II

Calendar No. 734

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1865

To provide grants to establish demonstration mental health courts.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 4, 1999

Mr. DEWINE (for himself and Mr. DOMENICI) introduced the following bill;

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

JULY 27, 2000

Reported by Mr. HATCH, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To provide grants to establish demonstration mental health

courts.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America’s Law En5 forcement and Mental Health Project’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—
2

S 1865 RS

1 (1) fully 16 percent of all inmates in State pris2 ons and local jails suffer from mental illness, accord3 ing to a July, 1999 report, conducted by the Bureau

4 of Justice Statistics;

5 (2) between 600,000 and 700,000 mentally ill

6 persons are annually booked in jail alone, according

7 to the American Jail Association;

8 (3) estimates say 25 to 40 percent of America’s

9 mentally ill will come into contact with the criminal

10 justice system, according to National Alliance for the

11 Mentally Ill;

12 (4) 75 percent of mentally ill inmates have been

13 sentenced to time in prison or jail or probation at

14 least once prior to their current sentence, according

15 to the Bureau of Justice Statistics in July, 1999;

16 and

17 (5) Broward County, Florida and King County,

18 Washington, have created separate Mental Health

19 Courts to place nonviolent mentally ill offenders into

20 judicially monitored in-patient and out-patient men21 tal health treatment programs, where appropriate,

22 with positive results.
3

S 1865 RS

1 SEC. 3. MENTAL HEALTH COURTS.

2 (a) AMENDMENT.—Part V of title I of the Omnibus

3 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended

4 to read as follows:

5 ‘‘PART V—MENTAL HEALTH

6 COURTS

7 ‘‘SEC. 2201. GRANT AUTHORITY.

8 ‘‘The Attorney General shall make grants to States,

9 State courts, local courts, units of local government, and

10 Indian tribal governments, acting directly or through

11 agreements with other public or nonprofit entities, for up

12 to 125 programs that involve—

13 ‘‘(1) continuing judicial supervision, including

14 periodic review, over preliminarily qualified offenders

15 with mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occur16 ring mental illness and substance abuse disorders,

17 who are charged with nonviolent offenses; and

18 ‘‘(2) the coordinated delivery of services, which

19 includes—

20 ‘‘(A) specialized training of law enforce21 ment and judicial personnel to identify and ad22 dress the unique needs of a mentally ill or men23 tally retarded offender;

24 ‘‘(B) voluntary outpatient or inpatient

25 mental health treatment that carries with it the

26 possibility of dismissal of charges or reduced
4

S 1865 RS

1 sentencing upon successful completion of treat2 ment; and

3 ‘‘(C) centralized case management involv4 ing the consolidation of all of a mentally ill or

5 mentally retarded defendant’s cases, including

6 violations of probation, and the coordination of

7 all mental health treatment plans and social

8 services, including life skills training, such as

9 housing placement, vocational training, edu10 cation, job placement, health care, and relapse

11 prevention for each participant who requires

12 such services.

13 ‘‘SEC. 2202. DEFINITION.

14 ‘‘In this part the term ‘preliminarily qualified of15 fender with mental illness, mental retardation, or co-oc16 curring mental and substance abuse disorders’ means a

17 person who—

18 ‘‘(1)(A) previously or currently has been diag19 nosed by a qualified mental health professional as

20 having a mental illness, mental retardation, or co-oc21 curring mental illness and substance abuse dis22 orders; or

23 ‘‘(B) manifests obvious signs of mental illness,

24 mental retardation, or co-occurring mental illness
5

S 1865 RS

1 and substance abuse disorders during arrest or con2 finement or before any court; and

3 ‘‘(2) is deemed eligible by designated judges.

4 ‘‘SEC. 2203. ADMINISTRATION.

5 ‘‘(a) CONSULTATION.—The Attorney General shall

6 consult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services

7 and any other appropriate officials in carrying out this

8 part.

9 ‘‘(b) USE OF COMPONENTS.—The Attorney General

10 may utilize any component or components of the Depart11 ment of Justice in carrying out this part.

12 ‘‘(c) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen13 eral shall issue regulations and guidelines necessary to

14 carry out this part which include, but are not limited to,

15 the methodologies and outcome measures proposed for

16 evaluating each applicant program.

