To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide grants for the improved mental health treatment and services provided to offenders with mental illnesses, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the ‘Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 2. Findings.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 3. Reauthorization of the Adult and Juvenile Collaboration Program Grants.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 4. Law enforcement response to mentally ill offenders improvement grants.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





Sec. 5. Examination and report on prevalence of mentally ill offenders.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Congress finds the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Communities nationwide are struggling to respond to the high numbers of people with mental illnesses involved at all points in the criminal justice system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) A 1999 study by the Department of Justice estimated that 16 percent of people incarcerated in prisons and jails in the United States, which is more than 300,000 people, suffer from mental illnesses.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) Los Angeles County Jail and New York’s Rikers Island jail complex hold more people with mental illnesses than the largest psychiatric inpatient facilities in the United States.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) State prisoners with a mental health problem are twice as likely as those without a mental health problem to have been homeless in the year before their arrest.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) Authorization of Appropriations Through 2014- Section 2991(h) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa(h)) is amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) in paragraph (1), by striking at the end ‘and’;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘for fiscal years 2006 through 2009.’ and inserting ‘for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007; and’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2014.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Allocation of Funding for Administrative Purposes- Section 2991(h) of such title is further amended--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) (as added by subsection (a)(3)) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and adjusting the margins accordingly;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) by striking ‘There are authorized’ and inserting ‘(1) IN GENERAL- There are authorized’; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) Allocation of Funding for Administrative Purposes- For fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal year, of the amounts authorized under paragraph (1) for such fiscal year, the Attorney General may obligate not more than 3 percent for the administrative expenses of the Attorney General in carrying out this section for such fiscal year.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Additional Applications Receiving Priority- Subsection (c) of such section is amended to read as follows:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(c) Priority- The Attorney General, in awarding funds under this section, shall give priority to applications that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) promote effective strategies by law enforcement to identify and to reduce risk of harm to mentally ill offenders and public safety;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) promote effective strategies for identification and treatment of female mentally ill offenders;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) promote effective strategies to expand the use of mental health courts, including the use of pretrial services and related treatment programs for offenders; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(4)(A) demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to promote both public health and public safety;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) demonstrate the active participation of each co-applicant in the administration of the collaboration program;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) 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 reentry services for such individuals; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) have the support of both the Attorney General and the Secretary.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Section 2991 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa) is amended by--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) inserting after subsection (g) the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(h) Law Enforcement Response to Mentally Ill Offenders Improvement Grants-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(1) AUTHORIZATION- The Attorney General is authorized to make grants under this section to States, units of local government, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations for the following purposes:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(A) TRAINING PROGRAMS- To provide for programs that offer law enforcement personnel specialized and comprehensive training in procedures to identify and respond appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of individuals with mental illnesses are involved.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(B) RECEIVING CENTERS- To provide for the development of specialized receiving centers to assess individuals in the custody of law enforcement personnel for suicide risk and mental health and substance abuse treatment needs.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(C) IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY- To provide for computerized information systems (or to improve existing systems) to provide timely information to law enforcement personnel and criminal justice system personnel to improve the response of such respective personnel to mentally ill offenders.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(D) COOPERATIVE PROGRAMS- To provide for the establishment and expansion of cooperative efforts by criminal and juvenile justice agencies and mental health agencies to promote public safety through the use of effective intervention with respect to mentally ill offenders.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(E) CAMPUS SECURITY PERSONNEL TRAINING- To provide for programs that offer campus security personnel training in procedures to identify and respond appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of individuals with mental illnesses are involved.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(2) BJA TRAINING MODELS- For purposes of paragraph (1)(A), the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance shall develop training models for training law enforcement personnel in procedures to identify and respond appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of individuals with mental illnesses are involved, including suicide prevention.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





‘(3) MATCHING FUNDS- The Federal share of funds for a program funded by a grant received under this subsection may not exceed 50 percent of the costs of the program. The non-Federal share of payments made for such a program may be made in cash or in-kind fairly evaluated, including planned equipment or services.’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

(a) In General-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General shall examine and report on mental illness and the criminal justice system.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) SCOPE- Congress encourages the Attorney General to specifically examine the following:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) POPULATIONS- The rate of occurrence of serious mental illnesses in each of the following populations:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) Individuals, including juveniles, on probation.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) Individuals, including juveniles, incarcerated in a jail.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) Individuals, including juveniles, incarcerated in a prison.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) Individuals, including juveniles, on parole.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) BENEFITS- The percentage of individuals in each population described in subparagraph (A) who have--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) a serious mental illness; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) received disability benefits under title II or title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq. and 1381 et seq.).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Report- Not later than 36 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress the report described in subsection (a).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Definitions- In this section--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the term ‘serious mental illness’ means that an individual has, or at any time during the 1-year period ending on the date of enactment of this Act had, a covered mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the term ‘covered mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder’--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) means a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria specified within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, or the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification equivalent of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) does not include a disorder that has a V code within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, a substance use disorder, or a developmental disorder, unless that disorder cooccurs with another disorder described in subparagraph (A) and causes functional impairment which substantially interferes with or limits 1 or more major life activities.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for 2009.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Passed the Senate September 26 (legislative day, September 17), 2008.Attest:Secretary.