SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR OFFICERS.
The Attorney General shall--
(1) in consultation with Federal, State, local, and tribal
law enforcement agencies--
(A) identify and review the effectiveness of any
existing crisis hotlines for law enforcement officers;
(B) provide recommendations to Congress on whether
Federal support for existing crisis hotlines or the
creation of an alternative hotline would improve the
effectiveness or use of the hotline; and
(C) conduct research into the efficacy of an annual
mental health check for law enforcement officers;
(2) in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security
and the head of other Federal agencies that employ law
enforcement officers, examine the mental health and wellness
needs of Federal law enforcement officers, including the
efficacy of expanding peer mentoring programs for law
enforcement officers at each Federal agency; and
(3) ensure that any recommendations, resources, or programs
provided under this Act protect the privacy of participating
law enforcement officers.
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