[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 902 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 902

       To provide grants to establish veteran's treatment courts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2009

 Mr. Kerry (for himself, Ms. Murkowski, and Mr. Inouye) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
       To provide grants to establish veteran's treatment courts.

    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 ``Services, Education, and 
Rehabilitation for Veterans Act'' or the ``SERV Act''.

SEC. 2. VETERAN'S TREATMENT COURTS.

    (a) Delegation.--The Director of the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy (referred to in this Act as the ``Director'') shall 
delegate the authority to administer the program and other such 
activities necessary to carry out this Act to the Department of 
Justice.
    (b) Grants.--The Attorney General may make grants to States, State 
courts, local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal 
governments acting directly or through agreements with other public or 
private entities, for the purpose of developing, implementing, or 
enhancing veteran's treatment courts or expanding operational drug 
courts to serve veterans.
    (c) Eligibility.--Grants under this Act shall be made to veteran's 
treatment courts and drug courts serving veterans that effectively 
integrate substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, mandatory 
drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services, in a 
judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over nonviolent, 
substance-abusing offenders that have served in the United States 
military.

SEC. 3. GRANT AUTHORITY.

    The Attorney General may make grants to States, State courts, local 
courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments, 
acting directly or through agreements with other public or private 
entities, for programs that involve--
            (1) continuing judicial supervision over offenders with 
        substance abuse or mental health problems who are not violent 
        offenders and have served in the United States military; and
            (2) the integrated administration of other sanctions and 
        services, which shall include--
                    (A) mandatory periodic testing for the use of 
                controlled substances or other addictive substances 
                during any period of supervised release or probation 
                for each participant;
                    (B) substance abuse and mental health treatment 
                (such as treatment for depression and post-traumatic 
                stress disorder) for each participant;
                    (C) diversion, probation, or other supervised 
                release involving the possibility of prosecution, 
                confinement, or incarceration based on noncompliance 
                with program requirements or failure to show 
                satisfactory progress; and
                    (D) programmatic, offender management, and 
                aftercare services such as relapse prevention, health 
                care, education, vocational training, job placement, 
                housing placement, and child care or other family 
                support services for each participant who requires such 
                services.

SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.

    (a) In General.--To request a grant under this Act, a State, State 
court, local court, unit of local government, or Indian tribal 
government shall submit an application to the Attorney General in such 
form and containing such information as the Attorney General may 
reasonably require.
    (b) Applications.--In addition to any other requirements that may 
be specified by the Attorney General, an application for a grant under 
this Act shall--
            (1) include a long-term strategy and detailed 
        implementation plan;
            (2) explain the applicant's inability to fund the program 
        adequately without Federal assistance;
            (3) certify that the Federal support provided will be used 
        to supplement, and not supplant, State, Indian tribal, and 
        local sources of funding that would otherwise be available;
            (4) identify related governmental or community initiatives 
        which complement or will be coordinated with the proposal;
            (5) certify that there has been appropriate consultation 
        with all affected agencies, specifically the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human 
        Services, and that there will be appropriate coordination with 
        all affected agencies in the implementation of the program;
            (6) certify that participating offenders will be supervised 
        by 1 or more designated judges with responsibility for the 
        veteran's treatment court program;
            (7) specify plans for obtaining necessary support and 
        continuing the proposed program following the conclusion of 
        Federal support; and
            (8) describe the methodology that will be used in 
        evaluating the program.
    (c) Certifications.--Each such application shall contain the 
certification that the program for which the grant is requested shall 
meet each of the requirements of this Act.

SEC. 5. FEDERAL SHARE.

    The Federal share of a grant made under this Act may not exceed 75 
percent of the total costs of the program described in the application 
submitted under section 4 for the fiscal year for which the program 
receives assistance under this Act, unless the Attorney General waives, 
wholly or in part, the requirement of a matching contribution under 
this section. In-kind contributions may constitute a portion of the 
non-Federal share of a grant.

SEC. 6. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.

