H.R. 4387 — People’s Response Act

This section establishes within the Department of Health and Human Services a Division on Community Safety, headed by an Assistant Secretary for Community Safety who reports directly to the Secretary. The Division oversees activities promoting qualified approaches to community safety, including (1) coordinating grant programs under title II; (2) funding and disseminating research on relevant policies, programs, and investments; (3) providing technical assistance to state and local governments; (4) establishing the National Advisory Committee (sec. 102), Interagency Task Force (sec. 103), Community Safety Grants for community-led organizations (sec. 201), local governments (sec. 202), and states (sec. 203), and First Responder Hiring Grants (sec. 204); (5) coordinating qualified approaches within the department, including with the Administration for Children and Families, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, Indian Health Service, and Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use; (6) supporting interagency initiatives; (7) administering grants to state, local, and community-based organizations; (8) developing data systems to evaluate title II grants; (9) providing public updates and recommendations from grantee reports; and (10) maintaining a complaint system for noncompliant grant programs.

This section establishes a National Advisory Committee within the Division to advise the Assistant Secretary on Division activities under section 101 and title II grant programs. The committee consists of individuals selected by the Secretary with personal experience in the criminal legal system (i.e., those detained or incarcerated; on community supervision; arrested or cited; harmed by police or other violence; or immediate family of those harmed by police violence) and advocates or grassroots practitioners advancing educational, health, housing, environmental, racial, gender, disability, or Indigenous justice; members serve at a pay rate set by the Secretary. The committee must recommend annual research and technical assistance priorities and funding; annually evaluate Division research and assistance; and submit recommendations to the Division Administrator on whether Division activities and funding adequately address needs of and flow to organizations led by disproportionately impacted communities (i.e., Black, Asian-American, Latinx, Indigenous, LGBTQ, disabled individuals). Within 90 days of receiving recommendations, the Division must report to Congress on implementation steps or explanations for non-implementation. The section authorizes such sums as necessary for committee duties.

This section establishes an interagency task force, chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to coordinate and promote holistic, qualified approaches to community safety. The task force comprises the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, Education, and Labor; the EPA Administrator (or designees); and representatives from other agencies as determined by the HHS Secretary. The task force must (1) audit all federal funds and programs supporting law enforcement, jails, prisons, detention facilities, and other coercive or carceral public safety approaches; (2) audit all federal funds and programs supporting qualified community safety initiatives, disaggregated by jurisdiction; and (3) streamline grant application, monitoring, and reporting processes under this Act to enhance accessibility for small, grassroots organizations. Not later than 90 days after completing the audits, the task force must submit a report to Congress summarizing the audits and recommending investments or policy changes to improve qualified community safety approaches.

This section establishes a grant program under the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award funds on a rolling basis to community-based organizations designing, implementing, monitoring, or supporting qualified approaches to community safety (i.e., non-carceral interventions such as crisis intervention and violence prevention), including as intermediaries making subgrants. In awarding grants, the Secretary must prioritize organizations serving or employing residents of communities disproportionately impacted by the immigration or criminal legal systems; those led or employing individuals harmed by the criminal legal system; those led by individuals with proven community ties; and those primarily serving federally recognized Native American Tribes. (Thus, at least 30% of total funding must go to rural organizations.) Grant funds may support (1) crisis intervention (e.g., unarmed first responders); (2) violence interruption or prevention; (3) participatory investments in the built environment (e.g., park redevelopment); (4) public health activities (e.g., harm reduction, community health workers); (5) housing security; (6) youth and family support (e.g., mentorship, summer jobs); (7) victim services; (8) reentry support; or (9) capacity building (e.g., legal assistance for coops). The Secretary may authorize additional uses connected to community safety objectives and may provide follow-on grants to successful recipients; grant amounts are based on population served, depth of need, and other relevant factors. Grantees must report beginning one year after receipt.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary awards grants, on a rolling basis, to units of local government to assess safety needs, conduct research, fund programming, and support qualified approaches to community safety, with applications requiring development of a safety needs assessment. In awarding grants, the Secretary prioritizes units of local government that (1) pursue increasing human liberty (e.g., reducing incarceration, pretrial detention, arrests, and criminal supervision), ending criminalization of poverty, mental illness, homelessness, and substance use, or ending disparities in criminal punishment and school discipline; (2) have high poverty rates and disproportionate impacts from violence and the criminal legal system; or (3) consulted affected communities in preparing the application. Grant recipients must use funds to (1) establish or designate a community-led entity to coordinate investments using participatory budgeting or similar processes; (2) develop a safety needs assessment and action plan; (3) invest in programs addressing economic stability, survivor safety, health, housing, and educational equity; (4) train and hire community health workers for first response and violence prevention; and (5) administer programming, including via subgrants to community-based organizations; with the Secretary authorized to permit additional safety-connected uses. Grant amounts are determined based on population, depth of need (including incarceration spending patterns), and other factors, with additional grants available to prior successful recipients and at least 30% of funds reserved for units where less than 50% of land area is urban per the Census Bureau; recipients must certify that grant-funded hires receive wages of at least the greater of $17 per hour, applicable state or local minimum wage, prevailing rates for similar occupations, or the federal minimum wage under 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) ($7.25 per hour). Beginning six months after receipt and biannually thereafter, recipients must submit public reports to the Secretary on fund uses and year-over-year changes in citations, arrests, and jailings in their jurisdiction.

This section establishes a grant program, administered by the Secretary on a rolling basis, under which states receive grants to conduct research on, fund, and support qualified approaches to community safety. States must apply with an assurance to designate a state-level agency equivalent to the Division on Community Safety (established under section 101) and provide matching funds equal to the federal grant amount; the Secretary gives priority to states meeting specified criteria from section 202(c). Grant funds must be used to (1) make grants to community-based organizations implementing qualified approaches (including subgrants to local organizations and leaders); (2) fund local governments for activities described in section 202(d); or (3) fund education and training for individuals entering jobs advancing such approaches. The Secretary may authorize additional uses connected to improving community safety through qualified approaches and supporting the Division's objectives; grant amounts are determined based on state population, depth of need (including socioeconomic factors and criminal justice involvement), and other relevant factors, with authority for additional grants to successful prior recipients. At least 30% of funds must go to states where less than 50% of land area is classified as urban by the Census Bureau, and funds may be used only for qualified approaches and to supplement (not supplant) state and local funds. Grant recipients must submit biannual reports starting six months after receipt, detailing fund uses, citations/arrests/jailings compared to the prior year (including reasons and demographics disaggregated by race, ethnicity, age, gender, and disability status); the Division on Community Safety evaluates these reports and other data, with analyses incorporated into future grant decisions. The section authorizes $3,500,000,000 for FY2026 through FY2030.

This section authorizes the Secretary to award grants to community-based organizations, health departments, states, localities, Indian tribes, other public and private entities, and consortia to recruit, hire, and train first responders; procure equipment or pay overtime to increase first responder availability; expand community-focused crisis response and violence prevention activities; provide conflict resolution and related training; develop innovative community violence prevention programs; and establish school-based first responder partnerships for trauma-informed care, behavioral health, and school health centers. Grants are limited to qualified community safety approaches, with at least 30% of funds awarded to rural entities and a wage requirement that hires receive at least the highest of $17 per hour, the applicable state or local minimum wage, prevailing rates for similar occupations at the employer, or the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour under the Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1)); the Secretary may approve additional uses connected to community safety and award supplemental grants to successful prior recipients. The Division on Community Safety must evaluate grantee reports and data to inform future awards, and the section authorizes $2.5 billion for FY2026 through FY2030.