[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 134 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H10636-H10640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          AMERICA'S LAW ENFORCEMENT AND MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1865) to provide grants to establish demonstration 
mental health courts.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1865

       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 ``America's Law Enforcement 
     and Mental Health Project''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) fully 16 percent of all inmates in State prisons and 
     local jails suffer from mental illness, according to a July, 
     1999 report, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics;
       (2) between 600,000 and 700,000 mentally ill persons are 
     annually booked in jail alone, according to the American Jail 
     Association;
       (3) estimates say 25 to 40 percent of America's mentally 
     ill will come into contact with the criminal justice system, 
     according to National Alliance for the Mentally Ill;
       (4) 75 percent of mentally ill inmates have been sentenced 
     to time in prison or jail or probation at least once prior to 
     their current sentence, according to the Bureau of Justice 
     Statistics in July, 1999; and
       (5) Broward County, Florida and King County, Washington, 
     have created separate Mental Health Courts to place 
     nonviolent mentally ill offenders into judicially monitored 
     in-patient and out-patient mental health treatment programs, 
     where appropriate, with positive results.

     SEC. 3. MENTAL HEALTH COURTS.

       (a) Amendment.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
     Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by inserting after part U 
     (42 U.S.C. 3796hh et seq.) the following:

                     ``PART V--MENTAL HEALTH COURTS

     ``SEC. 2201. GRANT AUTHORITY.

       ``The Attorney General shall 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 nonprofit entities, for not more than 
     100 programs that involve--
       ``(1) continuing judicial supervision, including periodic 
     review, over preliminarily qualified offenders with mental 
     illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental illness 
     and substance abuse disorders, who are charged with 
     misdemeanors or nonviolent offenses; and
       ``(2) the coordinated delivery of services, which 
     includes--
       ``(A) specialized training of law enforcement and judicial 
     personnel to identify and address the unique needs of a 
     mentally ill or mentally retarded offender;
       ``(B) voluntary outpatient or inpatient mental health 
     treatment, in the least restrictive manner appropriate, as 
     determined by the court, that carries with it the possibility 
     of dismissal of charges or reduced sentencing upon successful 
     completion of treatment;
       ``(C) centralized case management involving the 
     consolidation of all of a mentally ill or mentally retarded 
     defendant's cases, including violations of probation, and the 
     coordination of all mental health treatment plans and social 
     services, including life skills training, such as housing 
     placement, vocational training, education, job placement, 
     health care, and relapse prevention for each participant who 
     requires such services; and
       ``(D) continuing supervision of treatment plan compliance 
     for a term not to exceed the maximum allowable sentence or 
     probation for the charged or relevant offense and, to the 
     extent practicable, continuity of psychiatric care at the end 
     of the supervised period.

     ``SEC. 2202. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this part--
       ``(1) 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; and
       ``(2) the term `preliminarily qualified offender with 
     mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental 
     and substance abuse disorders' means a person who--
       ``(A)(i) previously or currently has been diagnosed by a 
     qualified mental health professional as having a mental 
     illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental illness 
     and substance abuse disorders; or
       ``(ii) manifests obvious signs of mental illness, mental 
     retardation, or co-occurring mental illness and substance 
     abuse disorders during arrest or confinement or before any 
     court; and
       ``(B) is deemed eligible by designated judges.

     ``SEC. 2203. ADMINISTRATION.

       ``(a) Consultation.--The Attorney General shall consult 
     with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and any other 
     appropriate officials in carrying out this part.
       ``(b) Use of Components.--The Attorney General may utilize 
     any component or components of the Department of Justice in 
     carrying out this part.
       ``(c) Regulatory Authority.--The Attorney General shall 
     issue regulations and

[[Page H10637]]

     guidelines necessary to carry out this part which include, 
     but are not limited to, the methodologies and outcome 
     measures proposed for evaluating each applicant program.
       ``(d) Applications.--In addition to any other requirements 
     that may be specified by the Attorney General, an application 
     for a grant under this part 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 and that there will be appropriate 
     coordination with all affected agencies in the implementation 
     of the program, including the State mental health authority;
       ``(6) certify that participating offenders will be 
     supervised by one or more designated judges with 
     responsibility for the mental health court program;
       ``(7) specify plans for obtaining necessary support and 
     continuing the proposed program following the conclusion of 
     Federal support;
       ``(8) describe the methodology and outcome measures that 
     will be used in evaluating the program; and
       ``(9) certify that participating first time offenders 
     without a history of a mental illness will receive a mental 
     health evaluation.

