[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2387 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2387

  To foster local collaborations which will ensure that resources are 
   effectively and efficiently used within the criminal and juvenile 
                            justice systems.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2003

Mr. Strickland introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To foster local collaborations which will ensure that resources are 
   effectively and efficiently used within the criminal and juvenile 
                            justice systems.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and 
Crime Reduction Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 16 
        percent of adults incarcerated in United States jails and 
        prisons have a mental illness.
            (2) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
        Delinquency Prevention, approximately 20 percent of youth in 
        the juvenile justice system have serious mental health 
        problems, and a significant number have co-occurring mental 
        health and substance abuse disorders.
            (3) According to the National Alliance for the Mentally 
        Ill, up to 40 percent of adults who suffer from a serious 
        mental illness will come into contact with the American 
        criminal justice system at some point in their lives.
            (4) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
        Delinquency Prevention, over 150,000 juveniles who come into 
        contact with the juvenile justice system each year meet the 
        diagnostic criteria for at least 1 mental or emotional 
        disorder.
            (5) A significant proportion of adults with a serious 
        mental illness who are involved with the criminal justice 
        system are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness; and 
        many of these individuals are arrested and jailed for minor, 
        nonviolent offenses.
            (6) The majority of individuals with a mental illness or 
        emotional disorder who are involved in the criminal or juvenile 
        justice systems are responsive to medical and psychological 
        interventions that integrate treatment, rehabilitation, and 
        support services.
            (7) Collaborative programs between mental health, substance 
        abuse, and criminal or juvenile justice systems that ensure the 
        provision of services for those with mental illness or co-
        occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders can 
        reduce the number of such individuals in adult and juvenile 
        corrections facilities, while providing improved public safety.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is to increase public safety by 
facilitating collaboration among the criminal justice, juvenile 
justice, mental health treatment, and substance abuse systems. Such 
collaboration is needed to--
            (1) reduce rearrests among adult and juvenile offenders 
        with mental illness, or co-occurring mental illness and 
        substance abuse disorders;
            (2) provide courts, including existing and new mental 
        health courts, with appropriate mental health and substance 
        abuse treatment options;
            (3) maximize the use of alternatives to prosecution through 
        diversion in appropriate cases involving non-violent offenders 
        with mental illness;
            (4) promote adequate training for criminal justice system 
        personnel about mental illness and substance abuse disorders 
        and the appropriate responses to people with such illnesses;
            (5) promote adequate training for mental health treatment 
        personnel about criminal offenders with mental illness and the 
        appropriate response to such offenders in the criminal justice 
        system;
            (6) promote communication between criminal justice or 
        juvenile justice personnel, mental health treatment personnel, 
        nonviolent offenders with mental illness, and other support 
        services such as housing, job placement, community, and faith-
        based organizations; and
            (7) promote communication, collaboration, and 
        intergovernmental partnerships among municipal, county, and 
        State elected officials with respect to mentally ill offenders.

SEC. 4. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE MENTAL HEALTH AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 
              COLLABORATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following:

       ``PART HH--ADULT AND JUVENILE COLLABORATION PROGRAM GRANTS

``SEC. 2991. ADULT AND JUVENILE COLLABORATION PROGRAMS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions 
shall apply:
            ``(1) Applicant.--The term `applicant' means States, units 
        of local government, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations 
        that apply for a grant under this section.
            ``(2) Collaboration program.--The term `collaboration 
        program' means a program to promote public safety by ensuring 
        access to adequate mental health and other treatment services 
        for mentally ill adults or juveniles that is overseen 
        cooperatively by--
                    ``(A) a criminal justice agency, a juvenile justice 
                agency, or a mental health court; and
                    ``(B) a mental health agency.
            ``(3) Criminal or juvenile justice agency.--The term 
        `criminal or juvenile justice agency' means an agency of a 
        State or local government that is responsible for detection, 
        arrest, enforcement, prosecution, defense, adjudication, 
        incarceration, probation, or parole relating to the violation 
        of the criminal laws of that State or local government.
