Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Act of 2013 - Amends the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004 to: (1) expand the assistance provided under such Act, and (2) reauthorize appropriations for FY2015-FY2019.
Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to establish or expand: (1) veterans treatment court programs, which involve collaboration among criminal justice, veterans, and mental health and substance abuse agencies to provide qualified veterans (preliminarily qualified offenders who were discharged from the armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable) with intensive judicial supervision and case management, treatment services, alternatives to incarceration, and other appropriate services, including housing, transportation, job training, education, and assistance in obtaining benefits; (2) peer to peer services or programs to assist such veterans in obtaining treatment, recovery, stabilization, or rehabilitation; (3) practices that identify and provide treatment, rehabilitation, legal, transitional, and other appropriate services to such veterans who have been incarcerated; and (4) training programs to teach criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections, mental health, and substance abuse personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving such veterans.
Revises the definition of "preliminarily qualified offender" to include, in the case of a veterans treatment court program, an adult or juvenile accused of an offense who has been diagnosed with, or manifests obvious signs of, mental illness or a substance abuse disorder or co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorder. Removes a requirement that the adult or juvenile be accused of a nonviolent offense. Requires preliminarily qualified offenders to be unanimously approved for participation in a collaboration program by, when appropriate, the relevant prosecuting attorney, defense attorney, probation or corrections official, judge, and representative from the relevant mental health agency.
Authorizes the Attorney General to award grants to enhance the capabilities of a correctional facility to: (1) identify and screen for mentally ill inmates; (2) plan and provide assessments of the clinical, medical, and social needs of inmates and appropriate treatment and services that address mental health and substance abuse needs; (3) develop, implement, and enhance post-release transition plans that coordinate services and public benefits, the availability of mental health care and substance abuse treatment services, alternatives to solitary confinement and segregated housing, and mental health screening and treatment for inmates placed in solitary confinement or segregated housing; and (4) train employees in identifying and responding to incidents involving inmates with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.
Authorizes the Attorney General to: (1) award not more than six grants per year to applicants for the purpose of reducing the use of public services by mentally ill individuals who consume a significantly disproportionate quantity of public resources, and (2) make grants to provide support for programs that teach law enforcement personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving persons with such disorders.
Directs the Attorney General to give priority in awarding grants for adult or juvenile collaboration programs to applications that: (1) propose interventions that have been shown by empirical evidence to reduce recidivism, and (2) use validated assessment tools to target preliminarily qualified offenders with a moderate or high risk of recidivism and a need for treatment and services.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 401 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 401
To reauthorize and improve the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and
Crime Reduction Act of 2004.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 23, 2013
Mr. Nugent (for himself, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Cicilline, Mr.
Grimm, Mr. Gowdy, Mr. Sensenbrenner, Mr. Reichert, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr.
Conyers, and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reauthorize and improve the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and
Crime Reduction Act of 2004.
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 ``Justice and Mental Health
Collaboration Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. ASSISTING VETERANS.
(a) Redesignation.--Section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa) is amended by redesignating
subsection (i) as subsection (l).
(b) Assisting Veterans.--Section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control
and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa) is amended by inserting
after subsection (h) the following:
``(i) Assisting Veterans.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Peer to peer services or programs.--The term
`peer to peer services or programs' means services or
programs that connect qualified veterans with other
veterans for the purpose of providing support and
mentorship to assist qualified veterans in obtaining
treatment, recovery, stabilization, or rehabilitation.
``(B) Qualified veteran.--The term `qualified
veteran' means a preliminarily qualified offender who--
``(i) has served on active duty in any
branch of the Armed Forces, including the
National Guard and reserve components; and
``(ii) was discharged or released from such
service under conditions other than
dishonorable.
``(C) Veterans treatment court program.--The term
`veterans treatment court program' means a court
program involving collaboration among criminal justice,
veterans, and mental health and substance abuse
agencies that provides qualified veterans with--
``(i) intensive judicial supervision and
case management, which may include random and
frequent drug testing where appropriate;
``(ii) a full continuum of treatment
services, including mental health services,
substance abuse services, medical services, and
services to address trauma;
``(iii) alternatives to incarceration; and
``(iv) other appropriate services,
including housing, transportation, mentoring,
employment, job training, education, and
assistance in applying for and obtaining
available benefits.
