[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 82 (Thursday, June 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7483-S7488]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DeWINE (for himself, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Grassley, Ms. 
        Cantwell, and Mr. Domenici):
  S. 1194. 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 
Domenici, Leahy, Grassley, and Cantwell, to introduce the ``Mentally 
Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2003.'' 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,

[[Page S7484]]

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 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 would require 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.
  Additionally, the bill would permit 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 the 
criminal justice system into treatment those non-violent offenders with 
severe and persistent mental illness. 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 two years ago with my colleague 
from Ohio, Congressman Ted Strickland. 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 would direct 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.
  Ultimately, this is a good bill and one that is long overdue. I 
encourage my colleagues to support this important legislative 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. 1194

       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 2003''.

     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, approximately 20 percent of youth in 
     the juvenile justice system have serious mental health 
     problems, and a significant number 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) 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 responses to people with such illnesses;
       (5) promote adequate training for mental health treatment 
     personnel about criminal

[[Page S7485]]

     offenders with mental illness and the appropriate response to 
     such offenders in the criminal justice system;
       (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; and
       (7) promote communication, collaboration, and 
     intergovernmental partnerships among municipal, county, and 
     State elected officials with respect to mentally ill 
     offenders.

     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 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 and alternative prosecution and 
     sentencing.--
       ``(A) In general.--The terms `diversion' and `alternative 
     prosecution and sentencing' mean the appropriate use of 
     effective mental health treatment alternatives to juvenile 
     justice or criminal justice system institutional placements 
     for preliminarily qualified offenders.
       ``(B) Appropriate use.--In this paragraph, the term 
     `appropriate use' includes the discretion of the judge or 
     supervising authority and the leveraging of justice sanctions 
     to encourage compliance with treatment.
       ``(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 functional impairment that 
     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, on the ground that the 
     commission of the offense is the product of the person's 
     mental illness.
       ``(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 or other court-based programs 
     for preliminarily qualified offenders;
       ``(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;
       ``(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; 
     or
       ``(ii) adult offenders with mental illness during periods 
     of incarceration, while under the supervision of a criminal 
     justice agency, or following release from correctional 
     facilities; and
       ``(D) programs that support intergovernmental cooperation 
     between State and local governments with respect to the 
     mentally ill offender.
       ``(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 and the Secretary 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 and the Secretary 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.
       ``(E) Collaboration set aside.--Up to 5 percent of all 
     planning funds shall be used to foster collaboration between 
     State and local governments in furtherance of the purposes 
     set forth in the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime 
     Reduction Act of 2003.
       ``(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 and 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 preliminarily qualified offenders who are 
     to receive treatment services under the collaboration program 
     will first receive individualized, needs-based assessments to 
     determine, plan, and coordinate the most appropriate services 
     for such individuals;

[[Page S7486]]

       ``(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 preliminarily qualified offenders 
     served by the collaboration program will have access to 
     effective and appropriate community-based mental health 
     services, or, where appropriate, integrated substance abuse 
     and mental health treatment services;
       ``(IV) make available, to the extent practicable, other 
     support services that will ensure the preliminarily qualified 
     offender's successful reintegration into the community (such 
     as housing, education, job placement, mentoring, and health 
     care and benefits, as well as 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.

       ``(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 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/alternative 
     prosecution and sentencing programs.--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 and alternative 
     prosecution and sentencing 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 preliminarily 
     qualified offenders.

       ``(iii) Service delivery.--Funds may be used to create or 
     expand programs that promote public safety by providing the 
     services described in subparagraph (C)(ii) to preliminarily 
     qualified offenders.
       ``(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 of grants.--The Attorney 
     General, in consultation with the Secretary, shall ensure 
     that planning and 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 2004 and 2005; 
     and
       ``(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2006 
     through 2008.''.
       (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, 
Grassley, Cantwell, and Domenici 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. Law enforcement officers' ever scarcer time is being occupied 
by these offenders, who divert them from their more urgent 
responsibilities. Meanwhile, offenders find themselves in prisons or 
jails, where little or no appropriate medical care is available for 
them. This bill give State and local governments the tools to break 
this cycle, for the good of law enforcement, corrections officers, the 
public's safety, and mentally ill offenders.
  I held a Judiciary Committee hearing last June on the criminal 
justice system and mentally ill offenders. At that

[[Page S7487]]

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, more than 16 percent of adults 
incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons have a mental illness, about 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 I hear about often when I talk with law enforcement 
officials and others in Vermont.
  Under this bill, State and local governments can apply for funding to 
a. create or expand mental health courts or other court-based programs, 
which can 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 a penal or correctional institution.
  This legislation brings together law enforcement, corrections, and 
mental health professionals--indeed, officials from each of these 
fields in Vermont have offered their advice and support in drafting 
this bill. They know that the States have been dealing with the unique 
problems created by mentally ill offenders for many years, and that a 
Federal response is overdue. I look forward to working with them, and 
with Senator DeWine, Representative Ted Strickland, and other Members, 
to see this bill enacted this Congress.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am pleased today to be once again 
introducing with Senator DeWine the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and 
Crime Reduction Act of 2003. 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 
have 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 prison 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 
health 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 Senator Patrick Leahy along with Senators Grassley and Domenici in 
cosponsoring this important legislation. This bill will take steps to 
reduce the prevalence of the mentally ill 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 where little treatment is 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 2003 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 its work in this area.
  Last year, the Council on State Governments Criminal Justice/Mental 
Health Consensus Project issued a report that detailed the imbalance of 
the mentally ill in the criminal justice system. The Project found 
that, while those suffering from serious mental illness represent 
approximately five 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 
and on average spend 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 mentally 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 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 spend 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.

[[Page S7488]]

  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 King County 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, institutions 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 by assembling 
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 mentally ill 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 Senator 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.
                                 ______