            ``(4) Diversion and alternative prosecution and 
        sentencing.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The terms `diversion' and 
                `alternative prosecution and sentencing' mean the 
                appropriate use of effective mental health treatment 
                alternatives to juvenile justice or criminal justice 
                system institutional placements for preliminarily 
                qualified offenders.
                    ``(B) Appropriate use.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `appropriate use' includes the discretion of the judge 
                or supervising authority and the leveraging of justice 
                sanctions to encourage compliance with treatment.
            ``(5) Mental health agency.--The term `mental health 
        agency' means an agency of a State or local government that is 
        responsible for mental health services.
            ``(6) Mental health court.--The term `mental health court' 
        means a judicial program that meets the requirements of part V 
        of this title.
            ``(7) Mental illness.--The term `mental illness' means a 
        diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder--
                    ``(A) of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic 
                criteria within the most recent edition of the 
                Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 
                published by the American Psychiatric Association; and
                    ``(B) that has resulted in functional impairment 
                that substantially interferes with or limits 1 or more 
                major life activities.
            ``(8) Preliminarily qualified offender.--The term 
        `preliminarily qualified offender' means an adult or juvenile 
        who--
                    ``(A)(i) previously or currently has been diagnosed 
                by a qualified mental health professional as having a 
                mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and 
                substance abuse disorders; or
                    ``(ii) manifests obvious signs of mental illness or 
                co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse 
                disorders during arrest or confinement or before any 
                court; and
                    ``(B) has faced or is facing criminal charges and 
                is deemed eligible by a designated pretrial screening 
                and diversion process, or by a magistrate or judge, on 
                the ground that the commission of the offense is the 
                product of the person's mental illness.
            ``(9) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of the Department of Health and Human Services.
            ``(10) Unit of local government.--The term `unit of local 
        government' means any city, county, township, town, borough, 
        parish, village, or other general purpose political subdivision 
        of a State, including a State court, local court, or a 
        governmental agency located within a city, county, township, 
        town, borough, parish, or village.
    ``(b) Planning and Implementation Grants.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General, in consultation 
        with the Secretary, may award nonrenewable grants to eligible 
        applicants to prepare a comprehensive plan for and implement an 
        adult or juvenile collaboration program, which targets adults 
        or juveniles with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness 
        and substance abuse disorders in order to promote public safety 
        and public health.
            ``(2) Purposes.--Grants awarded under this section shall be 
        used to create or expand--
                    ``(A) mental health courts or other court-based 
                programs for preliminarily qualified offenders;
                    ``(B) programs that offer specialized training to 
                the officers and employees of a criminal or juvenile 
                justice agency and mental health personnel in 
                procedures for identifying the symptoms of mental 
                illness and co-occurring mental illness and substance 
                abuse disorders in order to respond appropriately to 
                individuals with such illnesses;
                    ``(C) programs that support cooperative efforts by 
                criminal and juvenile justice agencies and mental 
                health agencies to promote public safety by offering 
                mental health treatment services and, where 
                appropriate, substance abuse treatment services for--
                            ``(i) preliminarily qualified offenders 
                        with mental illness or co-occurring mental 
                        illness and substance abuse disorders; or
                            ``(ii) adult offenders with mental illness 
                        during periods of incarceration, while under 
                        the supervision of a criminal justice agency, 
or following release from correctional facilities; and
                    ``(D) programs that support intergovernmental 
                cooperation between State and local governments with 
                respect to the mentally ill offender.
            ``(3) Applications.--
                    ``(A) In general.--To receive a planning grant or 
                an implementation grant, the joint applicants shall 
                prepare and submit a single application to the Attorney 
                General at such time, in such manner, and containing 
                such information as the Attorney General and the 
                Secretary shall reasonably require. An application 
                under part V of this title may be made in conjunction 
                with an application under this section.
                    ``(B) Combined planning and implementation grant 
                application.--The Attorney General and the Secretary 
                shall develop a procedure under which applicants may 
                apply at the same time and in a single application for 
                a planning grant and an implementation grant, with 
                receipt of the implementation grant conditioned on 
                successful completion of the activities funded by the 
                planning grant.
            ``(4) Planning grants.--
                    ``(A) Application.--The joint applicants may apply 
                to the Attorney General for a nonrenewable planning 
                grant to develop a collaboration program.
                    ``(B) Contents.--The Attorney General and the 
                Secretary may not approve a planning grant unless the 
                application for the grant includes or provides, at a 
                minimum, for a budget and a budget justification, a 
                description of the outcome measures that will be used 
                to measure the effectiveness of the program in 
                promoting public safety and public health, the 
                activities proposed (including the provision of 
                substance abuse treatment services, where appropriate) 
                and a schedule for completion of such activities, and 
                the personnel necessary to complete such activities.
                    ``(C) Period of grant.--A planning grant shall be 
                effective for a period of 1 year, beginning on the 
                first day of the month in which the planning grant is 
                made. Applicants may not receive more than 1 such 
                planning grant.
                    ``(D) Amount.--The amount of a planning grant may 
                not exceed $75,000, except that the Attorney General 
                may, for good cause, approve a grant in a higher 
                amount.
                    ``(E) Collaboration set aside.--Up to 5 percent of 
                all planning funds shall be used to foster 
                collaboration between State and local governments in 
                furtherance of the purposes set forth in the Mentally 
                Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2003.
            ``(5) Implementation grants.--
                    ``(A) Application.--Joint applicants that have 
                prepared a planning grant application may apply to the 
                Attorney General for approval of a nonrenewable 
                implementation grant to develop a collaboration 
                program.
                    ``(B) Collaboration.--To receive an implementation 
                grant, the joint applicants shall--
                            ``(i) document that at least 1 criminal or 
                        juvenile justice agency (which can include a 
                        mental health court) and 1 mental health agency 
                        will participate in the administration of the 
                        collaboration program;
                            ``(ii) describe the responsibilities of 
                        each participating agency, including how each 
                        agency will use grant resources to jointly 
                        ensure that the provision of mental health 
                        treatment services is integrated with the 
                        provision of substance abuse treatment 
                        services, where appropriate;
                            ``(iii) in the case of an application from 
                        a unit of local government, document that a 
                        State mental health authority has provided 
                        comment and review; and
                            ``(iv) involve, to the extent practicable, 
                        in developing the grant application--
                                    ``(I) individuals with mental 
                                illness or co-occurring mental illness 
                                and substance abuse disorders; or
                                    ``(II) the families and advocates 
                                of such individuals under subclause 
                                (I).
                    ``(C) Content.--To be eligible for an 
                implementation grant, joint applicants shall comply 
                with the following:
                            ``(i) Definition of target population.--
                        Applicants for an implementation grant shall--
                                    ``(I) describe the population with 
                                mental illness or co-occurring mental 
illness and substance abuse disorders that is targeted for the 
collaboration program; and
                                    ``(II) develop guidelines that can 
                                be used by personnel of a criminal or 
                                juvenile justice agency to identify 
                                individuals with mental illness or co-
                                occurring mental illness and substance 
                                abuse disorders.
                            ``(ii) Services.--Applicants for an 
                        implementation grant shall--
                                    ``(I) ensure that preliminarily 
                                qualified offenders who are to receive 
                                treatment services under the 
                                collaboration program will first 
                                receive individualized, needs-based 
                                assessments to determine, plan, and 
                                coordinate the most appropriate 
                                services for such individuals;
                                    ``(II) specify plans for making 
                                mental health treatment services 
                                available and accessible to mentally 
                                ill offenders at the time of their 
                                release from the criminal justice 
                                system, including outside of normal 
                                business hours;
                                    ``(III) ensure that preliminarily 
                                qualified offenders served by the 
                                collaboration program will have access 
                                to community-based mental health 
                                services deemed appropriate by the 
                                Secretary, or, where appropriate, 
                                integrated substance abuse and mental 
                                health treatment services;
                                    ``(IV) make available, to the 
                                extent practicable, other support 
                                services that will ensure the 
                                preliminarily qualified offender's 
                                successful reintegration into the 
                                community (such as housing, education, 
                                job placement, mentoring, health care 
                                and benefits, as well as the services 
                                of faith-based and community 
                                organizations for mentally ill 
                                individuals served by the collaboration 
                                program); and
                                    ``(V) include strategies to address 
                                developmental and learning disabilities 
                                and problems arising from a documented 
                                history of physical or sexual abuse.
                    ``(D) Housing and job placement.--Recipients of an 
                implementation grant may use grant funds to assist 
                mentally ill offenders compliant with the program in 
                seeking housing or employment assistance.
                    ``(E) Policies and procedures.--Applicants for an 
                implementation grant shall strive to ensure prompt 
                access to defense counsel by criminal defendants with 
                mental illness who are facing charges that would 
                trigger a constitutional right to counsel.
                    ``(F) Financial.--Applicants for an implementation 
                grant shall--
                            ``(i) explain the applicant's inability to 
                        fund the collaboration program adequately 
                        without Federal assistance;
                            ``(ii) specify how the Federal support 
                        provided will be used to supplement, and not 
                        supplant, State, local, Indian tribe, or tribal 
                        organization sources of funding that would 
                        otherwise be available, including billing 
                        third-party resources for services already 
                        covered under programs (such as Medicaid, 
                        Medicare, and the State Children's Insurance 
                        Program); and
                            ``(iii) outline plans for obtaining 
                        necessary support and continuing the proposed 
                        collaboration program following the conclusion 
                        of Federal support.
                    ``(G) Outcomes.--Applicants for an implementation 
                grant shall--
                            ``(i) identify methodology and outcome 
                        measures, as required by the Attorney General 
                        and the Secretary, to be used in evaluating the 
                        effectiveness of the collaboration program;
                            ``(ii) ensure mechanisms are in place to 
                        capture data, consistent with the methodology 
                        and outcome measures under clause (i); and
                            ``(iii) submit specific agreements from 
                        affected agencies to provide the data needed by 
                        the Attorney General and the Secretary to 
                        accomplish the evaluation under clause (i).
                    ``(H) State plans.--Applicants for an 
                implementation grant shall describe how the adult or 
                juvenile collaboration program relates to existing 
                State criminal or juvenile justice and mental health 
                plans and programs.
                    ``(I) Use of funds.--Applicants that receive an 
                implementation grant may use funds for 1 or more of the 
                following purposes:
                            ``(i) Mental health courts and diversion/
                        alternative prosecution and sentencing 
                        programs.--Funds may be used to create or 
                        expand existing mental health courts that meet 
                        program requirements established by the 
                        Attorney General under part V of this title or 
                        diversion and alternative prosecution and 
                        sentencing programs (including crisis 
                        intervention teams and treatment accountability 
                        services for communities) that meet 
                        requirements established by the Attorney 
                        General and the Secretary.
                            ``(ii) Training.--Funds may be used to 
                        create or expand programs, such as crisis 
                        intervention training, which offer specialized 
                        training to--
                                    ``(I) criminal justice system 
                                personnel to identify and respond 
                                appropriately to the unique needs of 
an adult or juvenile with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness 
and substance abuse disorders; or
                                    ``(II) mental health system 
                                personnel to respond appropriately to 
                                the treatment needs of preliminarily 
                                qualified offenders.
                            ``(iii) Service delivery.--Funds may be 
                        used to create or expand programs that promote 
                        public safety by providing the services 
                        described in subparagraph (C)(ii) to 
                        preliminarily qualified offenders.