    (a) Report to Attorney General and the Director.--For each fiscal 
year, each recipient of a grant under this Act during that fiscal year 
shall submit to the Attorney General, the Director, and the Secretary 
for Veterans Affairs a report regarding the effectiveness of activities 
carried out using that grant. Each report shall include an evaluation 
in such form and containing such information as the Attorney General 
may reasonably require. The Attorney General shall specify the dates on 
which such reports shall be submitted.
    (b) Report to Congress.--The Director, in consultation with the 
Attorney General, shall submit a yearly report on the effectiveness on 
the activities carried out under this Act to the House and Senate 
Committees on the Judiciary and the House and Senate Committees on 
Veterans Affairs.

SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' means a person who 
        served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who 
        was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other 
        than dishonorable.
            (2) Veteran's treatment court.--The term ``veteran's 
        treatment court'' means a program specifically for veterans 
        that meets the drug court criteria established by the Violent 
        Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-
        322).
            (3) Violent offender.--The term ``violent offender'' means 
        a person who--
                    (A) is charged with or convicted of an offense, 
                during the course of which offense or conduct--
                            (i) the person carried, possessed, or used 
                        a firearm or dangerous weapon;
                            (ii) there occurred the death of or serious 
                        bodily injury to any person; or
                            (iii) there occurred the use of force 
                        against the person of another, without regard 
                        to whether any of the circumstances described 
                        in clause (i) or (ii) is an element of the 
                        offense or conduct of which or for which the 
                        person is charged or convicted.
                    (B) has 1 or more prior convictions for a felony 
                crime of violence involving the use or attempted use of 
                force against a person with the intent to cause death 
                or serious bodily harm.

SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATION.

    (a) Consultation.--The Attorney General shall consult with the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, and any other appropriate officials in carrying out this Act.
    (b) Regulatory Authority.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General may issue regulations 
        and guidelines necessary to carry out this Act.
            (2) Participation limits.--In addition to the general 
        authority provided under paragraph (1), the Attorney General 
        shall--
                    (A) issue regulations and guidelines to ensure that 
                programs authorized in this Act do not permit 
                participation by violent offenders; and
                    (B) immediately suspend funding for any grant under 
                this part, pending compliance, if the Attorney General 
                finds that violent offenders are participating in any 
                program funded under this part.
    (c) Geographic Distribution.--The Attorney General shall ensure 
that, to the extent practicable, an equitable geographic distribution 
of grant awards is made under this Act.

SEC. 9. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, AND EVALUATION.

    (a) Technical Assistance and Training.--The Attorney General may 
provide technical assistance and training in furtherance of the 
purposes of this Act.
    (b) Evaluations.--The Attorney General may provide for evaluations 
in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.

SEC. 10. FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL DRUG COURT INSTITUTE.

    (a) Comprehensive, National Training and Technical Assistance for 
Drug Courts.--The National Drug Court Institute in Alexandria, 
Virginia, shall--
            (1) conduct national, comprehensive training programs for 
        State and local communities for the purpose of improving the 
        professional skills of drug court practitioners and enhancing 
        the ability of State and local communities to expand drug 
        courts to reach all addicted citizens in need of their 
        resources; and
            (2) provide national, comprehensive Technical Assistance to 
        adult, juvenile and family dependency drug courts including a 
        combination of information gathering, needs assessment, 
        cultural proficiency, analysis, problem solving, action 
        planning, referral and follow-up.
    (b) Ancillary Projects.--The National Drug Court Institute in 
Alexandria, Virginia, shall complete ancillary programs designed to 
facilitate the expansion and improvement of drug courts nationwide 
including--
            (1) a Judicial Task Force to develop a transition plan for 
        new drug court judges;
            (2) a resource center to maintain and distribute drug court 
        evaluations reviewed in the National Drug Court Institute 
        Review, and to request new research and evaluations for the 
        drug court field;
            (3) publishing annually the National Drug Court Institute 
        Review to provide research, analysis, and commentary of 
        importance to the drug court field; and
            (4) searching drug court literature and identify, reprint, 
        and disseminate important and relevant scholarship to the drug 
        court field.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Attorney General to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2015 to remain 
available until expended.

SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Except for section 10, there are authorized to be appropriated to 
the Director to carry out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2010 to 2015.
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