17 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—In addition to any other re18 quirements that may be specified by the Attorney General,

19 an application for a grant under this part shall—

20 ‘‘(1) include a long-term strategy and detailed

21 implementation plan;

22 ‘‘(2) explain the applicant’s inability to fund the

23 program adequately without Federal assistance;

24 ‘‘(3) certify that the Federal support provided

25 will be used to supplement, and not supplant, State,
6

S 1865 RS

1 Indian tribal, and local sources of funding that

2 would otherwise be available;

3 ‘‘(4) identify related governmental or commu4 nity initiatives which complement or will be coordi5 nated with the proposal;

6 ‘‘(5) certify that there has been appropriate

7 consultation with all affected agencies and that there

8 will be appropriate coordination with all affected

9 agencies in the implementation of the program;

10 ‘‘(6) certify that participating offenders will be

11 supervised by one or more designated judges with re12 sponsibility for the mental health court program;

13 ‘‘(7) specify plans for obtaining necessary sup14 port and continuing the proposed program following

15 the conclusion of Federal support;

16 ‘‘(8) describe the methodology and outcome

17 measures that will be used in evaluating the pro18 gram; and

19 ‘‘(9) certify that participating first time offend20 ers without a history of a mental illness will receive

21 a mental health evaluation.

22 ‘‘SEC. 2204. APPLICATIONS.

23 ‘‘To request funds under this part, the chief executive

24 or the chief justice of a State or the chief executive or

25 chief judge of a unit of local government or Indian tribal
7

S 1865 RS

1 government shall submit an application to the Attorney

2 General in such form and containing such information as

3 the Attorney General may reasonably require.

4 ‘‘SEC. 2205. FEDERAL SHARE.

5 ‘‘The Federal share of a grant made under this part

6 may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the pro7 gram described in the application submitted under section

8 2205 for the fiscal year for which the program receives

9 assistance under this part, unless the Attorney General

10 waives, wholly or in part, the requirement of a matching

11 contribution under this section. The use of the Federal

12 share of a grant made under this part shall be limited

13 to new expenses necessitated by the proposed program, in14 cluding the development of treatment services and the hir15 ing and training of personnel. In-kind contributions may

16 constitute a portion of the non-Federal share of a grant.

17 ‘‘SEC. 2206. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.

18 ‘‘The Attorney General shall ensure that, to the ex19 tent practicable, an equitable geographic distribution of

20 grant awards is made that considers the special needs of

21 rural communities, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives.

22 ‘‘SEC. 2207. REPORT.

23 ‘‘A State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local

24 government that receives funds under this part during a

25 fiscal year shall submit to the Attorney General a report
8

S 1865 RS

1 in March of the following year regarding the effectiveness

2 of this part.

3 ‘‘SEC. 2208. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, AND EVAL4 UATION.

5 ‘‘(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—The

6 Attorney General may provide technical assistance and

7 training in furtherance of the purposes of this part.

8 ‘‘(b) EVALUATIONS.—In addition to any evaluation

9 requirements that may be prescribed for grantees, the At10 torney General may carry out or make arrangements for

11 evaluations of programs that receive support under this

12 part.

13 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The technical assistance,

14 training, and evaluations authorized by this section may

15 be carried out directly by the Attorney General, in collabo16 ration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

17 or through grants, contracts, or other cooperative arrange18 ments with other entities.’’.

19 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents

20 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets

21 Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.), is amended by in22 serting after part U the following:

‘‘PART V—MENTAL HEALTH COURTS

‘‘Sec. 2201. Grant authority.

‘‘Sec. 2202. Definition.

‘‘Sec. 2203. Administration.

‘‘Sec. 2204. Applications.

‘‘Sec. 2205. Federal share.

‘‘Sec. 2206. Geographic distribution.
9

S 1865 RS

‘‘Sec. 2207. Report.

‘‘Sec. 2208. Technical assistance, training, and evaluation.’’.

1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

2 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe

3 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)), is amended by

4 inserting after paragraph (19) the following:

5 ‘‘(20) There are authorized to be appropriated to

6 carry out part V, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years

7 2000 through 2004.’’.

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘America’s Law Enforce10 ment and Mental Health Project’’.

