Community-Based Response Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8474 To provide for a Community-Based Emergency and Non-Emergency Response Grant Program. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 1, 2020 Ms. BASS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for a Community-Based Emergency and Non- Emergency Response Grant Program. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community-Based Re- 4 sponse Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 6 The purposes of this Act are— 7 (1) to provide an additional option beyond law 8 enforcement for community-based emergency and 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8474 IH non-emergency response for covered populations in 1 need of help or support, in order to— 2 (A) target the best professional interven- 3 tion to an individual in need of help or support; 4 and 5 (B) avoid escalation of a crisis situation— 6 (i) that may not require a response 7 from law enforcement; and 8 (ii) to which a law enforcement re- 9 sponse can create increased risk of harm; 10 and 11 (2) establishing a grant program to provide 12 that additional response option by awarding funding 13 to partnerships described in section 5(a). 14 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 15 In this Act: 16 (1) COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH CENTER.— 17 The term ‘‘community mental health center’’ has the 18 meaning given the term in section 1861 of the Social 19 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x). 20 (2) COVERED COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZA- 21 TION.—The term ‘‘covered community-based organi- 22 zation’’ means an organization that meets the re- 23 quirements of section 5(b). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8474 IH (3) COVERED POPULATION.—The term ‘‘cov- 1 ered population’’ means— 2 (A) individuals who are racial or ethnic mi- 3 norities or members of an Indian tribe; 4 (B) immigrants, including undocumented 5 immigrants, immigrants who have recently en- 6 tered the United States, and refugees; 7 (C) individuals with limited English pro- 8 ficiency, meaning their primary language for 9 communication is not English and communica- 10 tion with emergency responders may be dif- 11 ficult; 12 (D) individuals who are age 60 or older 13 and determined to be likely to be— 14 (i) vulnerable to abuse; or 15 (ii) experiencing health challenges; 16 (E) people with disabilities, as defined in 17 section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act 18 of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102); 19 (F) people in the LGBTQIA+ community; 20 (G) people who are likely to face dispropor- 21 tionate or discriminatory law enforcement con- 22 tact; 23 (H) people who are or were involved in the 24 criminal justice system; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8474 IH (I) homeless persons, as defined in section 1 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist- 2 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302); 3 (J) people facing or with a history of men- 4 tal or behavioral health crises or who need 5 check-ins for health, safety, or substance use 6 disorder reasons; 7 (K) people experiencing family violence or 8 domestic violence under the laws of the jurisdic- 9 tion involved, or dating violence; 10 (L) victims of child abuse and children ex- 11 posed to violence; 12 (M) people who are likely to be engaged in 13 or to experience violence in the community; 14 (N) people with, or recovering from, a sub- 15 stance use disorder; 16 (O) current and former foster youth; 17 (P) youth who are or were involved in the 18 juvenile justice system; 19 (Q) victims of conduct described in section 20 1591 or 2251 of title 18, United States Code; 21 (R) people who engage in acts defined in 22 paragraph (4) of section 103 of the Trafficking 23 Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 24 7102); 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8474 IH (S) adult survivors of sexual assault, as de- 1 fined under the laws of the jurisdiction in- 2 volved; 3 (T) victims of trafficking, as defined in 4 section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protec- 5 tion Act of 2000; 6 (U) out-of-school youth; and 7 (V) people in an acute crisis not covered 8 under subparagraphs (A) through (U). 9 (4) DATING VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘dating vio- 10 lence’’ has the meaning given the term in section 11 40002(a) of the Violence Against Women Act of 12 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291(a)). 13 (5) IMMIGRATION TERMS.— 14 (A) IMMIGRANT.—The term ‘‘immigrant’’ 15 means an alien who has entered the United 16 States. 17 (B) UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANT.—The 18 term ‘‘undocumented immigrant’’ means an 19 alien who is unlawfully present in the United 20 States. 21 (6) INDIAN TRIBE; TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.— 22 The terms ‘‘Indian tribe’’ and ‘‘tribal organization’’ 23 have the meanings given the terms in section 4 of 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8474 IH the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist- 1 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 2 (7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 3 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ means— 4 (A) such an institution as defined in sec- 5 tion 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 6 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and 7 (B) a tribally controlled college or univer- 8 sity as defined in section 2 of the Tribally Con- 9 trolled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act 10 of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801). 11 (8) OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH.—The term ‘‘out- 12 of-school youth’’ means an individual who is— 13 (A) not attending any school (as defined 14 under State law); 15 (B) not younger than age 16 or older than 16 age 24; and 17 (C) one or more of the following: 18 (i) A young person who has dropped 19 out of school. 20 (ii) A youth who is within the age of 21 compulsory school attendance, but has not 22 attended school for at least the most recent 23 complete school year calendar quarter. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8474 IH (iii) A recipient of a secondary school 1 diploma or its recognized equivalent who is 2 a low-income individual and is either basic 3 skills deficient or an English language 4 learner (as such 3 terms are defined in 5 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 6 Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3102)). 7 (iv) An individual who is subject to 8 the criminal justice system. 