[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 17]
[Senate]
[Pages 23332-23336]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    MENTALLY ILL OFFENDER TREATMENT AND CRIME REDUCTION ACT OF 2004

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I ask the Chair lay before the Senate a 
message from the House of Representatives on the bill (S. 1194) to 
foster local collaborations which will ensure that resources are 
effectively used within the criminal and juvenile justice systems.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER laid before the Senate the following message 
from the House of Representatives:

                                S. 1194

       Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 1194) entitled 
     ``An Act to foster local collaborations which will ensure 
     that resources are effectively and efficiently used within 
     the criminal and juvenile justice systems'', do pass with the 
     following amendment:
       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Mentally Ill Offender 
     Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004''.

     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

[[Page 23333]]

     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) protect public safety by intervening with 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 
     graduated sanctions in appropriate cases involving nonviolent 
     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 and 
     substance abuse treatment personnel about criminal offenders 
     with mental illness or co-occurring substance abuse disorders 
     and the appropriate response to such offenders in the 
     criminal justice system;
       (6) promote communication among adult or juvenile justice 
     personnel, mental health and co-occurring mental illness and 
     substance abuse disorders treatment personnel, nonviolent 
     offenders with mental illness or co-occurring mental illness 
     and substance abuse disorders, and support services such as 
     housing, job placement, community, faith-based, and crime 
     victims 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 or 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 or its contracted agency 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, the leveraging of graduated sanctions 
     to encourage compliance with treatment, and law enforcement 
     diversion, including crisis intervention teams.
       ``(C) Graduated sanctions.--In this paragraph, the term 
     `graduated sanctions' means an accountability-based graduated 
     series of sanctions (including incentives, treatments, and 
     services) applicable to mentally ill offenders within both 
     the juvenile and adult justice system to hold individuals 
     accountable for their actions and to protect communities by 
     providing appropriate sanctions for inducing law-abiding 
     behavior and preventing subsequent involvement in the 
     criminal justice system.
       ``(5) Mental health agency.--The term `mental health 
     agency' means an agency of a State or local government or its 
     contracted agency that is responsible for mental health 
     services or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse 
     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)(i) that, in the case of an adult, has resulted in 
     functional impairment that substantially interferes with or 
     limits 1 or more major life activities; or
       ``(ii) that, in the case of a juvenile, has resulted in 
     functional impairment that substantially interferes with or 
     limits the juvenile's role or functioning in family, school, 
     or community activities.
       ``(8) Nonviolent offense.--The term `nonviolent offense' 
     means an offense that does not have as an element the use, 
     attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against 
     the person or property of another or is not a felony that by 
     its nature involves a substantial risk that physical force 
     against the person or property of another may be used in the 
     course of committing the offense.
       ``(9) Preliminarily qualified offender.--The term 
     `preliminarily qualified offender' means an adult or juvenile 
     accused of a nonviolent offense 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, is facing, or could face criminal charges 
     for a misdemeanor or nonviolent offense and is deemed 
     eligible by a diversion process, designated pretrial 
     screening 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.
       ``(10) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of Health and Human Services.
       ``(11) 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 
     preliminarily qualified offenders 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 serving those with co-
     occurring mental illness and substance abuse problems in 
     procedures for identifying the symptoms of preliminarily 
     qualified offenders 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.

[[Page 23334]]

       ``(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 2004.
       ``(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 
     provide supervision of offenders and jointly ensure that the 
     provision of mental health treatment services and substance 
     abuse services for individuals with co-occurring mental 
     health and substance abuse disorders are coordinated, which 
     may range from consultation or collaboration to integration 
     in a single setting or treatment model;
       ``(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) preliminarily qualified offenders;
       ``(II) the families and advocates of such individuals under 
     subclause (I); and
       ``(III) advocates for victims of crime.

       ``(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 
     an adult or juvenile justice agency to identify preliminarily 
     qualified offenders.

