[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 137 (Thursday, October 17, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10710-S10716]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Grassley, Ms. 
        Cantwell, Mr. Brownback, and Mr. Domenici):
  S. 3147. A bill to foster local collaborations which will ensure that 
resources are effectively and efficiently used within the criminal and 
juvenile justice systems; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I rise today, along with Senators Leahy, 
Grassley, Cantwell, Domenici, and Brownback, to introduce the 
``Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act.'' This 
bipartisan measure would, among other things, create a program of 
planning and implementation grants for communities so they may offer 
more treatment and other services to mentally ill offenders. Under this 
bill, programs receiving grant funds would be operated collaboratively 
by both a criminal justice agency and a mental health agency.
  The mentally ill population poses a particularly difficult challenge 
for our criminal justice system. People afflicted with mental illness 
are incarcerated at significantly higher rates than the general 
population. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, while only 
about five percent of the American population has a mental illness, 
about 16 percent of the State prison population has such an illness. 
The Los Angeles County Jail, for example, typically has more mentally 
ill inmates than any hospital in the country.
  Unfortunately, however, the reality of our criminal justice system is 
that jails and prisons do not provide a therapeutic environment for the 
mentally ill and are unlikely to do so any time soon. Indeed, the 
mentally ill inmate often is preyed upon by other inmates or becomes 
even sicker in jail. Once released from jail or prison, many mentally 
ill people end up on the streets. With limited personal resources and 
little or no ability to handle their illness alone, they often commit 
further offenses resulting in their re-arrest and re-incarceration. 
This ``revolving door'' is costly and disruptive for all involved.
  Although these problems tend to manifest themselves primarily within 
the prison system, the root cause of our current situation is found in 
the mental health system and its failure to provide sufficient 
community-based treatment solutions. Accordingly, the solution will 
necessarily involve collaboration between the mental health

[[Page S10712]]

system and criminal justice system. In fact, it also will require 
greater collaboration between the substance abuse treatment and mental 
health treatment communities, because many mentally ill offenders have 
a drug or alcohol problem in addition to their mental illness.
  The purpose of the ``Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime 
Reduction Act'' is to foster exactly this type of collaboration at the 
federal, state, and local levels. The bill provides incentives for the 
criminal justice, juvenile justice, mental health, and substance abuse 
treatment systems to work together at each level of government to 
establish a network of services for offenders with mental illness. The 
bill's approach is unique, in that it not only would promote public 
safety by helping curb the incidence of repeat offenders, but it also 
would promote public health, by ensuring that those with a serious 
mental illness are treated as soon as possible and as efficiently and 
effectively as possible.
  Among its major provisions, this legislation calls for the 
establishment of a new competitive grant program, which would be housed 
at the U.S. Department of Justice, but administered by the Attorney 
General with the active involvement of the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services. To ensure that collaboration occurs at the local level, 
the bill requires that two entities jointly submit a single grant 
application on behalf of a community.
  Applications demonstrating the greatest commitment to collaboration 
would receive priority for grant funds. If applicants can show that 
grant funds would be used to promote public health, as well as public 
safety, and if the program they propose would have the active 
participation of each joint applicant, and if their grant application 
has the support of both the Attorney General and the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, then it would receive priority for funding.
  The bill permits grant funds to be used for a variety of purposes, 
each of which embodies the goal of collaboration. First, grant funds 
may be used to provide courts with more options, such as specialized 
dockets, for dealing with the non-violent offender who has a serious 
mental illness or a co-occurring mental illness and drug or alcohol 
problem. Second, grant funds could be used to enhance training of 
mental health and criminal justice system personnel, who must know how 
to deal appropriately with the mentally ill offender. Third, grant 
funds could be devoted to programs that divert non-violent offenders 
with severe and persistent mental illness from the criminal justice 
system into treatment. Finally, correctional facilities may use grant 
funds to promote the treatment of inmates and ease their transition 
back into the community upon release from jail or prison.
  In specifically authorizing grant funds to be used to promote more 
options for courts to deal with mentally ill offenders, this bill 
builds on legislation that I introduced with Congressman Ted Strickland 
two years ago. That measure, which became law, authorized $10 million 
per year for the establishment of more mental health courts. I have 
long supported mental health courts, which enable the criminal justice 
system to provide an individualized treatment solution for a mentally 
ill offender, while also requiring accountability of the offender. The 
legislation we are introducing today would make possible the creation 
or expansion of more mental health courts, and it also would promote 
the funding of treatment services that support such courts.
  In addition to making planning and implementation grants available to 
communities, the ``Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction 
Act'' also calls for an Interagency Task Force to be established at the 
federal level. This Task Force would include the Attorney General and 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, as well as the Secretary of 
Housing and Urban Development, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of 
Education, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and the Commissioner of 
Social Security. The Task Force would be charged with identifying new 
ways that federal departments can work together to reduce recidivism 
among mentally ill adults and juveniles.
  Finally, the bill directs the Attorney General and Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to develop a list of ``best practices'' for 
criminal justice personnel to use when diverting mentally ill offenders 
from the criminal justice system.
  This is a good bill and one that is long overdue. I encourage my 
colleagues to support this important measure. I ask unanimous consent 
that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 3147

