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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1931 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1931

 To improve the treatment of juveniles with mental health or substance 
   abuse disorders by establishing new grant programs for increased 
training, technical assistance, and coordination of service providers, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 2, 2009

 Mr. Kennedy (for himself, Mr. Stark, and Ms. DeLauro) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and 
 Labor, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a 
 period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 
                          committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To improve the treatment of juveniles with mental health or substance 
   abuse disorders by establishing new grant programs for increased 
training, technical assistance, and coordination of service providers, 
                        and for other purposes.

    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 ``Juvenile Crime Reduction Act''.

SEC. 2. REDUCING CRIME AND PROMOTING REHABILITATION BY PROVIDING GRANTS 
              TO IMPROVE IDENTIFICATION OF AND SERVICES FOR JUVENILES 
              WITH MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS.

    (a) In General.--Title II of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5611 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating part F as part G; and
            (2) by inserting after part E the following new part:

  ``PART F--REDUCING CRIME AND PROMOTING REHABILITATION BY IMPROVING 
  IDENTIFICATION OF AND SERVICES FOR JUVENILES WITH MENTAL HEALTH OR 
                       SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS.

``SEC. 270. TRAINING GRANTS TO INCREASE DIVERSION OF JUVENILES WITH 
              MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS INTO HOME- OR 
              COMMUNITY-BASED CARE.

    ``(a) Establishing Grant Program.--The Administrator may award 
grants for the purposes described in subsection (b) to a public agency 
who complies with the eligibility requirements described in subsection 
(c).
    ``(b) Purpose.--
            ``(1) Use of funds.--The recipient of a grant awarded under 
        this section shall use the funds to provide training, in 
        conjunction with the public or private agency that provides 
        mental health services, to individuals involved in making 
        decisions regarding the disposition of cases involving youth 
        who enter the juvenile justice system, including any of the 
        following categories of individuals:
                    ``(A) Juvenile justice intake personnel.
                    ``(B) Law enforcement personnel.
                    ``(C) Prosecutors.
                    ``(D) Juvenile court judges.
                    ``(E) Public defenders.
                    ``(F) Mental health service providers and 
                administrators.
                    ``(G) Substance abuse disorder service providers 
                and administrators.
                    ``(H) Probation officers.
                    ``(I) Parents or parent advocates.
            ``(2) Focus of training.--Training provided through a grant 
        awarded under this section shall focus on the following:
                    ``(A) The availability of standardized, validated, 
                age-appropriate, and culturally competent screening and 
                assessment tools and the effective use of such tools to 
                divert juveniles from secure confinement into home-
                based and community-based care.
                    ``(B) The purpose, benefits, and availability of 
                home-based and community-based mental health or 
                substance abuse treatment programs available to 
                juveniles within the jurisdiction of the grantee.
                    ``(C) Public and private programs available to 
                juveniles to pay for home-based and community-based 
                mental health or substance abuse treatment programs.
                    ``(D) The appropriate use of effective home-based 
                and community-based alternatives to juvenile justice or 
                mental health system institutional placements.
    ``(c) Eligibility Requirements.--In order to be eligible to receive 
a grant under this section, a public agency shall prepare and submit an 
application, at such time and in such form as the Administrator may 
require, that includes the following:
            ``(1) An assurance that the agency will work with public or 
        private entities in the area to administer the training funded 
        under this section to ensure that such training is 
        comprehensive, constructive, linguistically and culturally 
        competent, and of a high quality.
            ``(2) An assurance that the agency--
                    ``(A) is committed to a goal of increasing the 
                diversion of juveniles coming under its jurisdiction 
                into appropriate home-based or community-based care 
                when the interest of the juvenile and public safety 
                allow;
                    ``(B) intends to utilize the grant provided under 
                this section to further such goal; and
                    ``(C) has a plan to demonstrate, using appropriate 
                benchmarks, the agency's progress in meeting such goal.
            ``(3) An assurance that not less than 25 percent of the 
        total cost of the training conducted with the grant will be 
        contributed by non-Federal sources.

``SEC. 271. ENCOURAGING COMPREHENSIVE COLLABORATIONS TO ADDRESS MENTAL 
              HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS AMONG AT-RISK 
              JUVENILES.

