Services, Education, and Rehabilitation for Veterans Act or the SERV Act - Requires the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to delegate to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the authority to administer the veteran's treatment courts program established by this Act.
Authorizes the Attorney General to make grants to states and other entities: (1) to develop, implement, or enhance veteran's treatment courts or to expand operational drug courts to serve veterans; and (2) for programs that involve continuing judicial supervision over nonviolent offenders with substance abuse or mental health problems who have served in the U.S. military. Requires such programs to include mandatory periodic testing for the use of drugs, substance abuse and mental health treatment, opportunities for diversion, probation, or supervised release, and programmatic, offender management, and aftercare services.
Directs the National Drug Court Institute to conduct national training programs for state and local communities to improve the professional skills of drug court practitioners and provide comprehensive technical assistance to adult, juvenile, and family dependency drug courts.
[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3702 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
112th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3702
To provide grants to establish veteran's treatment courts.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 20, 2012
Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Whitehouse,
and Mr. Franken) introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide grants to establish veteran's treatment 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 ``Services, Education, and
Rehabilitation for Veterans Act'' or the ``SERV Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of
the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
(2) Veteran.--The term ``veteran'' means a person who
served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who
was discharged or released therefrom under conditions other
than dishonorable.
(3) Veteran's treatment court.--The term ``veteran's
treatment court'' means a program specifically for veterans
that meets the drug court criteria established by the Violent
Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-
322).
(4) Violent offender.--The term ``violent offender'' means
a person who--
(A) is charged with or convicted of an offense,
during the course of which offense or conduct--
(i) the person carried, possessed, or used
a firearm or dangerous weapon;
(ii) there occurred the death of or serious
bodily injury to any person; or
(iii) there occurred the use of force
against the person of another, without regard
to whether any of the circumstances described
in clause (i) or (ii) is an element of the
offense or conduct of which or for which the
person is charged or convicted.
(B) has one or more prior convictions for a felony
crime of violence involving the use or attempted use of
force against a person with the intent to cause death
or serious bodily harm.
SEC. 3. VETERAN'S TREATMENT COURTS.
(a) Delegation.--The Director shall delegate the authority to
administer the program and other such activities necessary to carry out
this Act to the Department of Justice.
(b) Grants.--The Attorney General may 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
private entities, for the purpose of developing, implementing, or
enhancing veteran's treatment courts or expanding operational drug
courts to serve veterans.
(c) Eligibility.--Grants under this Act shall be made to veteran's
treatment courts and drug courts serving veterans that effectively
integrate substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, mandatory
drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and transitional services, in a
judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over nonviolent,
substance-abusing offenders that have served in the United States
military.
SEC. 4. GRANT AUTHORITY.
The Attorney General may 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 private
entities, for programs that involve--
(1) continuing judicial supervision over offenders with
substance abuse or mental health problems who are not violent
offenders and have served in the United States military; and
(2) the integrated administration of other sanctions and
services, which shall include--
(A) mandatory periodic testing for the use of
controlled substances or other addictive substances
during any period of supervised release or probation
for each participant;
(B) substance abuse and mental health treatment
(such as treatment for depression and post-traumatic
stress disorder) for each participant;
(C) diversion, probation, or other supervised
release involving the possibility of prosecution,
confinement, or incarceration based on noncompliance
with program requirements or failure to show
satisfactory progress; and
(D) programmatic, offender management, and
aftercare services such as relapse prevention, health
care, education, vocational training, job placement,
housing placement, and child care or other family
support services for each participant who requires such
services.
SEC. 5. APPLICATIONS.
(a) In General.--To request a grant under this Act, a State, State
court, local court, 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.
(b) Applications.--In addition to any other requirements that may
be specified by the Attorney General, an application for a grant under
this Act 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, specifically the Department of
Veterans Affairs and the Department of Health and Human
Services, 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
veteran's treatment court program;
(7) specify plans for obtaining necessary support and
continuing the proposed program following the conclusion of
Federal support; and
(8) describe the methodology that will be used in
evaluating the program.
(c) Certifications.--Each such application shall contain the
certification that the program for which the grant is requested shall
meet each of the requirements of this Act.
SEC. 6. FEDERAL SHARE.
The Federal share of a grant made under this Act may not exceed 75
percent of the total costs of the program described in the application
submitted under section 5 for the fiscal year for which the program
receives assistance under this Act, unless the Attorney General waives,
wholly or in part, the requirement of a matching contribution under
this section. In-kind contributions may constitute a portion of the
non-Federal share of a grant.
SEC. 7. REPORTS AND EVALUATIONS.
(a) Report to Attorney General and the Director.--For each fiscal
year, each recipient of a grant under this Act during that fiscal year
shall submit to the Attorney General, the Director, and the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs a report regarding the effectiveness of activities
carried out using that grant. Each report shall include an evaluation
in such form and containing such information as the Attorney General
may reasonably require. The Attorney General shall specify the dates on
which such reports shall be submitted.
(b) Report to Congress.--The Director, in consultation with the
Attorney General, shall submit a yearly report on the effectiveness on
the activities carried out under this Act to the House and Senate
Committees on the Judiciary and the House and Senate Committees on
Veterans' Affairs.
SEC. 8. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Consultation.--The Attorney General shall consult with the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, and any other appropriate officials in carrying out this Act.
(b) Regulatory Authority.--
(1) In general.--The Attorney General may issue regulations
and guidelines necessary to carry out this Act.
(2) Participation limits.--In addition to the general
authority provided under paragraph (1), the Attorney General
shall--
(A) issue regulations and guidelines to ensure that
programs authorized in this Act do not permit
participation by violent offenders; and
(B) immediately suspend funding for any grant under
this part, pending compliance, if the Attorney General
finds that violent offenders are participating in any
program funded under this part.
(c) Geographic Distribution.--The Attorney General shall ensure
that, to the extent practicable, an equitable geographic distribution
of grant awards is made under this Act.
SEC. 9. 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 Act.
(b) Evaluations.--The Attorney General may provide for evaluations
in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.
SEC. 10. FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL DRUG COURT INSTITUTE.
(a) Comprehensive, National Training and Technical Assistance for
Drug Courts.--The National Drug Court Institute in Alexandria,
Virginia, shall--
(1) conduct national, comprehensive training programs for
State and local communities for the purpose of improving the
professional skills of drug court practitioners and enhancing
the ability of State and local communities to expand drug
courts to reach all addicted citizens in need of their
resources; and
(2) provide national, comprehensive Technical Assistance to
adult, juvenile and family dependency drug courts including a
combination of information gathering, needs assessment,
cultural proficiency, analysis, problem solving, action
planning, referral and follow-up.
(b) Ancillary Projects.--The National Drug Court Institute in
Alexandria, Virginia, shall complete ancillary programs designed to
facilitate the expansion and improvement of drug courts nationwide
including--
(1) a Judicial Task Force to develop a transition plan for
new drug court judges;
(2) a resource center to maintain and distribute drug court
evaluations reviewed in the National Drug Court Institute
Review, and to request new research and evaluations for the
drug court field;
(3) publishing annually the National Drug Court Institute
Review to provide research, analysis, and commentary of
importance to the drug court field; and
(4) searching drug court literature and identify, reprint,
and disseminate important and relevant scholarship to the drug
court field.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to the Attorney General to carry out this section
$10,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2018 to remain
available until expended.
SEC. 11. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Except for section 10, there are authorized to be appropriated to
the Director to carry out this Act $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2013 to 2018.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
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