Anna's Law of 2025

Summary#

Anna's Law of 2025 would add a new section to the Public Health Service Act to fund and expand trauma-informed training for police and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) who respond to sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. The Secretary may award one-year grants to eligible entities (State, Tribal, or local law enforcement agencies and State or local agencies that oversee emergency medical services) to create or expand training programs.

The bill describes the required training as trauma-informed, evidence-based or showing promising practices, and victim-centered. Training must focus on people who experienced sexual or related violence and who have trauma when interacting with police or EMTs. Topics listed include the impact of trauma on the brain and behavior; how contact with responders can cause retraumatization; how trauma can affect interactions; tools and strategies to support survivors; trauma-informed communication; and ways responders can support victims.

The Secretary must keep an online, searchable listing of trainers by geographic area and professional background. Grant recipients must try to use trainers with diverse professional backgrounds and inclusive racial, ethnic, and gender representation. The bill sets minimum training hours as a condition of receiving a grant: at least 8 hours for people in initial training (for police, fire, or EMS recruits) and at least 4 hours annually for other police and EMT personnel. The Secretary must also collect data and send annual reports to Congress on grant recipients, evaluations of training effectiveness, prosecution and outcomes of related cases, and survivor feedback. The bill defines eligible entities and what ‘‘trauma-informed’’ means in this context.

What it means for you#

• If you work in a police agency, fire department, or EMS, your agency could apply for a one-year grant to provide this training, and you may be required to take at least 8 hours of training during initial training and 4 hours each year thereafter if your agency receives a grant.
• If you are a survivor of sexual or related violence, the bill would require training aimed at reducing retraumatization and would require collecting survivor feedback for program reports to Congress.
• If you are a trainer, the federal website would list trainers and allow searches by area and professional background.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on authorized funding amounts or federal cost estimates. The bill allows the Secretary to award grants for one-year periods but does not specify total funding levels or appropriation amounts.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available statements from sponsors or supporters are included in the bill text or provided metadata. The bill text shows its purpose is to expand trauma-informed, victim-centered training for police and EMTs and to collect data and survivor feedback.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information on opposition, objections, or formal critiques in the bill text or provided metadata.