To authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to make awards to increase or improve access to comprehensive mental and behavioral health services for individuals exposed to violent encounters involving law enforcement personnel, and for other purposes.
The Helping Families Heal Act of 2024 provides $50 million annually through fiscal year 2029 to fund mental health services for people traumatized by police violence and their families. The bill establishes two grant programs: one supporting community-based mental health providers and organizations that offer counseling, trauma training, and crisis support to individuals who have witnessed or experienced law enforcement violence or lost family members to it, and a second program providing similar services in schools for students and staff. Grants will prioritize communities with high rates of police interactions, ongoing investigations into racial bias in policing, high arrest rates of people with mental illness, or communities willing to contribute their own resources. The bill also creates an interagency task force involving the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Justice to coordinate responses, collect data on police interactions, and improve access to federal funding for grassroots organizations serving affected communities. Recipients must submit annual reports evaluating program effectiveness, and grants are limited to one-year awards initially with potential renewal based on demonstrated results.
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