       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 2002''.

     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, over 20 percent of youth in the 
     juvenile justice system have serious mental health problems, 
     and many more 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) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, as of 
     July 1999, 75 percent of mentally ill inmates had previously 
     been sentenced at least once to time in prison or jail or 
     probation.
       (8) 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 response 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; and
       (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.

     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

[[Page S10713]]

     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.--The term `diversion' means the 
     appropriate use of effective mental health treatment 
     alternatives to juvenile justice or criminal justice system 
     institutional placements for adult offenders with severe and 
     persistent mental illness or juvenile offenders with serious 
     mental or emotional disorders.
       ``(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 the substantial impairment of 
     thought processes, sensory input, mood balance, memory, or 
     ability to reason and 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.
       ``(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;
       ``(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; and
       ``(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;
       ``(ii) juveniles and adults with mental illness for whom 
     diversion is appropriate; or
       ``(iii) adult offenders with mental illness during periods 
     of incarceration, while under the supervision of a criminal 
     justice agency, or following release from correctional 
     facilities.
       ``(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 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 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.
       ``(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 or 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 offenders with mental illness who are to 
     receive 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 mentally ill offenders served by the 
     collaboration program will have access to community-based 
     mental health services, such as crisis intervention, case 
     management, assertive community treatment, medications, 
     medication management, psychiatric rehabilitation, peer 
     support, or, where appropriate, integrated substance abuse 
     treatment services;
       ``(IV) make available, to the extent practicable, 
     individualized mental health treatment services, other 
     support services (such as housing, education, job placement, 
     mentoring, or health care), benefits (such as disability 
     income, disability insurance, and medicaid, where 
     appropriate), and 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, if the population 
     targeted for the collaboration program includes juveniles 
     with mental illness.

       ``(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

[[Page S10714]]

     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.--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 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 criminal offenders 
     with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness and 
     substance abuse disorders.

       ``(iii) Service delivery.--Funds may be used to create or 
     expand local treatment programs that promote public safety by 
     serving individuals with mental illness or co-occurring 
     mental illness and substance abuse disorders.
       ``(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.--The Attorney General, in 
     consultation with the Secretary, shall ensure that 
     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 2003 and 2004; 
     and
       ``(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2005 
     through 2007.''.
       (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.''.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I have joined today with Senators DeWine, 
Cantwell, Brownback, and Grassley to introduce legislation that will 
help State and local governments reduce crime by providing more 
effective treatment for the mentally ill. All too often, people with 
mental illness rotate repeatedly between the criminal justice system 
and the streets of our communities, committing a series of minor 
offenses. Their crimes occupy the ever scarcer time of law enforcement 
officers, diverting them from their more urgent responsibilities, and 
leave the offenders themselves in prisons or jails where little or no 
medical care is available for them. With this legislation, we are 
trying to give State and local governments the tools they need to break 
this cycle, for the good of law enforcement, corrections officers, our 
public safety, and mentally ill offenders.
  I held a Judiciary Committee hearing in June on the criminal justice 
system and mentally ill offenders. At that hearing, we heard from State 
mental health officials, law enforcement officers, corrections 
officials, and the representative of counties around our Nation. All 
agreed that people with untreated mental illness are more likely to 
commit crimes, and that our State mental health systems, prisons and 
jails do not have the resources they need to treat the mentally ill, 
and prevent crime and recidivism. As this legislation's findings 
detail, 16 percent of adults incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons 
have a mental illness, more than 20 percent of youth in the juvenile 
justice system have serious mental health problems, and 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. This is a serious problem that has not received the 
legislative or public attention it deserves.
  Under this bill, State and local governments can apply for funding 
to: a. create or expand mental health courts, which divert qualified 
offenders from prison to receive treatment; b. create or expand 
programs to provide specialized training for criminal justice and 
mental health system personnel; c. create or expand local treatment 
programs that serve individuals with mental illness or co-occurring 
mental illness and substance abuse disorders; and d. promote and 
provide mental health treatment for those incarcerated in or released 
from and penal or correctional institution. This new program authorizes 
$100 million for each of the next two fiscal years, and such sums as 
necessary through fiscal year 2007.