       ``(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, validated, needs-based 
     assessments to determine, plan, and coordinate the most 
     appropriate services for such individuals;
       ``(II) specify plans for making mental health, or mental 
     health and substance abuse, treatment services available and 
     accessible to preliminarily qualified offenders at the time 
     of their release from the criminal justice system, including 
     outside of normal business hours;
       ``(III) ensure that there are substance abuse personnel 
     available to respond appropriately to the treatment needs of 
     preliminarily qualified offenders;
       ``(IV) determine eligibility for Federal benefits;
       ``(V) ensure that preliminarily qualified offenders served 
     by the collaboration program will have adequate supervision 
     and access to effective and appropriate community-based 
     mental health services, including, in the case of individuals 
     with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse 
     disorders, coordinated services, which may range from 
     consultation or collaboration to integration in a single 
     setting treatment model;
       ``(VI) 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
       ``(VII) include strategies, to the extent practicable, 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, other court-based programs, 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 preliminarily 
     qualified offenders; 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 and 
     transitional services 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;
       ``(3) document, in the case of an application for a grant 
     to be used in whole or in part to fund treatment services for 
     adults or juveniles during periods of incarceration or 
     detention, that treatment programs will be available to 
     provide transition and re-entry services for such 
     individuals; and
       ``(4) 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;

[[Page 23335]]

       ``(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 that 
     hinder or facilitate local collaborative initiatives for 
     preliminarily qualified offenders; 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 preliminarily 
     qualified offenders.
       ``(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) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and
       ``(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2006 
     through 2009.''.
       (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.

