[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1137 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1137
To establish the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Program,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 30, 2023
Mr. Peters (for himself and Mr. Hawley) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Program,
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 ``DHS Suicide Prevention and
Resiliency for Law Enforcement Act''.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SUICIDE PREVENTION AND
RESILIENCY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.
(a) In General.--Title VII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6
U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 710 the
following:
``SEC. 710A. SUICIDE PREVENTION AND RESILIENCY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT.
``(a) Definitions.--
``(1) Department of homeland security component.--The term
`Department of Homeland Security component' means--
``(A) U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
``(B) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement;
``(C) the Office of the Inspector General of the
Department of Homeland Security;
``(D) the United States Coast Guard;
``(E) the United States Secret Service;
``(F) the Transportation Security Administration;
and
``(G) any other Department of Homeland Security
component or office with law enforcement officers or
agents.
``(2) Program.--The term `Program' means the Law
Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Program established
pursuant to subsection (b).
``(b) Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Program.--
``(1) Establishment.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish,
within the office overseen by the Chief Medical
Officer, the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness
Program.
``(B) Purpose.--The purpose of the Program shall be
to provide a comprehensive approach to address the
mental health and wellness of Department of Homeland
Security law enforcement agents and officers.
``(C) Administration.--The Secretary, working
through the Program, shall--
``(i) establish and maintain policies and
standard operating procedures, consistent with
best evidence-based practices, that detail the
authority, roles, and responsibilities of the
Program;
``(ii) conduct data collection and research
on mental health, suicides, and, to the extent
possible, attempted suicides, of law
enforcement personnel within the Department of
Homeland Security, in accordance with section
552a of title 5, United States Code (commonly
known as the Privacy Act of 1974), section 501
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.
791), the Department of Homeland Security's
directives and policies, section 1128E of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a-7e), and
section 2(a) of the Law Enforcement Suicide
Data Collection Act (Public Law 116-143);
``(iii) track current trends and leading
practices from other governmental and
nongovernmental organizations for law
enforcement mental health and wellness;
``(iv) evaluate current mental health and
resiliency programs within Department of
Homeland Security components;
``(v) promote education and training
related to mental health, resilience, suicide
prevention, stigma, and mental health resources
to raise mental health awareness and to support
others the needs of supervisors, clinicians,
care-givers, peer support members, chaplains,
and those who have been exposed to trauma;
``(vi) establish the Peer-to-Peer Support
Program Advisory Council, which shall--
``(I) include at least 1 licensed
clinician and at least 1 official with
requisite and relevant training and
experience in peer support for law
enforcement personnel from each
Department of Homeland Security
component;
``(II) evaluate component peer
support programs;
``(III) identify and address any
potential deficiencies, limitations,
and gaps;
``(IV) provide for sharing of
leading practices or best practices,
including internationally recognized
peer support standards of care
protocols;
``(V) create a peer support network
that enables the sharing of trained
peer support personnel, chaplains, and
other peer-to-peer personnel across
Department of Homeland Security
components; and
``(VI) sustain peer support
programs through ongoing funding of
annual and refresher training and
resources for peer support programing
in the workplace--
``(aa) to ensure minimum
standards for peer support
services; and
``(bb) to provide
appropriate care for peer
support personnel across
Department of Homeland Security
components;
``(vii) assist Department of Homeland
Security components in developing a program to
provide suicide prevention and resiliency
support and training for--
``(I) families of law enforcement
agents and officers; and
``(II) surviving families of
officers and agents who have died by
suicide;
``(viii) work with law enforcement mental
health and wellness program officials of
Department of Homeland Security components
(which shall include peer support-trained
personnel, agency mental health professionals,
chaplains, and, for components with employees
having an exclusive representative, the
exclusive representative with respect to such
program) to implement new policies, procedures,
and programs that may be necessary based on
findings from data collection, research, and
evaluation efforts; and
``(ix) conduct regular outreach and
messaging, across Department of Homeland
Security components, of available training
opportunities and resources.
``(D) Confidentiality; limitation.--
``(i) Confidentiality.--Actions described
in subparagraph (C) may not include the
publication of any personally identifiable
information.
``(ii) Limitation.--Personally identifiable
information collected pursuant to subparagraph
(C) may not be used for any purpose other than
the implementation of this section unless
otherwise permitted under applicable law. Any
personally identifiable information that is
collected, maintained, or used pursuant to this
section is subject to applicable public
nondisclosure requirements, including sections
552 and 552a of title 5, United States Code.
``(E) Personnel.--
``(i) Management.--The Workplace Health and
Wellness Coordinator of the Department, under
the direction of the Chief Medical Officer of
the Department, shall be responsible for the
ongoing management of the Program.