11 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

12 Congress finds that—

13 (1) fully 16 percent of all inmates in State pris14 ons and local jails suffer from mental illness, accord15 ing to a July, 1999 report, conducted by the Bureau

16 of Justice Statistics;

17 (2) between 600,000 and 700,000 mentally ill

18 persons are annually booked in jail alone, according

19 to the American Jail Association;

20 (3) estimates say 25 to 40 percent of America’s

21 mentally ill will come into contact with the criminal

22 justice system, according to National Alliance for the

23 Mentally Ill;
10

S 1865 RS

1 (4) 75 percent of mentally ill inmates have been

2 sentenced to time in prison or jail or probation at

3 least once prior to their current sentence, according to

4 the Bureau of Justice Statistics in July, 1999; and

5 (5) Broward County, Florida and King County,

6 Washington, have created separate Mental Health

7 Courts to place nonviolent mentally ill offenders into

8 judicially monitored in-patient and out-patient men9 tal health treatment programs, where appropriate,

10 with positive results.

11 SEC. 3. MENTAL HEALTH COURTS.

12 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime Con13 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by inserting

14 after part U (42 U.S.C. 3796hh et seq.) the following:

15 ‘‘PART V—MENTAL HEALTH

16 COURTS

17 ‘‘SEC. 2201. GRANT AUTHORITY.

18 ‘‘The Attorney General shall make grants to States,

19 State courts, local courts, units of local government, and

20 Indian tribal governments, acting directly or through agree21 ments with other public or nonprofit entities, for not more

22 than 100 programs that involve—

23 ‘‘(1) continuing judicial supervision, including

24 periodic review, over preliminarily qualified offenders

25 with mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occur-
11

S 1865 RS

1 ring mental illness and substance abuse disorders,

2 who are charged with misdemeanors or nonviolent of3 fenses; and

4 ‘‘(2) the coordinated delivery of services, which

5 includes—

6 ‘‘(A) specialized training of law enforcement

7 and judicial personnel to identify and address

8 the unique needs of a mentally ill or mentally re9 tarded offender;

10 ‘‘(B) voluntary outpatient or inpatient

11 mental health treatment, in the least restrictive

12 manner appropriate, as determined by the court,

13 that carries with it the possibility of dismissal of

14 charges or reduced sentencing upon successful

15 completion of treatment;

16 ‘‘(C) centralized case management involving

17 the consolidation of all of a mentally ill or men18 tally retarded defendant’s cases, including viola19 tions of probation, and the coordination of all

20 mental health treatment plans and social serv21 ices, including life skills training, such as hous22 ing placement, vocational training, education,

23 job placement, health care, and relapse preven24 tion for each participant who requires such serv25 ices; and
12

S 1865 RS

1 ‘‘(D) continuing supervision of treatment

2 plan compliance for a term not to exceed the

3 maximum allowable sentence or probation for the

4 charged or relevant offense and, to the extent

5 practicable, continuity of psychiatric care at the

6 end of the supervised period.

7 ‘‘SEC. 2202. DEFINITIONS.

8 ‘‘In this part—

9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘mental illness’ means a

10 diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional

11 disorder—

12 ‘‘(A) of sufficient duration to meet diag13 nostic criteria within the most recent edition of

14 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental

15 Disorders published by the American Psychiatric

16 Association; and

17 ‘‘(B) that has resulted in functional impair18 ment that substantially interferes with or limits

19 1 or more major life activities; and

20 ‘‘(2) the term ‘preliminarily qualified offender

21 with mental illness, mental retardation, or co-occur22 ring mental and substance abuse disorders’ means a

23 person who—

24 ‘‘(A)(i) previously or currently has been di25 agnosed by a qualified mental health professional
13

S 1865 RS

1 as having a mental illness, mental retardation,

2 or co-occurring mental illness and substance

3 abuse disorders; or

4 ‘‘(ii) manifests obvious signs of mental ill5 ness, mental retardation, or co-occurring mental

6 illness and substance abuse disorders during ar7 rest or confinement or before any court; and

8 ‘‘(B) is deemed eligible by designated judges.

9 ‘‘SEC. 2203. ADMINISTRATION.

10 ‘‘(a) CONSULTATION.—The Attorney General shall con11 sult with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and

12 any other appropriate officials in carrying out this part.