[[Page S10715]]

  I would like to thank a number of people for their advice and 
involvement in this legislation. First, we would not be here today 
without the hard work of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. I 
know that the Bazelon Center has additional ideas to improve this 
legislation, and I look forward to working with the Center as this bill 
moves through the legislative process. For example, I think we need to 
do more to ensure close coordination between the Department of Justice 
and the Department of Health and Human Services in designing and making 
these grants. Through this legislation, we are forcing States to bring 
together their health and law enforcement officials to make grant 
requests it only makes sense to have the joint perspectives of DOJ and 
HHS fully involved in evaluating those requests. This is an issue that 
we will continue to work on, and I hope we will continue to receive the 
input of the Bazelon Center as we do so.
  Second, we have received great advice and support from officials in 
my State of Vermont. Susan Besio, the commissioner of Vermont's 
Department of Developmental and Mental Health Services, and John 
Gorczyk, the commissioner of Vermont's Department of Corrections, 
reviewed this legislation and offered their comments, which have been 
adopted in the version that we introduce today. Gary Margolis, the 
Chief of Police Services at the University of Vermont, testified at our 
June hearing and helped me understand the importance of this issue for 
law enforcement officers in Vermont and around the nation.
  Third, the Council of State Governments has also provided invaluable 
assistance and advice on this issue. Indeed, their report on mentally 
ill offenders and the criminal justice system was instrumental in 
focusing the attention of the Judiciary Committee on this important 
topic.
  Although I am pleased that we have introduced this bill before the 
end of this Congress, I think we all understand that the passage of 
meaningful mental health legislation may have to wait until the next 
Congress. I want to work with all of the officials and groups I have 
mentioned, the other sponsors of this legislation, and any other 
interested parties, to continue to make improvements to this bill. This 
is a topic that should be a priority for the Judiciary Committee next 
year, and I will work to make it so.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I'm pleased today to be introducing with 
Senators DeWine, Leahy, Brownback, and Cantwell the Mentally Ill 
Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2002. This bipartisan 
bill authorizes the Attorney General to administer a grant program to 
assist communities in planning and implementing services for mentally 
ill offenders. These grants will increase public safety by fostering 
collaborative efforts by criminal justice, mental health, and substance 
abuse agencies. I've seen these types of collaborative programs work in 
Iowa and I know that they can work elsewhere.
  We have an obligation to ensure that the public is protected from 
these offenders who suffer from mental illness. The Bureau of Justice 
Statistics has reported that over 16 percent of adults incarcerated in 
U.S. jails and prisons have a mental illness. In addition, the Office 
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention has reported that over 
20 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have serious mental 
problems. This grant program will help increase public safety, as well 
as reduce the number of mentally ill adults and juveniles incarcerated 
in correctional facilities.
  These grant dollars may be used by States and localities to establish 
mental health courts or other diversion programs, create or expand 
community-based treatment programs, provide in-jail treatment and 
transitional services, and for training of criminal justice and mental 
health system employees. The State of Iowa and a number of its counties 
are already leading the way in finding creative and collaborative 
programs to address the problems presented by these mentally ill 
criminals. Working together, the criminal justice, mental health, and 
substance abuse professionals can make a difference in the lives of 
this special class of offenders and also increase the safety of the 
public.
  I want to thank Senator DeWine for his leadership on this important 
issue. He has drafted a bill that reflects a common sense approach to a 
serious public safety issue. I also want to encourage my colleagues to 
support this important piece of legislation.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I am proud to join with Senator DeWine 
and Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy along with Senators Grassley and 
Brownback in cosponsoring this important legislation. This bill will 
take steps to reduce the prevalence of mentally ill individuals in the 
criminal justice system by providing more effective treatment. Forty 
percent of the mentally ill in this country come in contact with the 
criminal justice system, many for minor but repeated offenses. This 
wastes tremendous law enforcement resources that can be better focused 
on more urgent responsibilities and results in many of the mentally ill 
sitting in jail cells with little treatment available to them. My State 
has already taken some forward looking action in this area, and this 
legislation is an important next step.
  The Mentally Ill Crime Reduction Act of 2002 funds new grants that 
will give States the tools they need to work collaboratively to break 
the cycle of mentally ill people repeatedly moving through the 
corrections system. This legislation will allow more jurisdictions to 
follow Seattle's lead in creating mental health courts that monitor 
individuals to keep them in treatment and out of jail. It will provide 
much needed funding to mental health and substance abuse programs, and 
it will provide critical dollars for treatment of those incarcerated 
in, or released from, prisons. The legislation has the support of 
Washington State Corrections Director Joe Lehman and the Washington 
Department of Social and Health Services as well as the National 
Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Council of State Governments. I'd 
like to especially thank the Bazelon Center for their work in this area 
and their commitment to improving this situation.
  Earlier this year, the Council on State Governments Criminal Justice/
Mental Health Consensus Project issued a report that detailed the 
disparate proportions of the mentally ill in the criminal justice 
system. The Project found that while those suffering from serious 
mental illness represent approximately 5 percent of the population of 
this country, they represent over 16 percent of the prison population. 
Of that 16 percent, nearly three-quarters also have a substance abuse 
problem, and nearly half were incarcerated for committing a nonviolent 
crime. In some jurisdictions recidivism rates for mentally ill inmates 
can reach over 70 percent. Police, judges and prosecutors are usually 
without options of what to do with mentally ill patients given the lack 
of health services, and thus many end up in jail for minor crimes. The 
Los Angeles County Jail alone holds as many as 3,300 individuals with 
mental illness, more than any state hospital or mental health 
institution in the United States.
  Each time a mentally ill individual is incarcerated, his or her 
mental condition will likely worsen. Once incarcerated, people with 
mental illness are particularly susceptible to harming themselves or 
others. This environment exacerbates their mental illness, yet access 
to effective counseling or medication is severely limited. This in turn 
brings on depression or delusions that immobilize them; many have spent 
years trying to mask torments or hallucinations with alcohol or drugs 
which leads to these individuals, on average, spending more time in 
prisons.
  This problem is particularly acute in the area of juvenile offenders. 
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reports that 
over 20 percent of children in the juvenile justice system, over 
155,000, have serious mental health problems. This bill creates 
specialized training programs for juvenile and criminal justice agency 
personnel in identifying symptoms of mentally ill individuals that will 
help identify and treat juveniles at an earlier stage.
  The prevalence of people with mental illness in the criminal justice 
system comes at a high price to taxpayers. In King County, WA officials 
identified 20 people who had been repeatedly hospitalized, jailed or 
admitted to detoxification centers. These emergency