     ``SEC. 2204. APPLICATIONS.

       ``To request funds under this part, the chief executive or 
     the chief justice of a State or the chief executive or chief 
     judge of a unit of local government or Indian tribal 
     government shall submit to the Attorney General an 
     application in such form and containing such information as 
     the Attorney General may reasonably require.

     ``SEC. 2205. FEDERAL SHARE.

       ``The Federal share of a grant made under this part may not 
     exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the program described 
     in the application submitted under section 2204 for the 
     fiscal year for which the program receives assistance under 
     this part, unless the Attorney General waives, wholly or in 
     part, the requirement of a matching contribution under this 
     section. The use of the Federal share of a grant made under 
     this part shall be limited to new expenses necessitated by 
     the proposed program, including the development of treatment 
     services and the hiring and training of personnel. In-kind 
     contributions may constitute a portion of the non-Federal 
     share of a grant.

     ``SEC. 2206. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.

       ``The Attorney General shall ensure that, to the extent 
     practicable, an equitable geographic distribution of grant 
     awards is made that considers the special needs of rural 
     communities, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives.

     ``SEC. 2207. REPORT.

       ``A State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local 
     government that receives funds under this part during a 
     fiscal year shall submit to the Attorney General a report in 
     March of the following year regarding the effectiveness of 
     this part.

     ``SEC. 2208. 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 part.
       ``(b) Evaluations.--In addition to any evaluation 
     requirements that may be prescribed for grantees, the 
     Attorney General may carry out or make arrangements for 
     evaluations of programs that receive support under this part.
       ``(c) Administration.--The technical assistance, training, 
     and evaluations authorized by this section may be carried out 
     directly by the Attorney General, in collaboration with the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services, or through grants, 
     contracts, or other cooperative arrangements with other 
     entities.''.
       (b) 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 inserting after part U 
     the following:

                     ``Part V--Mental Health Courts

``Sec. 2201. Grant authority.
``Sec. 2202. Definitions.
``Sec. 2203. Administration.
``Sec. 2204. Applications.
``Sec. 2205. Federal share.
``Sec. 2206. Geographic distribution.
``Sec. 2207. Report.
``Sec. 2208. Technical assistance, training, and evaluation.''.

       (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a) of 
     title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
     1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)) is amended by inserting after 
     paragraph (19) the following:
       ``(20) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
     part V, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 
     2004.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio (Mr. Chabot) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will 
control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot).


