Sponsors (18)
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Provides a new HHS/SAMHSA program and a small competitive grant program to deliver around‑the‑clock mental health care, crisis services, peer support, outreach, and research for "qualified emergency response providers" (including firefighters, EMS, law enforcement, and public safety telecommunicators). It also amends the Stafford Act to add definitions that explicitly include public safety telecommunicators and to align the term "qualified emergency response providers" with the Homeland Security Act definition. Creates a SAMHSA‑run confidential 24/7 hotline routed through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, requires outreach/education and peer support with training, authorizes research in coordination with multiple federal agencies, and funds short‑term mobile crisis service grants (up to $150,000 each) with $5 million authorized per year for FY2026–2030 (authorization, not an appropriation).
The bill extends clear recognition and targeted mental-health and disaster-response supports for telecommunicators and other emergency responders, but delivers those benefits with limited funding, potential strain on existing crisis infrastructure, and added administrative and fiscal burdens.
Emergency responders (law enforcement, firefighters/EMS, telecommunicators, transportation workers) gain 24/7 confidential access to responder-specific mental health care routed through the 988 Lifeline, improving immediate crisis support.
Responders affected by major incidents receive prioritized outreach, trauma-informed on-site services via grant-funded mobile crisis units, increasing access to mental health care where and when it's needed.
Active and retired responders benefit from funded peer-support counseling, training, coordination, and research into best practices, improving prevention, screening, treatment, and reintegration supports over time.
The authorized funding for mobile crisis units is small ($5M/year 2026–2030) and individual grants are capped ($150,000, 2 years), making it unlikely to scale services nationwide or sustain units in large disasters.
Routing responder calls to 988 and standing up responder-specific confidential support could strain existing 988 capacity and will require sustained training and coordination to reliably meet responder needs.
Implementation will increase administrative responsibilities at federal (HHS/SAMHSA, FEMA) and state/local agencies for 24/7 hotline coordination, grant management, and mobile unit deployment, creating new staffing and operational burdens.
Introduced December 10, 2025 by Jill Tokuda · Last progress December 10, 2025