National De-Escalation of Violence and Community Safety Training Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2457 To help train individuals in effective and evidence-based de-escalation tech- niques to ensure that individuals at diverse levels of society have and retain greater skills to resolve conflicts, manage anger, and control im- plicit bias without the use of physical or other force, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 1, 2019 Ms. MOORE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To help train individuals in effective and evidence-based de- escalation techniques to ensure that individuals at diverse levels of society have and retain greater skills to resolve conflicts, manage anger, and control implicit bias without the use of physical or other force, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2457 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National De-Esca- 2 lation of Violence and Community Safety Training Act of 3 2019’’. 4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this Act: 6 (1) The term ‘‘Advisory Board’’ means the De- 7 Escalation Advisory Board established pursuant to 8 section 4. 9 (2) The term ‘‘at-risk youth’’ means any indi- 10 vidual who— 11 (A)(i) has attained age 16 but not age 25; 12 (ii) has not regularly attended any sec- 13 ondary, technical, or postsecondary school dur- 14 ing the preceding 6-month period; 15 (iii) has not been regularly employed dur- 16 ing the preceding 6-month period; and 17 (iv) is not readily employable by reason of 18 lacking a sufficient number of basic skills; or 19 (B) has attained age 16 but not age 21 20 and was in foster care. 21 (3) The term ‘‘de-escalation’’ means reduction 22 of the intensity of a conflict or potentially violent sit- 23 uation. 24 (4) The term ‘‘implicit bias’’ means the atti- 25 tudes or stereotypes that affect an individual’s un- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2457 IH derstanding, actions, and decisions in an uncon- 1 scious manner. 2 (5) The term ‘‘racial reconciliation’’ means a 3 process of reconciliation that— 4 (A) recognizes that racism is both systemic 5 and institutionalized with far-reaching effects 6 on both political engagement and economic op- 7 portunities for minorities; 8 (B) empowers local communities through 9 relationship-building and truth-telling; and 10 (C) emphasizes restorative justice as an es- 11 sential component. 12 (6) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 13 of Health and Human Services acting through As- 14 sistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance 15 Use. 16 SEC. 3. DE-ESCALATION TRAINING STANDARDS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop 19 and issue training standards for the de-escalation training 20 to be funded pursuant to section 5. 21 (b) CONTENTS.—The standards under subsection (a) 22 shall, at a minimum, outline the types of de-escalation 23 training that— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2457 IH (1) have been determined by the Secretary to be 1 effective; and 2 (2) are eligible to be funded pursuant to section 3 5. 4 (c) PROCESS.— 5 (1) SEEKING INPUT.— 6 (A) IN GENERAL.—In developing and 7 issuing standards under this section and any re- 8 lated regulations or guidance, the Secretary 9 shall seek input from community stakeholders, 10 health care and wellness professionals, law en- 11 forcement agencies, Tribes, and nonprofit orga- 12 nizations involved in de-escalation at the local 13 level, and others knowledgeable about the need 14 for and importance of de-escalation, including 15 through holding public meetings throughout the 16 Nation and through other media, including 17 webinars. 18 (B) DEFINITION.—In this section, the 19 term ‘‘community stakeholders’’ includes— 20 (i) members of minority communities, 21 those with disabilities, persons of color, im- 22 migrants, noncitizens, Native Americans, 23 youth, and formerly incarcerated persons; 24 and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2457 IH (ii) nonprofit organizations with long- 1 standing experience, in communities with 2 high rates of violence, conducting de-esca- 3 lation and conflict prevention work tar- 4 geting the categories of individuals de- 5 scribed in clause (i). 6 (2) NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING.—In developing 7 and issuing standards under this section, the Sec- 8 retary shall consider the use of negotiated rule- 9 making. 10 SEC. 4. ADVISORY BOARD. 11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To assist in carrying out this 12 Act, the Secretary shall establish an advisory board to be 13 known as the De-Escalation Advisory Board. 14 (b) COMPOSITION.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Board shall be 16 composed of— 17 (A) up to 25 members appointed by the 18 Secretary in accordance with paragraph (2) (in 19 this subsection referred to as the ‘‘appointed 20 members’’), who shall be voting members; and 21 (B) the ex officio members under para- 22 graph (3), who shall be nonvoting members. 23 (2) APPOINTED MEMBERS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2457 IH (A) SELECTION.—The appointed members 1 of the Advisory Board shall be appointed (or re- 2 appointed, as applicable) by the Secretary after 3 soliciting and reviewing nominations for such 4 appointments from nonprofit organizations, in- 5 dividuals, State and local officials, and others 6 stakeholders. 7 (B) REPRESENTATIVES.—The appointed 8 members of the Advisory Board shall include 9 representatives of each the following: 10 (i) Law enforcement. 11 (ii) Tribes. 12 (iii) Health care and wellness profes- 13 sionals. 14 (iv) Disability and behavioral health 15 organizations. 16 (v) State and local public health agen- 17 cies. 18 (vi) Faith institutions. 19 (vii) Other entities dedicated to en- 20 couraging de-escalation and nonviolence 21 and resisting implicit bias and racial rec- 22 onciliation, with a preference for nonprofit 23 organizations that demonstrate strong ex- 24 perience— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2457 IH (I) addressing these issues at the 1 local and community level; and 2 (II) working with the targeted in- 3 dividuals, especially at-risk youth. 4 (3) EX OFFICIO MEMBERS.—The Advisory 5 Board shall include the following ex officio members: 6 (A) The Secretary of Health and Human 7 Services (or the Secretary’s designee). 8 (B) The Secretary of Education (or the 9 Secretary’s designee). 10 (C) The Attorney General of the United 11 States (or the Attorney General’s designee). 12 (D) The heads of such other Federal de- 13 partments and agencies as the Secretary deter- 14 mines appropriate (or their designees). 15 (4) TERMS.— 16 (A) DURATION.