                             General Leave

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the Senate bill under 
consideration, S. 1865.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  A recent Bureau of Justice Statistics study estimates that there are 
over 283,000 mentally ill offenders incarcerated in Federal, State and 
local prisons and jails. In fact, according to that report, 7 percent 
of Federal offenders, 16 percent of State inmates, and 16 percent of 
those held in local jails are mentally ill. A similar percentage of 
persons on probation, approximately 547,000 people, also have a history 
of mental illness.
  The Bureau of Justice Statistics also has a study that revealed that 
mentally ill offenders have a higher rate of prior physical and sexual 
abuse than other inmates. They have higher incidents of alcohol and 
drug abuse by parents and guardians while they were children. Mentally 
ill offenders were more likely than other offenders to have been 
unemployed and homeless prior to their arrest. And these offenders are 
more likely than other offenders to be involved in fights with other 
inmates and to be charged with breaking prison rules.
  Over the last year, law enforcement and corrections officials, 
prosecutors, judges, and mental health officials have called and 
written to the Subcommittee on Crime to urge the subcommittee to 
address the problem of mentally ill offenders in the criminal justice 
system. In response, the Subcommittee on Crime held a hearing on this 
issue just last month. At that hearing representatives of all these 
groups urged Congress to develop a special program to address the needs 
of these offenders so that they will be incarcerated less often and so 
that they will be less likely to commit repeat crimes when they are 
released from custody.
  The bill before the House today will help to do just that. This bill, 
introduced by Senator DeWine, of my State of Ohio in the other body, is 
similar to a bill introduced in the House by the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Strickland). It authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to 
States, State courts, local courts, units of local government, and 
Indian tribal governments for up to 100 programs that involve 
specialized treatment for mentally ill offenders. These programs 
include continuing post-conviction judicial supervision of nonviolent 
and misdemeanor offenders, training for law enforcement and correction 
officials on how to appropriately handle mentally ill offenders in 
their custody, and centralized case management of cases involving 
mentally ill or mentally retarded defendants.
  I believe this is a good bill. The testimony before the subcommittee 
from officials throughout the criminal justice system, from both 
Republicans and Democrats, was that by taking just a few minor steps, 
the government can have a great impact on the treatment of these 
offenders. Simply incarcerating the mentally ill is not going to 
address the underlying cause of their behavior, but if we deal with 
their illness, they are less likely to commit future crimes, and that 
is a result that benefits us all.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1865. This bill will amend the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the 
Attorney General to make grants to States and localities and to Indian 
tribal governments to establish what is referred to as the mental 
health court programs. Such court programs would be similar to the 
successful drug courts and ASAP, the alcohol safety action programs, 
for substance abusers.
  While I am in support of this bill as one of the neediest programs 
that are

[[Page H10638]]

