Fla. Stat. § 394.656 — Florida Code / Title XXIX / Chapter 394 / Part IV / Section 394.656
394.656 Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant Program.
Status: in_force

(1) There is created within the Department of Children and Families the Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Reinvestment Grant Program. The purpose of the program is to provide funding to counties which they may use to plan, implement, or expand initiatives that increase public safety, avert increased spending on criminal justice, and improve the accessibility and effectiveness of treatment services for adults and juveniles who have a mental illness, substance abuse disorder, or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders and who are in, or at risk of entering, the criminal or juvenile justice systems.

(2) The department shall establish a Criminal Justice, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Statewide Grant Review Committee. The committee shall include: (a) One representative of the Department of Children and Families; (b) One representative of the Department of Corrections; (c) One representative of the Department of Juvenile Justice; (d) One representative of the Department of Elderly Affairs; (e) One representative of the Office of the State Courts Administrator; (f) One representative of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs; (g) One representative of the Florida Sheriffs Association; (h) One representative of the Florida Police Chiefs Association; (i) One representative of the Florida Association of Counties; (j) One representative of the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association; (k) One representative of the Florida Association of Managing Entities; (l) One representative of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health; (m) One representative of the National Alliance of Mental Illness; (n) One representative of the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association; (o) One representative of the Florida Public Defender Association; and (p) One administrator of an assisted living facility that holds a limited mental health license.

(3) The committee shall serve as the advisory body to review policy and funding issues that help reduce the impact of persons with mental illness and substance abuse disorders on communities, criminal justice agencies, and the court system. The committee shall advise the department in selecting priorities for grants and investing awarded grant moneys.

(4) The committee must have experience in substance use and mental health disorders, community corrections, and law enforcement. To the extent possible, the committee shall have expertise in grant review and grant application scoring.

(5)(a) A county, or a not-for-profit community provider or managing entity designated by the county planning council or committee, as described in s. 394.657, may apply for a 1-year planning grant or a 3-year implementation or expansion grant. The purpose of the grants is to demonstrate that investment in treatment efforts related to mental illness, substance abuse disorders, or co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders results in a reduced demand on the resources of the judicial, corrections, juvenile detention, and health and social services systems. (b) To be eligible to receive a 1-year planning grant or a 3-year implementation or expansion grant: 1. A county applicant must have a planning council or committee that is in compliance with the membership requirements set forth in this section. 2. A not-for-profit community provider or managing entity must be designated by the county planning council or committee and have written authorization to submit an application. A not-for-profit community provider or managing entity must have written authorization for each submitted application. (c) The department may award a 3-year implementation or expansion grant to an applicant who has not received a 1-year planning grant. (d) The department may require an applicant to conduct sequential intercept mapping for a project. For purposes of this paragraph, the term “sequential intercept mapping” means a process for reviewing a local community’s mental health, substance abuse, criminal justice, and related systems and identifying points of interceptions where interventions may be made to prevent an individual with a substance abuse disorder or mental illness from deeper involvement in the criminal justice system.

(6) The grant review and selection committee shall select the grant recipients and notify the department in writing of the recipients’ names. Contingent upon the availability of funds and upon notification by the grant review and selection committee of those applicants approved to receive planning, implementation, or expansion grants, the department may transfer funds appropriated for the grant program to a selected grant recipient.

History: s. 1, ch. 2007-200; s. 3, ch. 2010-159; s. 92, ch. 2014-19; s. 16, ch. 2016-241.