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services cost the county approximately $1.1 million in a single year. 
In contrast, an Illinois Cooperative Program, which brought criminal 
justice and mental health service personnel together to provide 
services to those mentally ill patients released from jail, calculated 
that the 30 individuals in the study spent approximately 2,200 days 
less in jail, and 2,100 fewer days, in hospitals than they had the 
previous year for a savings of $1.2 million dollars.
  In 1997, Seattle Fire Department Captain Stanley Stevenson was 
murdered by an individual who had been found incompetent by the local 
municipal court but was released because of the lack of alternative 
options. This murder was the impetus for the creation of a Task Force 
that led directly to the formation of the Seattle mental health court 
in 1999. The primary reason why this Court has been growing more 
effective in dealing with mentally ill offenders is that it has 
increased cooperation between the mental health and criminal justice 
systems, operations that have traditionally not worked closely 
together. Building on the model of the drug court, the mental health 
court closely monitors compliance with treatment regimens through a 
team proficient in dealing with the mentally ill and at using the stick 
of the criminal justice system to make that treatment work. The vast 
majority of these individuals are responsive to treatment.
  This program has progressed well and is becoming an effective means 
of helping mentally ill offenders, assuring public safety, and running 
a more cost efficient system. Yet to allow this system to continue to 
expand in Seattle and other communities in Washington state, as well as 
to allow other states to begin using these types of programs, federal 
grant funding is critical. That is what this bill provides.
  Collaboration between mental health, substance abuse, law 
enforcement, judicial, and other criminal justice personnel is also 
critical to the success of our mental health court program in Seattle. 
It is only through full coordination between the criminal justice and 
the mental health treatment community at the federal and the local 
level that these efforts will be successful.
  Similarly, only through full coordination at the federal and local 
level will this bill be able to make a critical difference. I believe 
that some additional improvements can be made to strengthen that 
critical coordination and I look forward to working with Senator DeWine 
and Chairman Leahy to accomplish that goal. I welcome the introduction 
of this legislation and look forward to working with my cosponsors to 
make this bill law in the next Congress.
                                 ______