# 119-s-1322: Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act of 2025

119-s-1322, Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA] (D-GA); status introduced (as of 2026-09-30).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1322
- As of: 2026-09-30
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-1322
- Congress: 119
- Title: Family Notification of Death, Injury, or Illness in Custody Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-08
- Sponsor: Sen. Ossoff, Jon [D-GA] (D-GA)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-30

## Summary

**Family notification for deaths, serious illness, and serious injury in custody.** This bill would require the Department of Justice to create federal policies and model procedures so detention agencies notify next of kin and emergency contacts when someone in custody dies, is seriously ill, or is seriously injured. - Families and emergency contacts would get timely, detailed notices. For deaths, agencies must notify within 12 hours and between 6:00 a.m. and midnight local time and include the official time of death, cause, and whether the death is under investigation. - People in custody would be able to record emergency contact information and medical directives in their custodial record and name a faith leader for notifications. Agencies may not coerce contact information or fine people for providing inaccurate details and must document each notification attempt. - State, local, tribal, and federal detention agencies would be given DOJ model policies to adopt or substantially replicate, required to keep an emergency-contact form in the custodial record, and to publish a written notification plan and make it available at intake. - The Attorney General would be required to implement the policies within one year, publish the procedures, provide ongoing online training and outreach, and appoint a DOJ official to monitor compliance and investigate complaints.

## Cosponsors (1)

- Sen. Kennedy, John [R-LA] (R-LA), 2025-04-08T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Faster family notice after injury or death: benefit, medium. If enacted, detention agencies would need to notify an emergency contact quickly after a serious illness or injury and provide key details. For a death in custody, the agency would have to notify the contact within 12 hours of the declared time of death and only between 6:00 a.m. and midnight local…
- Justice Department to set notification rules: benefit, medium. If enacted, the Attorney General would have one year to make and publish standard notification procedures for DOJ detention agencies and share model policies with states, tribes, territories, and local agencies. DOJ would have to include the rules in intake materials, post them online, offer ongoin…
- No legal duties or private lawsuits: mixed, low. If enacted, the bill would say that being listed as a next of kin or emergency contact does not create legal or financial duties. It would also say a person in custody would not be required to provide emergency contact information. The bill would not create a private right to sue to enforce its rul…

## Related bills

- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2872: Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act of 2025
- 119-s-1639: American Innovation and Jobs Act
- 119-s-1552: Living Donor Protection Act of 2025
- 119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-1322 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1322)

## Related
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2872: Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2872)
- [119-s-1639: American Innovation and Jobs Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1639)
- [119-s-1552: Living Donor Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1552)
- [119-s-1241: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1241)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1322 (as of 2026-09-30).