[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1865 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1865
To provide grants to establish demonstration mental health courts.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 4, 1999
Mr. DeWine (for himself and Mr. Domenici) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide grants to establish demonstration mental health courts.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``America's Law Enforcement and Mental
Health Project''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) fully 16 percent of all inmates in State prisons and
local jails suffer from mental illness, according to a July,
1999 report, conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics;
(2) between 600,000 and 700,000 mentally ill persons are
annually booked in jail alone, according to the American Jail
Association;
(3) estimates say 25 to 40 percent of America's mentally
ill will come into contact with the criminal justice system,
according to National Alliance for the Mentally Ill;
(4) 75 percent of mentally ill inmates have been sentenced
to time in prison or jail or probation at least once prior to
their current sentence, according to the Bureau of Justice
Statistics in July, 1999; and
(5) Broward County, Florida and King County, Washington,
have created separate Mental Health Courts to place nonviolent
mentally ill offenders into judicially monitored in-patient and
out-patient mental health treatment programs, where
appropriate, with positive results.
SEC. 3. MENTAL HEALTH COURTS.
(a) Amendment.--Part V of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended to read as follows:
``PART V--MENTAL HEALTH COURTS
``SEC. 2201. GRANT AUTHORITY.
``The Attorney General shall make grants to States, State courts,
local courts, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments,
acting directly or through agreements with other public or nonprofit
entities, for up to 125 programs that involve--
``(1) continuing judicial supervision, including periodic
review, over preliminarily qualified offenders with mental
illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental illness and
substance abuse disorders, who are charged with nonviolent
offenses; and
``(2) the coordinated delivery of services, which
includes--
``(A) specialized training of law enforcement and
judicial personnel to identify and address the unique
needs of a mentally ill or mentally retarded offender;
``(B) voluntary outpatient or inpatient mental
health treatment that carries with it the possibility
of dismissal of charges or reduced sentencing upon
successful completion of treatment; and
``(C) centralized case management involving the
consolidation of all of a mentally ill or mentally
retarded defendant's cases, including violations of
probation, and the coordination of all mental health
treatment plans and social services, including life
skills training, such as housing placement, vocational
training, education, job placement, health care, and
relapse prevention for each participant who requires
such services.
``SEC. 2202. DEFINITION.
``In this part the term `preliminarily qualified offender with
mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental and
substance abuse disorders' means a person who--
``(1)(A) previously or currently has been diagnosed by a
qualified mental health professional as having a mental
illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental illness and
substance abuse disorders; or
``(B) manifests obvious signs of mental illness, mental
retardation, or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse
disorders during arrest or confinement or before any court; and
``(2) is deemed eligible by designated judges.
``SEC. 2203. ADMINISTRATION.
``(a) Consultation.--The Attorney General shall consult with the
Secretary of Health and Human Services and any other appropriate
officials in carrying out this part.
``(b) Use of Components.--The Attorney General may utilize any
component or components of the Department of Justice in carrying out
this part.
``(c) Regulatory Authority.--The Attorney General shall issue
regulations and guidelines necessary to carry out this part which
include, but are not limited to, the methodologies and outcome measures
proposed for evaluating each applicant program.
``(d) Applications.--In addition to any other requirements that may
be specified by the Attorney General, an application for a grant under
this part shall--
``(1) include a long-term strategy and detailed
implementation plan;
``(2) explain the applicant's inability to fund the program
adequately without Federal assistance;
``(3) certify that the Federal support provided will be
used to supplement, and not supplant, State, Indian tribal, and
local sources of funding that would otherwise be available;
``(4) identify related governmental or community
initiatives which complement or will be coordinated with the
proposal;
``(5) certify that there has been appropriate consultation
with all affected agencies and that there will be appropriate
coordination with all affected agencies in the implementation
of the program;
``(6) certify that participating offenders will be
supervised by one or more designated judges with responsibility
for the mental health court program;
``(7) specify plans for obtaining necessary support and
continuing the proposed program following the conclusion of
Federal support;
``(8) describe the methodology and outcome measures that
will be used in evaluating the program; and
``(9) certify that participating first time offenders
without a history of a mental illness will receive a mental
health evaluation.
``SEC. 2204. APPLICATIONS.
``To request funds under this part, the chief executive or the
chief justice of a State or the chief executive or chief judge of a
unit of local government or Indian tribal government shall submit an
application to the Attorney General in such form and containing such
information as the Attorney General may reasonably require.
``SEC. 2205. FEDERAL SHARE.
``The Federal share of a grant made under this part may not exceed
75 percent of the total costs of the program described in the
application submitted under section 2205 for the fiscal year for which
the program receives assistance under this part, unless the Attorney
General waives, wholly or in part, the requirement of a matching
contribution under this section. The use of the Federal share of a
grant made under this part shall be limited to new expenses
necessitated by the proposed program, including the development of
treatment services and the hiring and training of personnel. In-kind
contributions may constitute a portion of the non-Federal share of a
grant.
``SEC. 2206. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.
``The Attorney General shall ensure that, to the extent
practicable, an equitable geographic distribution of grant awards is
made that considers the special needs of rural communities, Indian
tribes, and Alaska Natives.
``SEC. 2207. REPORT.
``A State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local government
that receives funds under this part during a fiscal year shall submit
to the Attorney General a report in March of the following year
regarding the effectiveness of this part.
``SEC. 2208. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, AND EVALUATION.
``(a) Technical Assistance and Training.--The Attorney General may
provide technical assistance and training in furtherance of the
purposes of this part.
``(b) Evaluations.--In addition to any evaluation requirements that
may be prescribed for grantees, the Attorney General may carry out or
make arrangements for evaluations of programs that receive support
under this part.
``(c) Administration.--The technical assistance, training, and
evaluations authorized by this section may be carried out directly by
the Attorney General, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and
Human Services, or through grants, contracts, or other cooperative
arrangements with other entities.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--The table of contents of title I of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et
seq.), is amended by inserting after part U the following:
``Part V--Mental Health Courts
``Sec. 2201. Grant authority.
``Sec. 2202. Definition.
``Sec. 2203. Administration.
``Sec. 2204. Applications.
``Sec. 2205. Federal share.
``Sec. 2206. Geographic distribution.
``Sec. 2207. Report.
``Sec. 2208. Technical assistance, training, and evaluation.''.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 1001(a) of title I of
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.
3793(a)), is amended by inserting after paragraph (19) the following:
``(20) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part V,
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2004.''.
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