—The appointed members 17 of the Advisory Board shall each be appointed 18 for a term of 3 years. 19 (B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Not later 20 than 4 months after the date of enactment of 21 this Act, the Secretary shall appoint all of the 22 initial appointed members of the Advisory 23 Board. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 2457 IH (5) OFFICERS.—At the first meeting of the Ad- 1 visory Board, and every other year thereafter, the 2 members of the Advisory Board shall elect from 3 among such members a chairperson and vice chair- 4 person of the Advisory Board. Federal officials are 5 not eligible for election as chairperson or vice chair- 6 person. 7 (c) DUTIES.—The Advisory Board shall— 8 (1) make recommendations to the Secretary re- 9 garding— 10 (A) the training standards under section 3 11 as may be beneficial to fulfilling the mission 12 and purposes of the grant program under sec- 13 tion 5; and 14 (B) implementation of the grant program 15 under section 5; 16 (2) monitor the implementation of such grant 17 program and provide technical assistance and sup- 18 port to grantees under such grant program; 19 (3) determine— 20 (A) the extent to which such grantees face 21 challenges to implementing such grant program; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 2457 IH (B) the effectiveness of the Department of 1 Health and Human Services in addressing such 2 challenges; 3 (4) continually identify new advances and inno- 4 vative practices in effective ways to conduct de-esca- 5 lation training to incorporate such advances and in- 6 novative practices into the standards under section 7 3 and implementation of such grant program; and 8 (5) provide— 9 (A) on a biennial basis, reports to the Sec- 10 retary regarding the Advisory Board’s activities 11 and the effectiveness of such grant program; 12 and 13 (B) not later than 2 years after the award 14 of the first grant under section 5, and every 5 15 years thereafter, a report to the Congress on 16 the Advisory Board’s activities, challenges to 17 the programs and activities under this Act, and 18 the effectiveness of such programs and activi- 19 ties. 20 (d) EVALUATION OF HHS PROPOSALS.—Not later 21 than 90 days after the Secretary proposes standards under 22 section 3 or rules or guidance for implementing the grant 23 program under section 5, and prior to the Secretary final- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 2457 IH izing such standards, rules, and guidance, respectively, the 1 Advisory Board shall evaluate— 2 (1) whether the training to be funded pursuant 3 to section 5 can be applied practically in everyday 4 scenarios that have the potential for violence that 5 are regularly faced by law enforcement officers, edu- 6 cators, public transit operators including bus drivers, 7 health care and wellness professionals, youth, faith 8 leaders, and other categories of persons for whom 9 such training could help to reduce tensions and 10 avoid conflict; 11 (2) whether the principles of such training can 12 effectively work with other types of professional 13 training such as mental health training that employs 14 evidence-based de-escalation techniques; 15 (3) the extent to which the proposed standards 16 under section 3 adequately address and effectively 17 take into consideration the role of implicit bias, cul- 18 tural competency, and the intersection of race and 19 policing; 20 (4) whether the standards and guidance under 21 sections 3 and section 5 effectively promote alter- 22 natives to the use of lethal and nonlethal force; 23 (5) the extent to which Federal training stand- 24 ards and guidelines promote or support de-escalation 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 2457 IH techniques to help effectively, safely, and respectfully 1 interact with people with disabilities and behavioral 2 health issues; 3 (6) whether the proposed standards under sec- 4 tion 3 adequately address the need for training in 5 interpersonal communication on de-escalation for 6 those working with at-risk youth, including methods 7 that use time, tone, distance, cover, and concealment 8 to avoid escalation situations; 9 (7) the time required to properly conduct the 10 training to be funded under section 5 and the meth- 11 ods for delivering such training (either online or in 12 person); and 13 (8) whether the proposed requirements and 14 standards under section 3 reflect the latest evidence- 15 based de-escalation practices and techniques. 16 (e) LIMITATION.—The Secretary— 17 (1) shall not finalize any standard under section 18 3 or rule or guidance for implementing the grant 19 program under section 5 before the date that is 30 20 days after the Secretary receives the recommenda- 21 tions of the Advisory Board on the respective stand- 22 ard, rule, or guidance; and 23 (2) shall respond to the Advisory Board in writ- 24 ing on each recommendation of the Advisory Board 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •HR 2457 IH that the Department of Health and Human Re- 1 sources will not implement and include a detailed ex- 2 planation of the reasons therefor. 3 (f) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, the 4 Advisory Board shall— 5 (1) consult with any appropriate Federal de- 6 partments and agencies; and 7 (2) solicit opinions and recommendations from 8 the public and persons with relevant expertise. 9 (g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—On request of the Ad- 10 visory Board, the head of a Federal department or agency 11 may provide technical assistance to the Advisory Board, 12 but no Federal employee may be detailed to the Advisory 13 Board. 14 (h) PAY AND REIMBURSEMENT.—Members of the 15 Advisory Board may not receive pay, allowances, or bene- 16 fits by reason of their service on the Advisory Board, but 17 members of the Advisory Board shall receive travel ex- 18 penses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence under 19 subchapter I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code. 20 (i) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Ad- 21 visory Board is deemed to have filed a charter for the pur- 22 pose of section 9(c) of the Federal Advisory Committee 23 Act (5 U.S.C. App.). Notwithstanding section 14 of the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:17 May 04, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2457.IH H2457 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •HR 2457 IH Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Advisory Board shall 1 continue in effect until terminated by an Act of Congress. 2 (j) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Board shall meet on 3 a regular basis and no less th [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]