[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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