``(2) Veterans assistance program.--
``(A) In general.--The Attorney General, in
consultation with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
may award grants under this subsection to applicants to
establish or expand--
``(i) veterans treatment court programs;
``(ii) peer to peer services or programs
for qualified veterans;
``(iii) practices that identify and provide
treatment, rehabilitation, legal, transitional,
and other appropriate services to qualified
veterans who have been incarcerated; and
``(iv) training programs to teach criminal
justice, law enforcement, corrections, mental
health, and substance abuse personnel how to
identify and appropriately respond to incidents
involving qualified veterans.
``(B) Priority.--In awarding grants under this
subsection, the Attorney General shall give priority to
applications that--
``(i) demonstrate collaboration between and
joint investments by criminal justice, mental
health, substance abuse, and veterans service
agencies;
``(ii) promote effective strategies to
identify and reduce the risk of harm to
qualified veterans and public safety; and
``(iii) propose interventions with
empirical support to improve outcomes for
qualified veterans.''.
SEC. 3. CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.
Section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa) is amended by inserting after subsection (i),
as so added by section 2, the following:
``(j) Correctional Facilities.--
``(1) Definitions.--
``(A) Correctional facility.--The term
`correctional facility' means a jail, prison, or other
detention facility used to house people who have been
arrested, detained, held, or convicted by a criminal
justice agency or a court.
``(B) Eligible inmate.--The term `eligible inmate'
means an individual who--
``(i) is being held, detained, or
incarcerated in a correctional facility; and
``(ii) manifests obvious signs of a mental
illness or has been diagnosed by a qualified
mental health professional as having a mental
illness.
``(2) Correctional facility grants.--The Attorney General
may award grants to applicants to enhance the capabilities of a
correctional facility--
``(A) to identify and screen for eligible inmates;
``(B) to plan and provide--
``(i) initial and periodic assessments of
the clinical, medical, and social needs of
inmates; and
``(ii) appropriate treatment and services
that address the mental health and substance
abuse needs of inmates;
``(C) to develop, implement, and enhance--
``(i) post-release transition plans for
eligible inmates that, in a comprehensive
manner, coordinate health, housing, medical,
employment, and other appropriate services and
public benefits;
``(ii) the availability of mental health
care services and substance abuse treatment
services; and
``(iii) alternatives to solitary
confinement and segregated housing and mental
health screening and treatment for inmates
placed in solitary confinement or segregated
housing; and
``(D) to train each employee of the correctional
facility to identify and appropriately respond to
incidents involving inmates with mental health or co-
occurring mental health and substance abuse
disorders.''.
SEC. 4. HIGH UTILIZERS.
Section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of
1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa) is amended by inserting after subsection (j),
as added by section 3, the following:
``(k) Demonstration Grants Responding to High Utilizers.--
``(1) Definition.--In this subsection, the term `high
utilizer' means an individual who--
``(A) manifests obvious signs of mental illness or
has been diagnosed by a qualified mental health
professional as having a mental illness; and
``(B) consumes a significantly disproportionate
quantity of public resources, such as emergency,
housing, judicial, corrections, and law enforcement
services.
``(2) Demonstration grants responding to high utilizers.--
``(A) In general.--The Attorney General may award
not more than 6 grants per year under this subsection
to applicants for the purpose of reducing the use of
public services by high utilizers.
``(B) Use of grants.--A recipient of a grant
awarded under this subsection may use the grant--
``(i) to develop or support
multidisciplinary teams that coordinate,
implement, and administer community-based
crisis responses and long-term plans for high
utilizers;
``(ii) to provide training on how to
respond appropriately to the unique issues
involving high utilizers for public service
personnel, including criminal justice, mental
health, substance abuse, emergency room,
healthcare, law enforcement, corrections, and
housing personnel;
``(iii) to develop or support alternatives
to hospital and jail admissions for high
utilizers that provide treatment,
stabilization, and other appropriate supports
in the least restrictive, yet appropriate,
environment; or
``(iv) to develop protocols and systems
among law enforcement, mental health, substance
abuse, housing, corrections, and emergency
medical service operations to provide
coordinated assistance to high utilizers.