available, because we did not have committee hearings and markups on 
the measure I am unable to have really the full confidence that I would 
like to have that it is drafted in such a way to best meet the needs of 
the public, the mental health, and the criminal justice systems. 
However, the Subcommittee on Crime did conduct a hearing on ``the 
impact of the mentally ill in the criminal justice system'' earlier 
this fall. The testimony at that hearing revealed, among other things, 
that our criminal justice system is serving as a primary caregiver for 
the mentally ill and that mental health courts have proven to be a 
useful tool for several communities that have such programs.
  Additionally, this is a pilot program, not a nationwide initiative, 
so we will have the opportunity to see these programs and measure their 
effectiveness and have the opportunity to evaluate them in the context 
of other approaches to addressing mental health illnesses in the 
criminal justice system.
  The program funded under the bill provides not only for a special 
court program but also for the continued judicial supervision of 
qualified offenders with mental illness, as well as grants for 
coordinated delivery of services. The coordinated services for which 
the grants would authorize funding include, among other things, 
specialized training for law enforcement and judicial personnel to 
identify and address the unique needs of mentally ill offenders, and 
the voluntary outpatient and inpatient treatment that carries with it 
the possibility of dismissal of charges or a reduced sentence upon 
successful completion of treatment and other activities. The bill 
authorizes $10 million each year for the fiscal years 2001 through 2004 
to carry out the provisions of the legislation.
  Since the 1960s, the State mental health hospitals have increasingly 
reduced their population of mentally ill individuals in response to a 
nationwide and appropriate call for deinstitutionalization. The 
movement toward deinstitutionalization has been based upon the fact 
that mentally ill individuals are constitutionally entitled to refuse 
treatment or at least have it provided in the least restrictive 
environment. Unfortunately, community mental health treatment centers 
have not been created at the rate necessary to meet the needs created 
by deinstitutionalization.
  A recent study by the Department of Justice suggests that the 
criminal justice system has become, by default, the primary caregiver 
of the most seriously mentally ill. More specifically, the Department 
of Justice reported last July that at least 16 percent of the United 
States prison population is seriously mentally ill. The National 
Alliance for the Mentally Ill reports that on any given day, at least 
284,000 seriously mentally ill individuals are incarcerated, while only 
187,000 are in mental health facilities.
  The bill before us would provide the grant money to help divert from 
the criminal justice system those who are mentally ill who would 
benefit more from treatment than by incarceration, and help law 
enforcement and correctional administrators provide appropriate 
services to offenders with mental illness. Since this is a pilot 
program, the information it develops can be used to develop a full-
fledged program available to communities throughout the country. Such 
an approach is not only the right thing to do but it will ultimately 
reduce crime.
  I want to particularly thank the delegation from Ohio, particularly 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), serving on the Committee on the 
Judiciary, and the other gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Strickland) for their 
leadership on this bill. Accordingly, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues 
to vote for the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Strickland), a leader on this bill who brought it to the 
committee's attention.
  Mr. STRICKLAND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill 
which addresses the very serious problem of mentally ill people 
recycling through our criminal justice system.
  As a psychologist, and perhaps the only Member of Congress who has 
ever worked in a maximum security prison, I have personally treated 
individuals who will live out the rest of their lives behind bars 
because they have committed crimes that they most likely would not have 
committed had they been able to receive adequate mental health 
treatment.
  I have seen the ravaging effect that a prison environment has upon 
the mentally ill and the destabilizing effect that the mentally ill 
have upon the prison environment. Inmates, families, correctional 
officers, judges, prosecutors, and the police are in unique agreement 
that our broken system of punting the most seriously mentally ill to 
the criminal justice system must be fixed.
  The jails have become America's new mental asylums. Our court 
systems, our prisons, and our jails are being clogged, literally 
clogged, with mentally ill individuals who should be taking part in 
mental health treatment. Law enforcement and correctional officers, who 
are charged with apprehending and incarcerating the most dangerous 
criminals in our society, cannot always do their jobs because they are 
forced to provide makeshift mental health services to hundreds of 
thousands of mentally ill individuals. Squad cars, jail cells, and 
courtrooms are being filled with the mentally ill taking up resources 
that should be directed toward catching real criminals.
  Mental illness does not discriminate between Republicans or 
Democrats, rich or poor, black or white, man or woman, none of the 
dividing lines that so often create partisan politics. That is why I am 
especially gratified to be working on legislation with distinguished 
Members from both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Hill to 
create mechanisms that will bridge the gap between the mental health 
and the criminal justice systems, the gap through which so many of the 
mentally ill defendants currently fall.
  I would like to thank especially Senators DeWine, Domenici, Kennedy 
and Wellstone, as well as the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. 
Wilson), the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman), the gentlewoman 
from California (Mrs. Capps), the gentlewoman from New Jersey (Mrs. 
Roukema), the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), and my friend and 
colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), for taking the lead on 
this legislation to provide criminal justice and mental health 
professionals the resources they need to work together to keep mentally 
ill defendants in treatment rather than in jail.
  In conclusion, I would like to say that I am thankful that this 
Congress is willing to look closely at a problem from which many of us 
too often turn away. I believe that there is a welcome consensus among 
a broad spectrum of stakeholders and political ideologies that there 
are very practical steps that we can take to stop the criminal justice 
system from being this country's primary caregiver of the seriously 
mentally ill. The truth is that law enforcement and correctional 
officers are not and should not be psychiatrists, psychologists, social 
workers or nurses with guns.
  Mr. Speaker, I support my colleagues' support of this legislation, 
with deep appreciation for all who have worked on this legislation.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1865, 
American's Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project. As a member of 
the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime I know that nearly 1.8 
million individuals are incarcerated in our nation's jails and prisons; 
an increase of 125 percent since 1985.
  It is long overdue that this body should address the issue of those 
who are mentally ill and in our nation's state and federal prison 
systems. At the end of 1999, 283,800 persons with mental illness were 
held in federal, state prisons and local jails--making these the 
largest facilities for people with mental illness in the United States; 
Jails and prisons have become by default psychiatric facilities. These 
make shift mental health wards go without the benefit of adequate 
medical staff, medication, or proper training of guards, who should be 
medical personal.
  The Senate-passed bill authorizes $10 million in each of fiscal years 
2001 through 2004 for technical assistance and grants to states, local 
governments and Indian tribal governments for the delivery of judicial 
services to mentally ill and mentally retarded offenders. 
Unfortunately, this bill limits the number of programs that could be 
funded under this act to 100. The program created by the bill would 
cover only cases involving mentally ill or mentally retarded persons 
who are charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent offenders.

