S-1897-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Sponsored by Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
What it does
This bill would create the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Response Team grant program by amending the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. It would authorize the Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to award grants to states, local governments, Indian Tribes, and community-based organizations to establish teams that respond to children exposed to trauma. Grants could fund training, cross-agency coordination, referral networks, and protocol development. The bill would authorize $10 million per year for fiscal years 2026 through 2029, for a total of $40 million.
Who benefits
Children and youth who have experienced trauma or violence, and their families. Communities with high rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including poverty, domestic violence, or substance abuse exposure. Behavioral health providers and mental health organizations that would receive referrals and partnership agreements. Law enforcement agencies that would receive trauma-informed training. Indian Tribes and rural or underserved communities that currently lack coordinated trauma response infrastructure. Schools and educational institutions that would receive training. Emergency medical and child protective services workers who would gain cross-system coordination support.
Who is hurt
Taxpayers who bear the cost of the $40 million authorization. Organizations that apply for grants but are not selected, as funding is competitive and limited. Communities that lack the administrative capacity to apply for or manage federal grants may be effectively excluded. Existing trauma-response programs that are not funded through this mechanism may face indirect competition for staff and resources. States or localities that prefer to address childhood trauma through their own frameworks without federal program requirements may find the application conditions burdensome.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that adverse childhood experiences are strongly linked to long-term outcomes including substance abuse, mental illness, and involvement in the criminal justice system, citing CDC research showing that individuals with four or more ACEs are seven times more likely to struggle with alcoholism and twice as likely to be incarcerated. They contend that coordinating law enforcement, mental health, and child welfare services under a single response framework addresses trauma at the point of contact — before it escalates into criminal behavior — making this a cost-effective, upstream approach to public safety. The bill's bipartisan sponsorship by Senators Shaheen and Blackburn reflects broad agreement that early intervention reduces long-term societal costs.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that $10 million per year is insufficient to produce measurable outcomes at scale and that the program risks fragmenting an already crowded landscape of federal childhood and mental health grants, duplicating efforts under existing programs such as those administered by SAMHSA and the Children's Bureau. They contend that routing a mental health and child welfare initiative through the criminal justice framework of the Omnibus Crime Control Act may skew implementation toward law enforcement-led responses rather than community- or clinician-led ones, potentially replicating the same over-policing dynamics the program aims to address. Without mandatory outcome reporting or evidence-based practice requirements in the bill text, critics argue there is limited accountability for whether grant funds produce results.
Constitutional context
Congress has broad authority to appropriate funds and attach conditions to grants under the Spending Clause (Art. I, §8). No active constitutional tension is raised by this bill; it creates a voluntary grant program that states, localities, and tribes may choose to participate in, consistent with the anti-commandeering doctrine established in cases like Murphy v. NCAA (2018).
Checks and balances
The Executive Branch (Attorney General and HHS Secretary) gains discretionary authority to award and administer grants; Congress retains oversight through the annual appropriations process and the four-year sunset on authorized funding.
Historical precedent
The STOP School Violence Act of 2018 similarly used the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act framework to fund school-based trauma and violence prevention programs through DOJ grants to states and localities.