Sponsors (4)
The bill expands and funds standardized, confidential mental‑health screening and referral for corrections officers and related facilities—improving early care and program quality—but raises concerns about officer privacy, implementation strain, long‑term costs, and administrative rigidity that could limit participation and sustainability.
Corrections officers (federal, state, and local) will gain routine anonymous mental‑health screening, self‑reporting, and referral pathways to outreach teams and local providers, enabling earlier identification of severe conditions, higher treatment uptake, reduced burnout, and improved workplace safety.
State and local governments will receive predictable, multi‑year federal grant funding (with a set share to States, local units, and the Bureau of Prisons) that lowers startup costs and helps jurisdictions build screening technology, hire staff, and form outreach teams to implement programs.
An expert Advisory Board and funded evaluation activities will provide oversight, review implementation plans, monitor compliance, and support corrective actions, increasing the likelihood that programs use evidence‑based models and grant funds appropriately.
Corrections officers (federal, state, and local) may avoid participating because of fears that confidentiality or anonymity could be breached, leading to career harm, loss of security clearances, stigma, and reduced program effectiveness.
The program creates new and potentially recurring costs (including $300M in authorized spending over FY2026–FY2030 and grant‑funded salaries/overtime) that could increase federal outlays and eventually shift ongoing costs to local governments and taxpayers when grants end.
Short implementation deadlines (e.g., 90 days) and new program requirements may strain Bureau of Prisons and state/local resources, risking rushed or inadequate rollouts and reduced effectiveness of surveys and outreach teams.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Introduced March 24, 2025 by Mariannette Miller-Meeks · Last progress March 24, 2025
Creates a Department of Justice grant program and a Bureau of Prisons program to deliver short, anonymous mental-health screenings for corrections officers and to refer officers who show signs of severe mental illness to local mental-health providers through outreach teams. The Attorney General must set up an advisory board to run the grant program and monitor implementation. The law authorizes annual funding for FY2026–FY2030 and sets deadlines (within 60–90 days of enactment) for creating the grant program, the advisory board, and the Bureau of Prisons’ survey/outreach program.