Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008

by the 110th Congress of the United States

110^TH UNITED STATES CONGRESS
2^ND SESSION

An Act
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.

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

Section 1. Short Title; Table of Contents.

(a) Short Title.—

This Act may be cited as the ``Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008´´.

(b) Table of Contents.—

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short Title; Table of Contents.

Sec. 2. Findings.

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

Sec. 4. Law Enforcement Response to Mentally Ill Offenders Improvement Grants.

Sec. 5. Examination and Report on Prevalence of Mentally Ill Offenders.

Sec. 2. Findings.

Congress finds the following:

(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.

(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.

(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.

(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.

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

(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—

(1) in paragraph (1), by striking at the end ``and´´;

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``for fiscal years 2006 through 2009.´´ and inserting ``for each of the fiscal years 2006 and 2007; and´´; and

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

``(3) $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2014.´´.

(b) Allocation of Funding for Administrative Purposes.—

Section 2991(h) of such title is further amended.—

(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;

(2) by striking ``There are authorized´´ and inserting ``(1) IN GENERAL.— There are authorized´´; and

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

``(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.´´.

(c) Additional Applications Receiving Priority.—

Subsection (c) of such section is amended to read as follows:

``(c) Priority.— The Attorney General, in awarding funds under this section, shall give priority to applications that—

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

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

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

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

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

``(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; and

``(D) have the support of both the Attorney General and the Secretary.´´.

Sec. 4. Law Enforcement Response to Mentally Ill Offenders Improvement Grants.

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

(1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and

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

``(h) Law Enforcement Response to Mentally Ill Offenders Improvement Grants.—

``(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:

``(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.

``(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.

``(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.

``(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.

``(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.

``(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.

``(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.´´.

Sec. 5. Examination and Report on Prevalence of Mentally Ill Offenders.

(a) In General.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—

The Attorney General shall examine and report on mental illness and the criminal justice system.

(2) SCOPE.—

Congress encourages the Attorney General to specifically examine the following:

(A) POPULATIONS.—

The rate of occurrence of serious mental illnesses in each of the following populations:

(i) Individuals, including juveniles, on probation.

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

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

(iv) Individuals, including juveniles, on parole.

(B) BENEFITS.—

The percentage of individuals in each population described in subparagraph (A) who have—

(i) a serious mental illness; and

(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.).

(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).

(c) Definitions.—

In this section—

(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; and

(2) the term ``covered mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder´´—

(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; and

(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.

(d) Authorization of Appropriations.—

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for 2009.

Approved October 14, 2008.

Legislative History

• S. 2304, (H.R. 3992)

• HOUSE REPORTS:

• No. 110-514 accompanying H.R. 3992 (Comm. on the Judiciary)

• CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 154 (2008):

• Sept. 26, considered and passed Senate.
• Sept. 27, 29, considered and passed House.