13 ‘‘(b) USE OF COMPONENTS.—The Attorney General

14 may utilize any component or components of the Depart15 ment of Justice in carrying out this part.

16 ‘‘(c) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Attorney Gen17 eral shall issue regulations and guidelines necessary to

18 carry out this part which include, but are not limited to,

19 the methodologies and outcome measures proposed for evalu20 ating each applicant program.

21 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—In addition to any other re22 quirements that may be specified by the Attorney General,

23 an application for a grant under this part shall—

24 ‘‘(1) include a long-term strategy and detailed

25 implementation plan;
14

S 1865 RS

1 ‘‘(2) explain the applicant’s inability to fund the

2 program adequately without Federal assistance;

3 ‘‘(3) certify that the Federal support provided

4 will be used to supplement, and not supplant, State,

5 Indian tribal, and local sources of funding that would

6 otherwise be available;

7 ‘‘(4) identify related governmental or community

8 initiatives which complement or will be coordinated

9 with the proposal;

10 ‘‘(5) certify that there has been appropriate con11 sultation with all affected agencies and that there will

12 be appropriate coordination with all affected agencies

13 in the implementation of the program, including the

14 State mental health authority;

15 ‘‘(6) certify that participating offenders will be

16 supervised by one or more designated judges with re17 sponsibility for the mental health court program;

18 ‘‘(7) specify plans for obtaining necessary sup19 port and continuing the proposed program following

20 the conclusion of Federal support;

21 ‘‘(8) describe the methodology and outcome meas22 ures that will be used in evaluating the program; and

23 ‘‘(9) certify that participating first time offend24 ers without a history of a mental illness will receive

25 a mental health evaluation.
15

S 1865 RS

1 ‘‘SEC. 2204. APPLICATIONS.

2 ‘‘To request funds under this part, the chief executive

3 or the chief justice of a State or the chief executive or chief

4 judge of a unit of local government or Indian tribal govern5 ment shall submit to the Attorney General an application

6 in such form and containing such information as the Attor7 ney General may reasonably require.

8 ‘‘SEC. 2205. FEDERAL SHARE.

9 ‘‘The Federal share of a grant made under this part

10 may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the program

11 described in the application submitted under section 2204

12 for the fiscal year for which the program receives assistance

13 under this part, unless the Attorney General waives, wholly

14 or in part, the requirement of a matching contribution

15 under this section. The use of the Federal share of a grant

16 made under this part shall be limited to new expenses neces17 sitated by the proposed program, including the development

18 of treatment services and the hiring and training of per19 sonnel. In-kind contributions may constitute a portion of

20 the non-Federal share of a grant.

21 ‘‘SEC. 2206. GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.

22 ‘‘The Attorney General shall ensure that, to the extent

23 practicable, an equitable geographic distribution of grant

24 awards is made that considers the special needs of rural

25 communities, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives.
16

S 1865 RS

1 ‘‘SEC. 2207. REPORT.

2 ‘‘A State, Indian tribal government, or unit of local

3 government that receives funds under this part during a

4 fiscal year shall submit to the Attorney General a report

5 in March of the following year regarding the effectiveness

6 of this part.

7 ‘‘SEC. 2208. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, AND EVAL8 UATION.

9 ‘‘(a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING.—The

10 Attorney General may provide technical assistance and

11 training in furtherance of the purposes of this part.

12 ‘‘(b) EVALUATIONS.—In addition to any evaluation re13 quirements that may be prescribed for grantees, the Attor14 ney General may carry out or make arrangements for eval15 uations of programs that receive support under this part.

16 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.—The technical assistance,

17 training, and evaluations authorized by this section may

18 be carried out directly by the Attorney General, in collabo19 ration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

20 or through grants, contracts, or other cooperative arrange21 ments with other entities.’’.

22 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents of

23 title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act

24 of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.), is amended by inserting

25 after part U the following:
17

S 1865 RS

‘‘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.’’.

1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

2 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe

3 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3793(a)) is amended by in4 serting after paragraph (19) the following:

5 ‘‘(20) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry

6 out part V, $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001

7 through 2004.’’.
Calendar No. 734

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1865

A BILL

To provide grants to establish demonstration

mental health courts.

JULY 27, 2000

Reported with an amendment