Bipartisan Bill Co-Sponsored by Collins to Support Families of Public Safety Officers Signed into Law

Washington, D.C. –Bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Susan Collins to support the families of officers who struggle with their mental health or who are lost to trauma-linked suicides was signed into law this week.  The Public Safety Officer Support Act passed the Senate earlier this month and the House companion passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May.

“Every day across the country, public safety officers put their lives on the line, endure enormous pressure, and witness unimaginable tragedies in the line of duty to protect our communities.  Family members of public safety officers experience tremendous worry about the safety of their loved ones when they are in harm’s way,” said Senator Collins. “We owe these brave men and women, along with their families, more than just our gratitude.  This bipartisan legislation will provide support for officers suffering from work-related PTSD, as well as provide grieving families with the resources and support they need.”  

The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program provides financial support to the families of firefighters, police officers, chaplains and emergency medical technicians who die in the line of duty or who have been permanently disabled as a result of a physical injury.  The Public Safety Officer Support Act improves the PSOB program to reflect the reality that law enforcement officers, firefighters, and emergency responders face a heightened risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorders that may lead to trauma-induced suicides, and that surviving family members of public safety officers who end their lives also face an elevated risk of self-harm as a result of a loved one’s loss being compounded by severe financial and emotional distress.  While the U.S. military already recognizes suicides by service members as deaths in the line of duty, the PSOB did not.

The Public Safety Officer Support Act will:

• Create an avenue for officers to seek disability benefits for PTSD by directing the PSOB to designate work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder as a line of duty injury for eligible officers as well as those who are permanently disabled as a result of attempted suicide.

• Allow families of officers who die by trauma-linked suicide to apply for death benefits by directing the PSOB to presume that suicides are a result of job duties in certain traumatic circumstances where there is evidence that PTSD or acute stress disorder would be the cause of the injury.

The Public Safety Officer Support Act was co-authored by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and John Cornyn (R-TX), who introduced the bill in February with Senator Collins along with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Cory Booker (D-NJ).

The bill has been endorsed by a wide range of leading law enforcement and mental health agencies and organizations: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG); National District Attorneys Association; Fraternal Order of Police (FOP); National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO); Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA); Sergeants Benevolent Association; National Sheriffs Association; Major County Sheriffs of America; National Border Patrol Council; United States Capitol Police Labor Committee; Blue H.E.L.P.; The Wounded Blue; National Narcotics Officers Associations’ Coalition; National Prison Council; International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP); AFSCME; International Union of Police Associations; American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP); American Psychological Association (APA); National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health; International Society for Psychiatric Nurses; Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute; Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, SMART Recovery; Kennedy Forum; Inseparable; National Council for Mental Wellbeing; National Association for Rural Mental Health; American Mental Health Counselors Association; National Association of Social Workers; Postpartum Support International; National Association of State and Mental Health Program Directors; American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work; Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.