America's Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project

Summary: Defines: (1) "mental illness" as a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria within the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, that has resulted in functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities; and (2) "preliminarily qualified offender with mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders" to mean a person who previously or currently has been diagnosed by a qualified mental health professional as having a mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders or who manifests obvious signs of mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders during arrest or confinement or before any court and is deemed eligible by designated judges.
Directs the Attorney General to issue regulations and guidelines necessary to carry out this Act, including the methodologies and outcome measures proposed for evaluating each applicant program. Includes among grant requirements a requirement that applicants certify that there has been appropriate consultation with all affected agencies and that there will be appropriate coordination with all affected agencies in program implementation, including the State mental health authority.
Sets forth provisions regarding application requirements, the Federal cost share (75 percent), geographic distribution of grants, reporting requirements, and technical assistance, training, and evaluation. Authorizes appropriations.

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 inpatient and outpatient 
    mental health treatment programs, where appropriate, with positive 
    results.

SEC. 3. MENTAL HEALTH COURTS.

    (a) Amendment.--Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 is amended by inserting after part U (42 U.S.C. 
3796hh et seq.) the following:

                     ``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 not more than 100 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 misdemeanors or 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, in the least restrictive manner appropriate, as 
        determined by the court, that carries with it the possibility 
        of dismissal of charges or reduced sentencing upon successful 
        completion of treatment;
            ``(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; and
            ``(D) continuing supervision of treatment plan compliance 
        for a term not to exceed the maximum allowable sentence or 
        probation for the charged or relevant offense and, to the 
        extent practicable, continuity of psychiatric care at the end 
        of the supervised period.

``SEC. 2202. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this part--
        ``(1) the term `mental illness' means a diagnosable mental, 
    behavioral, or emotional disorder--
            ``(A) of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic criteria 
        within the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and 
        Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders published by the 
        American Psychiatric Association; and
            ``(B) that has resulted in functional impairment that 
        substantially interferes with or limits 1 or more major life 
        activities; and
        ``(2) the term `preliminarily qualified offender with mental 
    illness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental and substance 
    abuse disorders' means a person who--
            ``(A)(i) 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
            ``(ii) 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
            ``(B) 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, including the State mental health authority;
        ``(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 to 
the Attorney General an application 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 2204 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. Definitions.
``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 2001 through 2004.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.