9 (v) An individual experience homeless- 10 ness, a homeless child or youth, or a run- 11 away. 12 (vi) An individual— 13 (I) who is in foster care, who has 14 aged out of the foster care system, or 15 who has attained 16 years of age and 16 left foster care for kinship guardian- 17 ship or adoption; 18 (II) who is a child eligible for as- 19 sistance under section 477 of the So- 20 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677); or 21 (III) who is a child in an out-of- 22 home placement. 23 (vii) An individual who is pregnant or 24 parenting. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8474 IH (viii) An individual with a disability 1 (as defined in section 3 of the Workforce 2 Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 3 U.S.C. 3102)). 4 (ix) A low-income individual (as de- 5 fined in that section 3) who requires addi- 6 tional assistance to enter or complete an 7 educational program or to secure or hold 8 employment. 9 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 10 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, after 11 consultation with the Secretary of Housing and 12 Urban Development and the Attorney General. 13 (10) SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER.—The term 14 ‘‘substance use disorder’’ means such a disorder 15 within the meaning of title V of the Public Health 16 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290aa et seq.). 17 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 19 Community-Based Emergency and Non-Emergency Re- 20 sponse Grant Program to improve community-based emer- 21 gency and non-emergency response for public safety and 22 problem solving, and to promote the safety and well-being 23 of the populations and communities served under the pro- 24 gram by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8474 IH (1) identifying eligible organizations with dem- 1 onstrated capacity for emergency and non-emergency 2 response work, including violence interruption, com- 3 munity mediation, and crisis behavioral health re- 4 sponse, who are capable of providing, and increasing 5 the capacity of the localities to provide, emergency 6 and non-emergency response for specified covered 7 populations; 8 (2) developing a local infrastructure of systems 9 and resources needed to develop, implement, and 10 sustain effective interventions to protect the mental 11 and physical well-being of members of the commu- 12 nity, prevent violence, de-escalate volatile situations, 13 ensure access to human services, protect property 14 and the environment, reduce law enforcement use of 15 force, and ensure the health and safety of commu- 16 nities, while decreasing the sole reliance on law en- 17 forcement for emergency and non-emergency situa- 18 tions; 19 (3) creating and strengthening formal and in- 20 formal partnerships, for such purposes as providing 21 solutions and committing resources to sustain and 22 scale up successful models of community-based 23 emergency and non-emergency response; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8474 IH (4) providing timely evaluation to clarify the 1 outcomes and costs of the program, and the new 2 interventions and service models provided through 3 the program, for service recipients and law enforce- 4 ment. 5 (b) INITIATION GRANTS.—In carrying out the Pro- 6 gram, the Secretary shall make initiation grants to not 7 fewer than 40 eligible partnerships, including not fewer 8 than 4 eligible partnerships that include Indian tribes or 9 tribal organizations, of which not fewer than 2 shall be 10 eligible partnerships led by an Indian tribe or tribal orga- 11 nization, to carry out projects to meet the objectives de- 12 scribed in subsection (a). The Secretary shall make the 13 grants for periods of 5 years. The Secretary shall make 14 the grants to partnerships in geographically diverse areas, 15 including urban and rural communities, and in commu- 16 nities with varying population sizes. 17 (c) CONTINUATION GRANTS.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Pro- 19 gram, the Secretary shall make continuation grants 20 to eligible partnerships who are recipients of the ini- 21 tiation grants and who are determined by the Sec- 22 retary to be in good standing on completion of the 23 grant period for those grants, to pay for the Federal 24 share of the cost of carrying out projects to meet the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8474 IH objectives described in subsection (a). The Secretary 1 shall make the grants for periods of 2 years. 2 (2) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—The non-Federal 3 share of the costs described in this subsection shall 4 be 25 percent. The eligible partnership receiving 5 such a grant shall provide the non-Federal share 6 from State, tribal, local, or private sources. 7 SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 9 under this title Act, an entity shall be a partnership of— 10 (1)(A) a unit of local government (or its con- 11 tractor), or Indian tribe or tribal organization, act- 12 ing through an entity that is independent of any law 13 enforcement agency; and 14 (B) a covered community-based organization; 15 and 16 (2) if applicable, a nonprofit or public institu- 17 tion of higher education, community mental health 18 center, or behavioral health organization. 19 (b) COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION.—A commu- 20 nity-based organization referred to in subsection (a)(1) 21 shall be a nonprofit community-based organization, a con- 22 sortium of nonprofit community-based organizations, a 23 national nonprofit organization acting as an intermediary 24 for a community-based organization, or a community- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8474 IH based organization that has a fiscal sponsor that allows 1 the organization to function as an organization that is de- 2 scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 3 of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) 4 of that Code. 5 SEC. 6. GRANT APPLICATIONS. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 7 under this Act for a project, a partnership shall submit 8 an application (which, for a continuation grant, shall be 9 an update of the partnership’s initiation grant application) 10 to the Secretary, at such time, in such manner, and con- 11 taining such information as the Secretary may require, in- 12 cluding— 13 (1) information that specifies in detail— 14 (A) the covered populations that the part- 15 nership will target for services under this Act; 16 (B) the experience of the members of the 17 partnership in successfully working in the com- 18 munity to be served and partnering with the 19 target populations, including— 20 (i) for a partnership that includes an 21 Indian tribe or tribal organization, an un- 22 derstanding of tribal sovereignty; and 23 (ii) for a partnership not described in 24 clause (i), the partnership’s understanding 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:47 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8474.IH H8474 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8474 IH of racial equity, systems of oppression, and 1 t [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]