The bill aims to support federal prison workers with new mental health grant programs

Advocates hope a new bill will increase access to mental health resources for Bureau of Prisons officers, a workforce that has experienced stressful working conditions coupled with staffing shortages.

The Officer Blake Schwarz Suicide Prevention Act of 2024 (HR 9929) would specifically require the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons to establish grant programs to provide mental health screenings for corrections officers in federal prisons and jails, as well as for detention facilities under contract to a federal law enforcement agency and refer them to mental health providers.

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, introduced the legislation Oct. 4, named for a correctional officer at Thomson Federal Prison in Illinois who died by suicide in 2023, as her district borders the prison where Schwarz worked. The proposal would authorize $300 million in grants over five fiscal years for the screenings.

The American Federation of Government Employees endorsed the bill, with National President Everett Kelley noting the increased risk often faced by the workforce.

“Federal correctional officers work in some of the most dangerous and violent places imaginable and, as a result, are at increased risk for developing depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidality compared to those in other professions,” Kelley said in a statement declaration. . “Many of our members who work at the Federal Bureau of Prisons are military veterans, a group that has suffered staggering rates of PTSD and depression in recent years.”

Based on several studies, the Vera Institute of Justice reported that “(corrections) officers suffer from PTSD and commit suicide at a much higher rate than law enforcement personnel at other agencies and in the military.” The nonprofit criminal justice research organization also found that corrections officers suffer from depression, PTSD and suicide at higher rates than the general public.

When the Government Accountability Office added management of the federal prison system to its risk list in 2023, it noted that staffing has long been a problem with “vacancies and the increasing use of overtime to help (continue) presenting them.” a serious threat to the safety of prisoners and staff.”

The legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.