    ``(a) Grant To Develop Comprehensive Collaborative Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator, in consultation with 
        the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 
        Services Administration, may award a 1-year grant to an 
        eligible public agency to develop a comprehensive collaborative 
        plan (as described in paragraph (2)) to address the service 
        needs of juveniles with mental health or substance abuse 
        disorders who come into contact with the justice system or who 
        are at risk of coming into contact with the justice system.
            ``(2) Plan described.--The plan referred to in paragraph 
        (1) shall be a plan that--
                    ``(A) revises and improves the current delivery of 
                intensive home-based and community-based services to 
                juveniles who have been in contact with or who are at 
                risk of coming into contact with the justice system;
                    ``(B) determines how the service needs of juveniles 
                with mental health or substance abuse disorders who 
                come into contact with the juvenile justice system will 
                be furnished from the initial detention stage until 
                after discharge in order for these juveniles to avoid 
                further contact with the justice system;
                    ``(C) demonstrates that the public agency has 
                entered into appropriate agreements with all entities 
                responsible for providing services under the plan, such 
                as the public agency charged with administering 
                juvenile justice programs, the public agency charged 
                with providing mental health services, the public 
                agency charged with providing substance abuse treatment 
                services, the State or local educational agency, the 
                State or local child welfare system, and private 
                nonprofit community-based organizations;
                    ``(D) ensures that the State has in effect any laws 
                necessary for services to be delivered in accordance 
                with the plan;
                    ``(E) establishes a network of individuals (or 
                incorporates an existing network) to provide 
                coordination between mental health service providers, 
                substance abuse service providers, probation and parole 
                officers, judges, corrections personnel, law 
                enforcement personnel, State and local educational 
                agency personnel, parents and families, and other 
                appropriate parties regarding effective treatment of 
                juveniles with mental health or substance abuse 
                disorders;
                    ``(F) provides for cross-system training among law 
                enforcement personnel, corrections personnel, State and 
                local educational agency personnel, mental health 
                service providers, and substance abuse service 
                providers to enhance collaboration among systems;
                    ``(G) provides for coordinated and effective 
                aftercare programs for juveniles who have been 
                diagnosed with a mental health or substance abuse 
                disorder and who are discharged from home-based care, 
                community-based care, any other treatment program, 
                secure detention facilities, secure correctional 
                facilities, or jail;
                    ``(H) provides for the purchase of technical 
                assistance to support the implementation of the plan;
                    ``(I) estimates the costs of implementing the plan 
                and proposes funding sources sufficient to meet the 
                non-federal funding requirements for implementation of 
                the plan under subsection (b);
                    ``(J) describes the methodology to be used to 
                identify juveniles at risk of coming into contact with 
                the juvenile justice system;
                    ``(K) provides assurances that all training and 
                services provided under the plan will be culturally and 
                linguistically competent; and
                    ``(L) describes the outcome measures and benchmarks 
                that will be used to evaluate the progress and 
                effectiveness of the plan.
            ``(3) Eligibility requirements.--In order to be eligible to 
        receive a grant under this subsection, a public agency shall 
        prepare and submit an application at such time, in such form, 
        and with such information as the Administrator may require to 
        demonstrate--
                    ``(A) the ability of the agency to develop and 
                implement the comprehensive plan, including the support 
                of necessary collaborative partners; and
                    ``(B) that the agency has implemented a procedure 
                to ensure that, upon the release of a juvenile from a 
                secure facility, the juvenile will be eligible to 
                participate in those government programs in which the 
                juvenile would be eligible to participate but for the 
                juvenile's detention in a secure facility (except to 
                the extent prohibited under Federal law).
    ``(b) Grant To Implement Comprehensive Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Administrator shall award a grant 
        payable over 4 years to an eligible public agency to implement 
        the plan developed under subsection (a).
            ``(2) Eligibility requirements.--A public agency receiving 
        a grant under subsection (a) automatically shall be eligible to 
        receive a grant under this subsection if it submits to the 
        Administrator--
                    ``(A) a copy of the plan developed under subsection 
                (a) that meets the requirements of subsection (a)(2);
                    ``(B) an assurance that the agency will report 
                annually to the Administrator on--
                            ``(i) the progress of implementation of the 
                        plan using the outcome measures and benchmarks 
                        described in the plan (as required by 
                        subsection (a)(2)(L)), and
                            ``(ii) any amendments that the agency 
                        proposes to make to the plan; and
                    ``(C) an assurance that the agency will meet the 
                requirements of paragraph (3) for each fiscal year of 
                funding.
            ``(3) Non-federal share of costs to implement plan 
        defined.--For each fiscal year of funding, the public agency 
        shall be required to contribute the following percentages of 
        the plan's estimated implementation costs using non-Federal 
        sources:
                    ``(A) During the first fiscal year of funding to 
                implement the plan, 25%.
                    ``(B) During the second fiscal year of funding to 
                implement the plan, 40%.
                    ``(C) During the third fiscal year of funding to 
                implement the plan, 60%.
                    ``(D) During the fourth fiscal year of funding to 
                implement the plan, 75%.