[[Page H10639]]

  Programs funded under the bill would provide specialized training of 
law enforcement and judicial personnel to identify and address the 
unique needs of mentally ill or mentally retarded offenders. The 
programs would also provide voluntary outpatient and inpatient mental 
health treatment--in the least restrictive manner appropriate--as 
determined by the court, with the possibility that the charges would be 
dismissed or reduced if the treatment is successfully completed. These 
programs would also provide centralized case management and continuing 
supervision for these individuals.
  This is not the Dark Ages, but you could not tell that by looking at 
how our society treats mentally ill people. The United States is 
supposed to be the most advanced nation on Earth, but in many ways we 
are one of most undeveloped nations when considering our approach to 
mental health and the mentally ill.
  Today's hearing is a step forward to highlight and address many of 
the things that are wrong with a system that the most vulnerable among 
us are locked up in jails and prisons without adequate health 
services--while our country enjoys the greatest economic boom in thirty 
years. Our nation's unemployment rate is at its lowest point in 30 
years; core inflation has fallen to its lowest point in 34 years; and 
the poverty rate is at its lowest since 1979. The last seven years we 
have seen the Federal budget deficit of $290 billion give way to a $124 
billion surplus.

  The statistics on our Nation's incarcerated mentally ill is as 
depressing as the good news of our nation's economy is joyful. The 
facts are that men and women with mental illness spend on average, 15 
months longer in state prisons and five times longer in jails. Research 
has supported many of the effective strategies that work for people 
with mental illness in the criminal justice system, yet the 
corresponding leadership and funding to replicate these strategies have 
not been provided. According to Ron Honberg, executive director for 
legal affairs for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), 
health care programs, such as Medicaid, will not provide treatment 
services to those who are incarcerated. This means that any treatment 
an inmate receives must be subsidized by the penal facility. Dr. 
Honberg added that the criminal justice system is slow and complicated 
meaning that few prisoners who really need help will ever get it.
  In June 1995, approximately 9.8 million people are booked into jails 
across the country annually. Seven percent of jail detainees have acute 
and serious mental illnesses upon booking. In addition, more than 50 
percent have other mental health diagnoses, including dysthmia (8 
percent, anxiety disorders (11 percent), and anti-social personality 
disorders (45 percent). The report ``Criminalizing the Seriously 
Mentally Ill: The Abuse of Jails as Mental Hospitals, Washington, DC,'' 
that was prepared by Public Citizen's Health Research Group in 1992 
found that the four most common offenses committed by the mentally ill 
were: assault and/or battery, theft, disorderly conduct, and drug and 
alcohol-related crimes. In total, 63 percent of jail detainees have a 
mental illness or a substance disorder and 5 percent have both. These 
figures indicate that 320,000 jail inmates are affected by mental 
health or substance abuse problems on any given day, of whom 25,350 
people have serious mental illnesses and co-occurring substance 
disorders.
  This situation is costing states when families of the mentally ill 
sue when their loved ones do not receive proper medical attention. In 
May 1999, a Federal judge in the State of Texas approved a $1.18 
million settlement award to eight mentally ill individuals who were 
previously confined at the Hidalgo County Jail in Edinburg. The inmates 
had filed a lawsuit in 1994 that claimed the jail violated their civil 
rights and failed to provide humane conditions and legal services. One 
of the plaintiffs, suffering from schizophrenia, had been arrested for 
hitting his father and confined in the facility where he remained for 
four years without a trial. Upon release, mental health officials 
determined his condition had deteriorated significantly due to his 
incarceration. As part of the settlement approved by U.S. District 
Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa, Hidalgo County agreed to several provisions 
for improving jail mental health services, including 
immediate classification of mentally ill inmates; psychiatric 
evaluation and regular treatment of individuals suffering from mental 
illness; and separation of the mentally ill from general population 
inmates.

