releases: https://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/nielsen-inspires-action-on-mental-health
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| https://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/nielsen-inspires-action-on-mental-health | Nielsen inspires action on mental health | 2017-12-21 | 2017 | 2017-12 | Republican | House | IN | Susan Brooks | B001284 | susanwbrooks.house.gov | legacy | Taylor Nielsen, a Lebanon Police Officer who has inspired many by coming forward with her struggle against Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), continues to prove that one voice can inspire action. A recently passed Lebanon Police Department policy and bill in U.S. House of Representatives were both inspired, at least in part, by Nielsens story. The LPD policy was passed by the Lebanon Board of Works in November and will provide several new resources for officers who are suffering from job-related or personal mental health struggles. LPD Assistant Chief Brad Bailey said the policy is about 90 percent Nielsens doing, as she researched polices from nearby departments in places such as Indianapolis and Noblesville and created a policy that can work for LPD officers. The policy puts in writing what LPD has been striving to communicate that it is okay to have feelings, and that having a mental illness does not make you less of police officer or less of a person. The policy outlines that a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team will be activate to debrief officers involved in high-stress incidents, such as situations involving a fatality of a child, involvement with a person known to officers, mass causalities, a natural disaster or other incident that could have a lasting impact on mental health. The team will hold a group therapy session to debrief officers involved in an incident that prompts the team to activate. The session will be mandatory for responding officers and take place at the conclusion of the investigation of the incident. Another team, to be called the Peer Support Team (PST), will be available to support officers who want to talk about any concern, whether job-related or from his or her personal life. The PST will be trained to identify signs of common mental health issues such as depression, anxiety or substance abuse. Even with the policy in place, Nielsen said more reassurance will be needed to make officers comfortable with coming forward. They need to realize, that we have all of these things to protect us, like gloves and vests, but we have nothing to protect our minds, Nielsen said. Bailey said there is a generational divide when thinking about mental health. He said young officers like Nielsen are more likely to seek help, while older officers are likely to brush off mental illness as weakness. Nielsen hopes the policy will facilitate an end to that line of thinking. The post-treatment and confidentiality part is going to be huge, Nielsen said. There is still a stigma to it. We have officers in the old-cop mentality mode who dont want to reach out for help. But once we start adding these confidential resources for officers, there will be a lot more people who can be helped. As for the law enforcement mental health bill recently passed by congress, in an announcement celebrating passage of the bill, U.S. Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) specifically mentioned Nielsen as a reason she sponsored the bill. In the Fifth District, Boone County Sheriff Mike Nielsens daughter, also a police officer, tried to take her own life because she was struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after responding to a case involving the murder of a mother and her 4-year-old son, Brooks said. Nielsens daughter did not have access to services that could help her process and cope with the horrific situation she faced that day. The passage of the Law Enforcement Mental Wellness Act through the House of Representatives ensures that we are one step closer to supporting the men and women in law enforcement with the resources they need to stay healthy while selflessly serving our communities and keeping us safe. The bill, titled the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act of 2017, passed the House in November and the Senate in May. The House version was sponsored by Brooks, Val Demings (D-Fla.), Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Dave Reichert (R-Wash.). The senate version of the bill was sponsored by Senator Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and supported by Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.). The bill directs the U.S. Department of Justice to report on mental health policies that could be adapted from the military and veterans affairs for law enforcement agencies. The DOJ is also directly to consult with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to develop educational resources for mental health providers regarding the culture of law enforcement agencies and therapies for mental health issues common to law enforcement officers. The DOJ must also review crisis hotlines, research annual mental health checks; examine the mental health and wellness needs of federal officers; and ensure that recommendations, resources, or programs under this bill will maintain confidentiality. Nielsen said she is grateful to those who have taken up the issue nationally and hopes that bill can soon become law. Its definitely a huge stepping stone and will provide great resources for officers nationwide, Nielsen said. Hopefully we can get it to the presidents desk. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |