1.Short title; table of contents
(a)This Act may be cited as the
Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and
Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of
2008
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of
contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Reauthorization of the
Adult and Juvenile Collaboration Program Grants.
Sec. 4. Law enforcement
response to mentally ill offenders improvement grants.
Sec. 5. Examination and report
on prevalence of mentally ill offenders.
2.Congress finds the following:
(1)Communities nationwide are struggling to
respond to the high numbers of people with mental illnesses involved at all
points in the criminal justice system.
(2)A 1999 study by the Department of Justice
estimated that 16 percent of people incarcerated in prisons and jails in the
United States, which is more than 300,000 people, suffer from mental
illnesses.
(3)Los Angeles County Jail and New York’s
Rikers Island jail complex hold more people with mental illnesses than the
largest psychiatric inpatient facilities in the United States.
(4)State prisoners with a mental health
problem are twice as likely as those without a mental health problem to have
been homeless in the year before their arrest.
3.Reauthorization of the Adult and Juvenile
Collaboration Program Grants
(a)Authorization of appropriations through
2014Section 2991(h) of title
I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3797aa(h)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph (1), by striking at the end
and
;
(2)in paragraph (2), by striking for
fiscal years 2006 through 2009.
and inserting for each of the
fiscal years 2006 and 2007; and
; and
(3)by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(3)$50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2009 through
2014.
.
(b)Allocation of funding for administrative
purposesSection 2991(h) of
such title is further amended—
(1)by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and
(3) (as added by subsection (a)(3)) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C),
respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;
(2)by striking There are
authorized
and inserting (1)
In
general.—There are authorized
; and
(3)by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(2)Allocation of funding for administrative
purposesFor fiscal year 2009
and each subsequent fiscal year, of the amounts authorized under paragraph (1)
for such fiscal year, the Attorney General may obligate not more than 3 percent
for the administrative expenses of the Attorney General in carrying out this
section for such fiscal
year.
.
(c)Additional applications receiving
prioritySubsection (c) of
such section is amended to read as follows:
(c)The Attorney General, in awarding funds
under this section, shall give priority to applications that—
(1)promote effective strategies by law
enforcement to identify and to reduce risk of harm to mentally ill offenders
and public safety;
(2)promote effective strategies for
identification and treatment of female mentally ill offenders;
(3)promote effective strategies to expand the
use of mental health courts, including the use of pretrial services and related
treatment programs for offenders; or
(4)(A)demonstrate the strongest commitment to
ensuring that such funds are used to promote both public health and public
safety;
(B)demonstrate the active participation of
each co-applicant in the administration of the collaboration program;
(C)document, in the case of an application for
a grant to be used in whole or in part to fund treatment services for adults or
juveniles during periods of incarceration or detention, that treatment programs
will be available to provide transition and reentry services for such
individuals; and
(D)have the support of both the Attorney
General and the
Secretary.
.
4.Law enforcement response to mentally ill
offenders improvement grantsSection 2991 of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa) is amended by—
(1)redesignating subsection (h) as subsection
(i); and
(2)inserting after subsection (g) the
following:
(h)Law enforcement response to mentally ill
offenders improvement grants
(1)The Attorney General is authorized to make
grants under this section to States, units of local government, Indian tribes,
and tribal organizations for the following purposes:
(A)To provide for programs that offer law
enforcement personnel specialized and comprehensive training in procedures to
identify and respond appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of
individuals with mental illnesses are involved.
(B)To provide for the development of
specialized receiving centers to assess individuals in the custody of law
enforcement personnel for suicide risk and mental health and substance abuse
treatment needs.
(C)To provide for computerized information
systems (or to improve existing systems) to provide timely information to law
enforcement personnel and criminal justice system personnel to improve the
response of such respective personnel to mentally ill offenders.
(D)To provide for the establishment and
expansion of cooperative efforts by criminal and juvenile justice agencies and
mental health agencies to promote public safety through the use of effective
intervention with respect to mentally ill offenders.
(E)Campus security personnel
trainingTo provide for
programs that offer campus security personnel training in procedures to
identify and respond appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of
individuals with mental illnesses are involved.
(2)For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the
Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance shall develop training models for
training law enforcement personnel in procedures to identify and respond
appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of individuals with mental
illnesses are involved, including suicide prevention.
(3)The Federal share of
funds for a program funded by a grant received under this subsection may not
exceed 50 percent of the costs of the program. The non-Federal share of
payments made for such a program may be made in cash or in-kind fairly
evaluated, including planned equipment or
services.
.
5.Examination and report on prevalence of
mentally ill offenders
(a)
(1)The Attorney General shall examine and
report on mental illness and the criminal justice system.
(2)Congress encourages the Attorney General to
specifically examine the following:
(A)The rate of occurrence of serious mental
illnesses in each of the following populations:
(i)Individuals, including juveniles, on
probation.
(ii)Individuals, including juveniles,
incarcerated in a jail.
(iii)Individuals, including juveniles,
incarcerated in a prison.
(iv)Individuals, including juveniles, on
parole.
(B)The percentage of individuals in each
population described in subparagraph (A) who have—
(i)a serious mental illness; and
(ii)received disability benefits under title II
or title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq. and 1381 et
seq.).
(b)Not later than 36 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress the
report described in subsection (a).
(c)In this section—
(1)the term serious mental
illness means that an individual has, or at any time during the 1-year
period ending on the date of enactment of this Act had, a covered mental,
behavioral, or emotional disorder; and
(2)the term covered mental, behavioral,
or emotional disorder—
(A)means a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or
emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified
within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth
Edition, or the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision,
Clinical Modification equivalent of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition; and
(B)does not include a disorder that has a V
code within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth
Edition, a substance use disorder, or a developmental disorder, unless that
disorder cooccurs with another disorder described in subparagraph (A) and
causes functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits 1 or
more major life activities.
(d)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for
2009.
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Vice President of the United States and President of the
Senate