  Approximately 13 percent of the prison population have both a serious 
mental illness and a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. Thus an 
estimated 642,500 inmates are affected by mental health or substance 
abuse problems on any given day--of which 132,000 have a serious mental 
illness and a co-occurring substance abuse disorder. The one-year 
prevalence rate of serious mental illnesses among prisoners was 5 
percent with schizophrenia, 6 percent with bipolar disorder, and 9 
percent with depression; which are treatable if discovered and 
addressed by mental health professionals.


                          Effective Strategies

  People with serious mental illness require a comprehensive community-
based treatment approach that ensures public safety and reduces 
recidivism in criminal justice institutions. We must work to help 
communities and families recognize the importance of identification of 
mental illness and remove the stigma of medical treatment. We must work 
to educate people especially in the African American and Hispanic 
Communities who are highly sensitized regarding the attitudes of the 
group and maintaining a sense of community in the face of mental 
illness. In many minority communities there is a sense that to admit 
mental illness is to acknowledge a spiritual flaw or character deficit.
  Effective strategies that work for people with mental illness in the 
criminal justice system should consist of: Diversion programs that 
assist people with serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders 
avoid the criminal justice system, such as mental health courts; it has 
been recognized by mental health professionals for some time that many 
people who engage in taking illegal drugs are attempting to self 
medicate for a mental health disorder. It is sad to admit that in our 
society there is greater acceptance of addictions to alcohol and drugs 
than mental illness. Screening and assessing individuals with mental 
illness upon entry into the criminal justice system is vital to 
addressing the problems that many penal facilities face. It is human 
and just that this country have the compassion and common sense to 
openly offer medical assistance to those in need.
  A commitment to treatment for individuals with mental health and 
substance abuse disorders would go a long way in addressing our 
pressing need to cut the level of demand for illegal drugs coming into 
our country.
  Successful transition program that will implement appropriate support 
services (such as, housing arrangements, vocational and educational 
needs, mental health and addiction treatment), to ensure fewer problems 
for people reentering the community.
  Further, we should provide training to law enforcement and criminal 
justice system personnel to identify persons with mental health and 
substance abuse disorders. Therefore, it is important that this 
Congress increased funding for jail diversion initiatives funded 
through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration 
(SAMHSA) Jail Diversion Knowledge Dissemination Application (KDA) 
Initiative which is a partnership between the Center for Mental Health 
Services (CMHS) and the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).
  In the State of Texas the Crisis Intervention Teams, or ``CIT'' is a 
professional diversion program started in Memphis, Tennessee 10 years 
ago, teaches a voluntary team of patrol officers a safe way to interact 
with the mentally ill in crisis. Police officers receive 40 hours of 
experiential training in mental health issues and communication/de-
escalation techniques. For example, officers learn how to deal with 
individuals who might be suicidal, delusional, or are experiencing side 
effects from medication. Officers are also trained to ask pertinent 
questions to better recognize persons with a mental illness.
  CIT is expanding across the state and across the nation. The Mental 
Health Association of Houston, Texas established the CIT initiative in 
1997, with the Houston Police Department.
  As a result of the Houston CIT initiative, 50 Houston police officers 
a month are trained in CIT. These officers comprise 25 percent of the 
patrol force, which comes to about 725 officers. The $300,000 Houston 
CIT initiative is funded through the federal Center for Mental Health, 
Knowledge Development and Application (KDA) Jail Diversion Initiative.
  As a result of the program's dramatic success, all outlying Houston 
police departments, including all of the 48 incorporated towns, will 
begin implementing CIT. Starting in January 2000, the Houston MHA will 
be training 100 officers a month.
  However, I believe that we must do more--earlier in the lives of 
potential offenders. That is why I introduced H.R. 3455, the Give a Kid 
a Chance Omnibus Mental Health Services Act of 1999. To amend the 
Public Health Service Act with respect to mental health services for 
children, adolescents and their families.
  I would only ask that my colleagues join me in finding a way to 
assist our nation's mentally ill, by addressing the problems that have 
been documented regarding the treatment of the mentally ill in the 
judicial system.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) that the House suspend the rules and 
pass the Senate bill, S. 1865.

[[Page H10640]]

  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. SCOTT. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8, rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

                          ____________________