``SEC. 272. CREATING REGIONAL TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTERS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Administrator may award grants for the 
establishment of 4 regional research, training, and technical 
assistance centers to carry out the following activities within 
geographic regions specified by the Administrator:
            ``(1) Provide training on the provision of state-of-the-art 
        mental health and substance abuse disorder services in 
        custodial and non-custodial juvenile justice-related settings 
        (including post-release services) and on how to engage in 
        successful collaborations between mental health or substance 
        abuse disorder service providers and juvenile justice systems 
        to--
                    ``(A) public policymakers;
                    ``(B) juvenile justice intake personnel;
                    ``(C) law enforcement personnel;
                    ``(D) prosecutors;
                    ``(E) juvenile court judges;
                    ``(F) public defenders;
                    ``(G) mental health service providers and 
                administrators;
                    ``(H) substance abuse disorder service providers 
                and administrators; and
                    ``(I) parents or parent advocates.
            ``(2) Provide direct technical assistance, including 
        assistance provided through toll-free telephone numbers, on 
        methods to improve the provision of services for juveniles with 
        mental health or substance abuse disorders, including 
        information on--
                    ``(A) what types of mental health or substance 
                abuse service approaches are effective within the 
                juvenile justice system; and
                    ``(B) how home- and community-based mental health 
                or substance abuse services are often more effective in 
                reducing recidivism and promoting rehabilitation than 
                secure confinement (including information on relevant 
                regional, ethnic, and gender-related considerations) 
                and how such services can be improved to be more 
                effective.
            ``(3) Provide information, training, and technical 
        assistance to public agency officials to enhance the capacity 
        of such officials to provide appropriate services relating to 
        mental health or substance abuse disorders among juveniles.
    ``(b) Eligibility.--In order to receive grants under this section, 
an entity shall--
            ``(1) be either a public agency or a not-for-profit private 
        entity; and
            ``(2) prepare and submit an application at such time, in 
        such form, and with such information and assurances as the 
        Administrator may require to demonstrate the ability of the 
        entity to deliver the services described in subsection (a) 
        within the particular geographic region in which the entity is 
        located.
    ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each succeeding fiscal 
year for grants under this section.

``SEC. 273. ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING REFORMS IN MENTAL HEALTH AND 
              SUBSTANCE ABUSE POLICIES.

    ``(a) Establishing Grant Program.--The Administrator shall award a 
grant to an eligible public agency to hire or contract with one or more 
mental health professionals or a public or private organization with 
particular expertise in the area of mental health or substance abuse 
disorders among juveniles who come into contact with the juvenile 
justice system to assist the agency in reforming its mental health and 
substance abuse policies with respect to such juveniles.
    ``(b) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Duration.--A public agency shall use a grant awarded 
        under this section to hire (or contract with) on a temporary 
        basis not to exceed 3 years an individual or organization 
        described in subsection (a).
            ``(2) Maximum grant amount.--A grant awarded under this 
        section shall not exceed $300,000.
            ``(3) Number of grants per applicant.--A public agency 
        shall not receive more than 1 grant under this section.
    ``(c) Eligibility Requirements.--In order to be eligible to receive 
a grant under this section, a public agency shall prepare and submit an 
application, at such time and in such form as the Administrator may 
require, that includes the following:
            ``(1) A description of the intended use of the grant.
            ``(2) An assurance that the grant is necessary for the 
        agency to affect a lasting improvement in the agency's 
        practices and procedures related to juveniles with mental 
        health or substance abuse disorders coming under its 
        jurisdiction.
            ``(3) An assurance that the agency will expend funds 
        received under this section to supplement and not supplant 
        other funds available to the agency for the purpose of 
        reforming its mental health and substance abuse policies with 
        respect to juveniles who come into contact with the juvenile 
        justice system.
            ``(4) An assurance that not less than 25 percent of the 
        total cost of hiring an individual or organization described in 
        subsection (a) will be contributed by non-Federal sources.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each succeeding fiscal 
year for grants under this section.''.
    (b) General Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 299 of the 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
5671) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the heading, by striking ``C and E'' and 
                inserting ``C, E, and F'', and
                    (B) by striking ``C and E'' and inserting ``C, E, 
                and F'';
            (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations for Part F.--There are 
authorized to be appropriated to carry out part F such sums as may be 
necessary for fiscal year 2010 and each succeeding fiscal year, subject 
to the applicable limitations of such part.''.

SEC. 3. ENCOURAGING STATES TO IMPROVE SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT 
              TECHNIQUES FOR JUVENILES WITH MENTAL HEALTH OR SUBSTANCE 
              ABUSE DISORDERS.