                            ``(iv) In-jail and transitional services.--
                        Funds may be used to promote and provide mental 
                        health treatment for those incarcerated or for 
                        transitional re-entry programs for those 
                        released from any penal or correctional 
                        institution.
                    ``(J) Geographic distribution of grants.--The 
                Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary, 
                shall ensure that planning and implementation grants 
                are equitably distributed among the geographical 
                regions of the United States and between urban and 
                rural populations.
    ``(c) Priority.--The Attorney General, in awarding funds under this 
section, shall give priority to applications that--
            ``(1) demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring that 
        such funds are used to promote both public health and public 
        safety;
            ``(2) demonstrate the active participation of each co-
        applicant in the administration of the collaboration program; 
        and
            ``(3) have the support of both the Attorney General and the 
        Secretary.
    ``(d) Matching Requirements.--
            ``(1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of a 
        collaboration program carried out by a State, unit of local 
        government, Indian tribe, or tribal organization under this 
        section shall not exceed--
                    ``(A) 80 percent of the total cost of the program 
                during the first 2 years of the grant;
                    ``(B) 60 percent of the total cost of the program 
                in year 3; and
                    ``(C) 25 percent of the total cost of the program 
                in years 4 and 5.
            ``(2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of payments 
        made under this section may be made in cash or in-kind fairly 
        evaluated, including planned equipment or services.
    ``(e) Federal Use of Funds.--The Attorney General, in consultation 
with the Secretary, in administering grants under this section, may use 
up to 3 percent of funds appropriated to--
            ``(1) research the use of alternatives to prosecution 
        through pretrial diversion in appropriate cases involving 
        individuals with mental illness;
            ``(2) offer specialized training to personnel of criminal 
        and juvenile justice agencies in appropriate diversion 
        techniques;
            ``(3) provide technical assistance to local governments, 
        mental health courts, and diversion programs, including 
        technical assistance relating to program evaluation;
            ``(4) help localities build public understanding and 
        support for community reintegration of individuals with mental 
        illness;
            ``(5) develop a uniform program evaluation process; and
            ``(6) conduct a national evaluation of the collaboration 
        program that will include an assessment of its cost-
        effectiveness.
    ``(f) Interagency Task Force.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Attorney General and the Secretary 
        shall establish an interagency task force with the Secretaries 
        of Housing and Urban Development, Labor, Education, and 
        Veterans Affairs and the Commissioner of Social Security, or 
        their designees.
            ``(2) Responsibilities.--The task force established under 
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    ``(A) identify policies within their departments 
                which hinder or facilitate local collaborative 
                initiatives for adults or juveniles with mental illness 
                or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse 
                disorders; and
                    ``(B) submit, not later than 2 years after the date 
                of enactment of this section, a report to Congress 
                containing recommendations for improved 
                interdepartmental collaboration regarding the provision 
                of services to adults and juveniles with mental illness 
                or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse 
                disorders.
    ``(g) Minimum Allocation.--Unless all eligible applications 
submitted by any State or unit of local government within such State 
for a planning or implementation grant under this section have been 
funded, such State, together with grantees within the State (other than 
Indian tribes), shall be allocated in each fiscal year under this 
section not less than 0.75 percent of the total amount appropriated in 
the fiscal year for planning or implementation grants pursuant to this 
section.
    ``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Department of Justice to carry out this section--
            ``(1) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2004 and 2005; 
        and
            ``(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2006 
        through 2008.''.
    (b) List of ``Best Practices''.--The Attorney General, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall 
develop a list of ``best practices'' for appropriate diversion from 
incarceration of adult and juvenile offenders.
    (c) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents of title I of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

       ``Part HH--Adult and Juvenile Collaboration Program Grants

``Sec. 2991. Adult and juvenile collaboration programs.''.
                                 <all>