S. 1865

One Hundred Sixth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Monday,

the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand

An Act

To provide grants to establish demonstration mental health courts.

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 ‘‘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—
S. 1865—2

‘‘(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.
S. 1865—3

‘‘(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
S. 1865—4

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.’’.
S. 1865—5

(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.