    (a) Additional Requirement for State Plans.--Section 223(a) of the 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 
5633(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (27), by striking ``; and'' and inserting 
        a semicolon;
            (2) in paragraph (28), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting a semicolon; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(29) describe the State's efforts to implement an 
        evidence-based mental health and substance abuse disorder 
        screening and assessment program for all juveniles held in a 
        secure facility for a period of more than 24 hours that 
        provides for one or more initial screenings and, if a 
        juvenile's initial screening demonstrates a need, further 
        assessment; and
            ``(30) describe the State's method for providing or 
        arranging for mental health and substance abuse disorder 
        treatment for juveniles determined to be in need of such 
        treatment.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to a plan or a plan's annual amendments (as described in section 
223(a) of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 
(42 U.S.C. 5633(a))) submitted at any time after the expiration of the 
45-day period which begins on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE BONUSES.

    (a) In General.--Title V of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5781 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating section 505 as section 506; and
            (2) by inserting after section 504 the following new 
        section:

``SEC. 505. USE OF APPROPRIATIONS EXCEEDING $110,000,000 FOR EVIDENCE-
              BASED PRACTICE BONUSES.

    ``(a) Availability of Bonuses.--If the total sums appropriated in a 
fiscal year under section 506 exceed $110,000,000, the Administrator 
shall distribute those sums exceeding $110,000,000 as evidence-based 
practice bonuses to recipients of grants under section 504 in that 
fiscal year who meet the requirements of subsection (b).
    ``(b) Requirements.--In order to be eligible to receive an 
evidence-based practice bonus, the recipient of a grant under section 
504 shall prepare and submit an application, at such time, in such 
form, and with such information as the Administrator may require, that 
includes--
            ``(1) a commitment to expend an amount, specified in the 
        application, of the grant received under section 504 on 
        evidence-based practices for the treatment of mental health or 
        substance abuse disorders of juveniles within the jurisdiction;
            ``(2) a request for an evidence-based practice bonus in an 
        amount not to exceed 33 percent of the amount specified in 
        paragraph (1) to support specific evidence-based practices for 
        the treatment of mental health or substance abuse disorders of 
        juveniles within the jurisdiction; and
            ``(3) a detailed description of the specific evidence-based 
        practices that will be carried out with the bonus.
    ``(c) Competitively Awarded Bonuses.--The Administrator shall award 
evidence-based practice bonuses under this section on a competitive 
basis.
    ``(d) Amount of Bonuses.--The Administrator shall determine the 
amount of each evidence-based practice bonus on a competitive basis 
among the other recipients of bonuses, except that the bonus awarded to 
any bonus recipient may not exceed the amount requested in the 
recipient's application under subsection (b)(2).
    ``(e) Carry Over.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the 
authorization in section 506 in a fiscal year that are available for 
distribution as evidence-based practice bonuses under this section 
shall remain available for distribution until the end of the succeeding 
fiscal year.''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall 
take effect beginning with fiscal year 2010.

SEC. 5. IMPROVING INFORMATION ABOUT PREVALENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH AND 
              SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDERS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM.

    (a) Including Mental Health and Substance Abuse Disorder 
Information in Required Annual Report.--
            (1) In general.--Section 207(1) of the Juvenile Justice and 
        Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5617(1)) is 
        amended--
                    (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(G) the prevalence of mental health disorders 
                among juveniles, including separate information on the 
                diagnoses of serious mental health disorders, substance 
                abuse disorders, and both such disorders.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
        shall take effect beginning with fiscal year 2010.
    (b) Examination and Report on Evidence-Based Practices by 
Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.--
            (1) In general.--Section 206(c)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
        5616(c)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following 
        sentence: ``The Council shall examine and report on evidence-
        based practices for decreasing delinquency and recidivism among 
        juveniles with mental health or substance abuse disorders.''.
            (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to the first annual report under section 206(c)(1) 
        of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 
        (42 U.S.C. 5616(c)(1)) issued after the expiration of the 45-
        day period which begins on the date of enactment of this Act 
        and to each succeeding annual report.

SEC. 6. DEDICATING EXCESS APPROPRIATIONS FOR JAIL DIVERSION PROGRAMS TO 
              PROGRAMS SPECIFICALLY TARGETING JUVENILES.

    (a) Grants for Programs Targeting Juveniles for Diversion.--The 
Secretary of Health and Human Services shall ensure that at least 25 
percent of the grants awarded in a fiscal year under section 520G of 
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-38) are awarded to 
programs specifically targeting juveniles for diversion.
    (b) Minimum Appropriation Required.--Subsection (a) only shall 
apply to a fiscal year in which the amount appropriated for grants 
under section 520G of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290bb-
38) for that fiscal year exceeds the amount appropriated for such 
grants in fiscal year 2009 by more than 50 percent.
                                 <all>
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