``(C) Report.--Not later than the last day of the
first year following the fiscal year in which a grant
is awarded under this subsection, the recipient of the
grant shall submit to the Attorney General a report
that--
``(i) measures the performance of the grant
recipient in reducing the use of public
services by high utilizers; and
``(ii) provides a model set of practices,
systems, or procedures that other jurisdictions
can adopt to reduce the use of public services
by high utilizers.''.
SEC. 5. ACADEMY TRAINING.
Section 2991(h) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa(h)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the following:
``(F) Academy training.--To provide support for
academy curricula, law enforcement officer orientation
programs, continuing education training, and other
programs that teach law enforcement personnel how to
identify and respond to incidents involving persons
with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental
health and substance abuse disorders.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Priority consideration.--The Attorney General, in
awarding grants under this subsection, shall give priority to
programs that law enforcement personnel and members of the
mental health and substance abuse professions develop and
administer cooperatively.''.
SEC. 6. EVIDENCE BASED PRACTICES.
Section 2991(c) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (6); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3), the following:
``(4) propose interventions that have been shown by
empirical evidence to reduce recidivism;
``(5) when appropriate, use validated assessment tools to
target preliminarily qualified offenders with a moderate or
high risk of recidivism and a need for treatment and services;
or''.
SEC. 7. SAFE COMMUNITIES.
(a) In General.--Section 2991(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (7)--
(A) in the heading, by striking ``Mental illness''
and inserting ``Mental illness; mental health
disorder''; and
(B) by striking ``term `mental illness' means'' and
inserting ``terms `mental illness' and `mental health
disorder' mean''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (9) and inserting the following:
``(9) Preliminarily qualified offender.--
``(A) In general.--The term `preliminarily
qualified offender' means an adult or juvenile accused
of an offense who--
``(i)(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;
``(II) manifests obvious signs of mental
illness or co-occurring mental illness and
substance abuse disorders during arrest or
confinement or before any court; or
``(III) in the case of a veterans treatment
court provided under subsection (i), has been
diagnosed with, or manifests obvious signs of,
mental illness or a substance abuse disorder or
co-occurring mental illness and substance abuse
disorder; and
``(ii) has been unanimously approved for
participation in a program funded under this
section by, when appropriate, the relevant--
``(I) prosecuting attorney;
``(II) defense attorney;
``(III) probation or corrections
official;
``(IV) judge; and
``(V) a representative from the
relevant mental health agency described
in subsection (b)(5)(B)(i).
``(B) Determination.--In determining whether to
designate a defendant as a preliminarily qualified
offender, the relevant prosecuting attorney, defense
attorney, probation or corrections official, judge, and
mental health or substance abuse agency representative
shall take into account--
``(i) whether the participation of the
defendant in the program would pose a
substantial risk of violence to the community;
``(ii) the criminal history of the
defendant and the nature and severity of the
offense for which the defendant is charged;
``(iii) the views of any relevant victims
to the offense;
``(iv) the extent to which the defendant
would benefit from participation in the
program;
``(v) the extent to which the community
would realize cost savings because of the
defendant's participation in the program; and
``(vi) whether the defendant satisfies the
eligibility criteria for program participation
unanimously established by the relevant
prosecuting attorney, defense attorney,
probation or corrections official, judge and
mental health or substance abuse agency
representative.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--Section 2927(2) of the
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797s-
6(2)) is amended by striking ``has the meaning given that term in
section 2991(a).'' and inserting ``means an offense that--
``(A) does not have as an element the use,
attempted use, or threatened use of physical force
against the person or property of another; or
``(B) 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.''.
SEC. 8. REAUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
Subsection (l) of section 2991 of the Omnibus Crime Control and
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa), as redesignated in section
2(a), is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period and
inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2015
through 2019.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Limitation.--Not more than 20 percent of the funds
authorized to be appropriated under this section may be used
for purposes described in subsection (i) (relating to
veterans).''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, And Investigations.
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