HR6601-119

What This Bill Does

The CARE for First Responders Act extends Stafford Act crisis counseling assistance and training to qualified emergency response providers responding to major disasters, including public safety telecommunicators. It then adds Public Health Service Act section 520O requiring HHS, through SAMHSA leadership, to develop a comprehensive mental-health program for qualified emergency response providers within two years. That program must provide 24-hour mental-health care availability, a confidential toll-free hotline through the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, outreach and education for responders and families, best-practices research with DHS, FEMA, the U.S. Fire Administration, NIMH, CDC, and DOJ, stigma-reduction education, family transition support, and a peer-support counseling program using active and retired responders. Section 520P creates competitive grants for mobile units that provide integrated, short-term, culturally appropriate, trauma-informed crisis services after major disasters, with grants up to $150,000, at least six-month terms, one renewal up to two total years, evaluation, technical assistance, and best-practice dissemination.

Who Benefits and How

First responders, public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical workers, and responder families benefit from crisis counseling, 24-hour mental-health access, 988 hotline support, peer counselors, family education, and mobile crisis teams after major disasters. State health departments, local clinics, rural health clinics, community health centers, Tribal health departments, and nonprofit organizations may benefit from mobile-unit grants and technical assistance.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA staff, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials, and grant recipients must administer programs, staff or coordinate hotline capacity, run interagency research, train peer counselors, award and monitor grants, evaluate projects, and report best practices. Health departments, clinics, and nonprofit organizations receiving grants must comply with trauma-informed service rules, mobile response requirements, screening, referral, resilience training, and follow-up coordination. Federal taxpayers bear grant and program costs.

Key Provisions

• Expands Stafford Act crisis counseling assistance and training to qualified emergency response providers responding to major disasters.
• Requires HHS to create a responder mental-health program with 24-hour care availability, a confidential 988 hotline pathway, outreach, education, and peer support.
• Requires best-practices research on responder mental health and suicide prevention with DHS, FEMA, the U.S. Fire Administration, NIMH, CDC, and DOJ.
• Authorizes mobile crisis-service grants up to $150,000 for eligible health departments, clinics, and nonprofits serving responders after major disasters.
• Requires HHS evaluation, technical assistance, equipment support, and dissemination of best practices for responder crisis services.