[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2304 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2304
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 to provide grants for the improved mental health treatment and
services provided to offenders with mental illnesses, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 5, 2007
Mr. Domenici (for himself, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Specter, and Mr. Leahy)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 to provide grants for the improved mental health treatment and
services provided to offenders with mental illnesses, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Mentally Ill
Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement
Act of 2007''.
(b) Table of Contents.--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. Improving the mental health courts grant program.
Sec. 6. Study and report on prevalence of mentally ill offenders.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
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.
SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE ADULT AND JUVENILE COLLABORATION PROGRAM
GRANTS.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations Through 2013.--Section 2991(h)
of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 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) $75,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through
2013.''.
(b) Allocation of Funding for Administrative Purposes.--Section
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;
(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 Purposes.--For
fiscal year 2008 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 Priority.--Subsection (c) of
such section is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Priority.--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; or
``(3)(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.''.
SEC. 4. LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO MENTALLY ILL OFFENDERS IMPROVEMENT
GRANTS.
(a) In General.--Part HH of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by adding at the end the
following new section:
``SEC. 2992. LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO MENTALLY ILL OFFENDERS
IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.
``(a) Authorization.--The Attorney General is authorized to make
grants to States, units of local government, Indian tribes, and tribal
organizations for the following purposes:
``(1) Training programs.--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.
``(2) Receiving centers.--To provide for the development of
specialized receiving centers to assess individuals in the
custody of law enforcement personnel for mental health and
substance abuse treatment needs.
``(3) Improved technology.--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.
``(4) Cooperative programs.--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.
``(5) Campus security personnel training.--To 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.
``(b) BJA Training Models.--For purposes of subsection (a)(1), 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.
``(c) Matching Funds.--The Federal share of funds for a program
funded by a grant received under this section may not exceed 75 percent
of the costs of the program unless the Attorney General waives, wholly
or in part, such funding limitation. 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.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Department of Justice to carry out this section
$10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2013.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Such part is further amended by amending
the part heading to read as follows: ``grants to improve treatment of
offenders with mental illnesses''.
SEC. 5. IMPROVING THE MENTAL HEALTH COURTS GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Reauthorization of the Mental Health Courts Grant Program.--
Section 1001(a)(20) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)(20)) is amended by striking
``fiscal years 2001 through 2004'' and inserting ``fiscal years 2008
through 2013''.
(b) Additional Grant Uses Authorized.--Section 2201 of such title
(42 U.S.C. 3796ii) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1) at the end, by striking ``and'';
(2) in paragraph (2) at the end, by striking the period and
adding ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
``(3) pretrial services and related treatment programs for
offenders with mental illnesses; and
``(4) developing, implementing, or expanding programs that
are alternatives to incarceration for offenders with mental
illnesses.''.
SEC. 6. STUDY AND REPORT ON PREVALENCE OF MENTALLY ILL OFFENDERS.
(a) Study.--The Attorney General shall provide for a study of the
following:
(1) The rate of occurrence of serious mental illnesses in
each of the following populations:
(A) Individuals, including juveniles, on probation.
(B) Individuals, including juveniles, incarcerated
in a jail.
(C) Individuals, including juveniles, incarcerated
in a prison.
(D) Individuals, including juveniles, on parole.
(2) For each population described in paragraph (1), the
percentage of individuals with serious mental illnesses who, at
the time of the arrest, are eligible to receive Supplemental
Security Income benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance
benefits, or medical assistance under a State plan for medical
assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act.
(3) For each such population, with respect to a year, the
percentage of individuals with serious mental illnesses who--
(A) were homeless (as defined in section 103 of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11302)) at the time of arrest; and
(B) were homeless (as so defined) during any period
in the previous year.
(b) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a
report on the results of the study under subsection (a).
(c) Definition of Serious Mental Illness.--For purposes of this
section, the term ``serious mental illness'' has the meaning given such
term for purposes of title V of the Public Health Service Act.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for 2008.
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