  Mr. DeWINE. Mr. President, I come to the floor in support of the 
Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act.
  Each year, more than 700,000 individuals with serious mental illness 
are booked into our Nation's jails. A recent Justice Department study 
revealed that 16 percent of all inmates in America's state prisons and 
local jails today are mentally ill. This has created one of the biggest 
challenges facing our front-line police officers, judges, prosecutors, 
and corrections officers and has left mentally ill inmates caught in a 
destructive cycle.
  As a former prosecuting attorney, I know about the helplessness that 
law enforcement officers feel when they have no other option than to 
arrest and incarcerate a person with mental illness who has committed a 
non-violent crime. I have seen the cycle of a non-violent, mentally ill 
offender who is arrested repeatedly and put into the system 
repeatedly--never being treated for his illness and, as a result, 
becoming more and more ill. I also have shared the frustration of 
judges who repeatedly sentence these low-level offenders, knowing that, 
without connection to needed services, they will just end up right back 
in the courtroom.
  Despite the complexity of these issues, recent initiatives 
demonstrate that we can increase public safety and reduce the numbers 
of mentally ill people trapped in the criminal justice system. We know 
that if given appropriate care early, the special needs of the mentally 
ill can be addressed to avoid a growing problem that increases the 
likelihood of repeat offenses. Four years ago, Senator Pete Domenici, 
Representative Ted Strickland, and I authored America's Law Enforcement 
and Mental Health Act. As a consequence of this law, the U.S. 
Department of Justice made available to 37 jurisdictions $7 million in 
funding and technical assistance for mental health courts. These courts 
are staffed by a core group of specialized professionals, including a 
dedicated judge, prosecutor, and public defender, who deal with mental 
illness cases and a court liaison to the mental health services 
community. While still early in their implementation, mental health 
courts have shown promising results. Mentally ill persons who choose to 
have their cases heard in a mental health court often do so because 
that is the first real opportunity that many have had to seek 
treatment.
  Last year, Senator Leahy, Senator Domenici, Representative Strickland 
and I introduced the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime 
Reduction Act. Our bill authorizes a grant program to help states and 
counties design and implement collaborative efforts between their 
criminal justice and mental health systems. This would allow, for 
example, a State corrections department to partner with the mental 
health system to ensure that people with mental illness released from 
prison are provided medications and connected to community-based 
service providers. It also could provide for programs to train local 
law enforcement on responding to individuals with mental illness. These 
programs would be proposed and controlled by the local and State 
officials most knowledgeable about the needs of their communities.
  Since its inception, our Nation has stood on the foundations of 
compassion and justice. These programs envisioned by this bill are a 
wonderful embodiment of both ideals and have earned a broad coalition 
of support from law enforcement, mental health advocates, state 
officials and private groups, including the Council of State 
Governments, the National Sheriffs' Association, the Police Executive 
Research Forum, and the American Correctional Association. With this 
bill, we move closer to both addressing the needs of the mentally ill 
and easing the burden upon our police and correctional workers. It will 
make a real difference, and I thank my colleagues--especially Ranking 
Member Leahy, Senator Grassley, Senator Durbin, Senator Domenici, 
Senator Cantwell, Chairman Hatch, and Senator Murray for their support. 
I would also like to thank Congressman Strickland and Chairman 
Sensenbrenner for championing this issue on the House side.
  (At the request of Mr. Daschle, the following statement was ordered 
to be printed in the Record.)
 Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, the Mentally Ill Offender 
Treatment and Crime Reduction Act is a good bipartisan bill that will 
help State and local governments deal effectively with a serious law 
enforcement and mental health problem--the extent to which mentally ill 
individuals commit crimes and recidivate without ever receiving 
appropriate attention from the mental health, law enforcement, or 
corrections systems. The bill passed the Senate unanimously last year, 
and passed the House of Representatives in slightly revised form 
earlier today, by voice vote.
  I have enjoyed working on this bill with Senator DeWine, who has 
shown commitment and leadership on this issue. I am also pleased that 
Senators Cantwell, Domenici, Durbin, Grassley and Hatch have joined 
Senator DeWine and I as cosponsors of this bill. And I very much 
appreciate the support of House Judiciary Committee Chairman 
Sensenbrenner and Ranking Member Conyers, as well as Crime Subcommittee 
Chairman Howard Coble and Ranking Member Bobby Scott, and Congressman 
William Delahunt.
  Human Rights Watch released a report last year discussing the fact 
``that jails and prisons have become the Nation's default mental health 
system.'' The first recommendation in the report was for Congress to 
enact this bill. Tonight we will follow that recommendation and send 
this bill to the President.
  All too often, people with mental illness rotate repeatedly between 
the criminal justice system and the streets of our communities, 
committing a serious of minor offenses. The ever scarcer time of our 
law enforcement officers is being occupied by these offenders, who 
divert them from more urgent responsibilities. Meanwhile, offenders 
find themselves in prisons or jails, where little or no appropriate 
medical care is available for them. This bill will give State and local 
governments the tools to break this cycle, for the good of law 
enforcement, corrections officers, the public safety, and mentally ill 
offenders themselves.
  When I was chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I held a hearing 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 of our witnesses agreed that people with 
untreated mental illness are more likely

[[Page 23336]]

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. We know that more than 16 percent of 
adults incarcerated in U.S. jails and prisons have a mental illness, 
that about 20 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have 
serious mental health problems, and that 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. We know 
these things, but we have not done enough about them at the Federal 
level, and our State and local officials need our help.
  The bill does not mandate a ``one size fits all'' approach to 
addressing this issue. Rather, it allows grantees to use the funding 
authorized under the bill for mental health courts or other court-based 
programs, for training for criminal justice and mental health system 
personnel, and for better mental health treatment in our communities 
and within the corrective system. Although the House did reduce the 
funding authorized by the bill from $100 million to $50 million, that 
amount will still be enough to make a real start at addressing this 
problem. This is an area where government spending can not only do good 
but can also save money in the long run--a dollar spent today to get 
mentally ill offenders effective medical care can save many dollars in 
law enforcement costs in the long run.
  This bill has brought law enforcement officers and mental health 
professionals together, as we have seen at both of the hearings the 
Judiciary Committee held on this issue. I hope that it will provide 
much-needed support to our communities and make a difference for both 
law enforcement officers and the mentally ill.
  Mr. SESSIONS. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
Senate concur in the House amendment, that the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statement relating to the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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