``(ii) Minimum core personnel
requirements.--Subject to appropriations, the
Secretary shall ensure that the Program is
staffed with the number of employees that the
Chief Medical Officer determines to be
necessary to carry out the duties described in
subparagraph (C), including representatives
from each Department of Homeland Security
component and the Office of the Chief Privacy
Officer.
``(2) Directive.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of the DHS Suicide Prevention and Resiliency for
Law Enforcement Act, the Chief Medical Officer of the
Department shall--
``(A) issue a directive or policy that outlines the
roles and responsibilities of the Program; and
``(B) distribute such directive or policy among all
Department personnel.
``(c) Coordination.--The Chief Medical Officer of the Department
shall require the Program to regularly coordinate with the Department
of Homeland Security components by assigning at least 1 official from
each such component to the Program for the purpose of coordinating with
field points of contact who are responsible for carrying out duties
within Department mental health and wellness programs.
``(d) Department of Homeland Security Components.--The Secretary
shall require the head of each Department of Homeland Security
component to prioritize and improve mental health and wellness
programs, which may include other Department of Homeland Security
component personnel, that--
``(1) provide adequate resources for law enforcement mental
health, well-being, resilience, and suicide prevention programs
and research;
``(2) promote a culture that reduces the stigma of seeking
mental health assistance through regular messaging, training,
and raising mental health awareness;
``(3) offer several avenues of seeking mental health or
counseling assistance, both within the Department of Homeland
Security component and through private sources that provide for
anonymity and include access to external mental health
clinicians;
``(4) review and revise relevant policies of Department of
Homeland Security components that inadvertently deter personnel
from seeking mental health assistance;
``(5) ensure that such programs include safeguards against
adverse action, including automatic referrals for a fitness for
duty examination, by such component with respect to any
employee solely because such employee self identifies a need
for psychological health counseling or assistance or receives
such counseling or assistance;
``(6) implement policies that require in-person or live and
interactive virtual suicide awareness and law enforcement
resiliency training for law enforcement officers and agents;
``(7) make such training available, as appropriate, to
other personnel--
``(A) upon the commencement of their employment
with the Department of Homeland Security;
``(B) on an annual basis during such employment;
``(C) during such employees' transition into a
supervisory role; and
``(D) if feasible, shortly before the officer,
agent, or other Department of Homeland Security
component personnel terminates his or her employment
with the Department, if such individual elects to
participate; and
``(8) include prevention and awareness training
opportunities and support services for families of officers,
agents, and other Department of Homeland Security component
personnel.
``(e) Data Collection and Evaluation.--
``(1) Assessment of effectiveness of law enforcement health
and wellness programs.--The Workplace Health and Wellness
Coordinator, under the direction of the Chief Medical Officer
of the Department--
``(A) shall develop criteria to assess the
effectiveness of law enforcement health and wellness
programs carried out by the Department;
``(B) shall conduct annual confidential surveys of
law enforcement agents and officers within Department
of Homeland Security components to assist in evaluating
the effectiveness of law enforcement health and
wellness programs in accordance with the criteria
developed pursuant to subparagraph (A);
``(C) shall ensure that the surveys conducted
pursuant to subparagraph (B)--
``(i) incorporate leading practices in
questionnaire and survey design and
development; and
``(ii) establish a baseline and
subsequently measure change over time; and
``(D) may utilize contractor support in carrying
out the duties described in subparagraphs (A) through
(C).
``(2) Recommendations.--The Chief Medical Officer of the
Department shall provide recommendations to Department of
Homeland Security components based on the evaluation of
programs and the results of the surveys conducted pursuant to
paragraph (1)(B).
``(3) Incident reports.--Each Department of Homeland
Security component shall report to the Workplace Health and
Wellness Coordinator incidents of suicide involving law
enforcement officers and agents and any data consistent with
data collected under section 2(a) of the Law Enforcement
Suicide Data Collection Act (Public Law 116-143). The Workplace
Health and Wellness Coordinator shall forward such information
to the Law Enforcement Officers Suicide Data Collection Program
established pursuant to such section.
``(4) Confidentiality; limitation.--
``(A) Confidentiality.--Activities described in
paragraph (1) or reporting described under paragraph
(3) may not include the publication of any personally
identifiable information.
``(B) Limitation.--Personally identifiable
information collected pursuant to paragraph (1) may not
be used for any purpose other than the implementation
of this section unless otherwise permitted under
applicable law. Any personally identifiable information
that is collected, maintained, or used pursuant to this
section is subject to applicable public nondisclosure
requirements, including sections 552 and 552a of title
5, United States Code.
``(f) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of the DHS Suicide Prevention and Resiliency for Law
Enforcement Act, and annually thereafter through fiscal year 2027, the
Chief Medical Officer of the Department shall provide a briefing to the
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate
and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives
regarding the implementation of the requirements described in this
section.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 710 the following:
``Sec. 710A. Suicide prevention and resiliency for law enforcement.''.
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