42 U.S.C. § 3797aa–1 (THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE)
§ 3797aa–1. National criminal justice and mental health training and technical assistance
(a) Authority
The Attorney General may make grants to eligible organizations to provide for the establishment of a National Criminal Justice and Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center.
(b) Eligible organization
For purposes of subsection (a), the term “eligible organization” means a national nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance and training to, and has special expertise and broad, national-level experience in, mental health, crisis intervention, criminal justice systems, law enforcement, translating evidence into practice, training, and research, and education and support of people with mental illness and the families of such individuals.
(c) Use of funds
Any organization that receives a grant under subsection (a) shall collaborate with other grant recipients to establish and operate a National Criminal Justice and Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center to—
(1) provide law enforcement officer training regarding mental health and working with individuals with mental illnesses, with an emphasis on de-escalation of encounters between law enforcement officers and those with mental disorders or in crisis, which shall include support the development of in-person and technical information exchanges between systems and the individuals working in those systems in support of the concepts identified in the training;
(2) provide education, training, and technical assistance for States, Indian tribes, territories, units of local government, service providers, nonprofit organizations, probation or parole officers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, emergency response providers, and corrections institutions to advance practice and knowledge relating to mental health crisis and approaches to mental health and criminal justice across systems;
(3) provide training and best practices to mental health providers and criminal justice agencies relating to diversion initiatives, jail and prison strategies, reentry of individuals with mental illnesses into the community, and dispatch protocols and triage capabilities, including the establishment of learning sites;
(4) develop suicide prevention and crisis intervention training and technical assistance for criminal justice agencies;
(5) develop a receiving center system and pilot strategy that provides, for a jurisdiction, a single point of entry into the mental health and substance abuse system for assessments and appropriate placement of individuals experiencing a crisis;
(6) collect data and best practices in mental health and criminal health and criminal justice initiatives and policies from grantees under this subchapter, other recipients of grants under this section, Federal, State, and local agencies involved in the provision of mental health services, and nongovernmental organizations involved in the provision of mental health services;
(7) develop and disseminate to mental health providers and criminal justice agencies evaluation tools, mechanisms, and measures to better assess and document performance measures and outcomes relating to the provision of mental health services;
(8) disseminate information to States, units of local government, criminal justice agencies, law enforcement agencies, and other relevant entities about best practices, policy standards, and research findings relating to the provision of mental health services; and
(9) provide education and support to individuals with mental illness involved with, or at risk of involvement with, the criminal justice system, including the families of such individuals.
(d) Accountability
Grants awarded under this section shall be subject to the following accountability provisions:
(1) Audit requirement
(A) Definition
In this paragraph, the term “unresolved audit finding” means a finding in the final audit report of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice under subparagraph (C) that the audited grantee has used grant funds for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved within 1 year after the date on which the final audit report is issued.
(B) Audits
Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after December 13, 2016, and in each fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall conduct audits of grantees under this section to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds by grantees. The Inspector General shall determine the appropriate number of grantees to be audited each year.
(C) Final audit report
The Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall submit to the Attorney General a final report on each audit conducted under subparagraph (B).
(D) Mandatory exclusion
Grantees under this section about which there is an unresolved audit finding shall not be eligible to receive a grant under this section during the 2 fiscal years beginning after the end of the 1-year period described in subparagraph (A).
(E) Priority
In making grants under this section, the Attorney General shall give priority to applicants that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 fiscal years before submitting an application for a grant under this section.
(F) Reimbursement
If an entity receives a grant under this section during the 2-fiscal-year period during which the entity is prohibited from receiving grants under subparagraph (D), the Attorney General shall—
(i) deposit an amount equal to the amount of the grant that was improperly awarded to the grantee into the General Fund of the Treasury; and
(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment under clause (i) from the grantee that was erroneously awarded grant funds.
(2) Nonprofit agency requirements
(A) Definition
For purposes of this paragraph and the grant program under this section, the term “nonprofit agency” means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of title 26 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of title 26.
(B) Prohibition
The Attorney General may not award a grant under this section to a nonprofit agency that holds money in an offshore account for the purpose of avoiding paying the tax described in section 511(a) of title 26.
(C) Disclosure
Each nonprofit agency that is awarded a grant under this section and uses the procedures prescribed in regulations to create a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness for the compensation of its officers, directors, trustees, and key employees, shall disclose to the Attorney General, in the application for the grant, the process for determining such compensation, including the independent persons involved in reviewing and approving such compensation, the comparability data used, and contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and decision. Upon request, the Attorney General shall make the information disclosed under this subparagraph available for public inspection.
(3) Conference expenditures
(A) Limitation
No amounts made available to the Department of Justice under this section may be used by the Attorney General, or by any individual or entity awarded discretionary funds through a cooperative agreement under this section, to host or support any expenditure for conferences that uses more than $20,000 in funds made available by the Department of Justice, unless the head of the relevant agency or department, provides prior written authorization that the funds may be expended to host the conference.
(B) Written approval
Written approval under subparagraph (A) shall include a written estimate of all costs associated with the conference, including the cost of all food, beverages, audio-visual equipment, honoraria for speakers, and entertainment.
(C) Report
The Deputy Attorney General shall submit an annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives on all conference expenditures approved under this paragraph.
(4) Annual certification
Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning after December 13, 2016, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives an annual certification—
(A) indicating whether—
(i) all final audit reports issued by the Office of the Inspector General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General or Director;
(ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph (1)(D) have been issued; and
(iii) any reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(F) have been made; and
(B) that includes a list of any grantees excluded under paragraph (1)(D) from the previous year.
(5) Preventing duplicative grants
(A) In general
Before the Attorney General awards a grant to an applicant under this section, the Attorney General shall compare potential grant awards with other grants awarded under this Act to determine if duplicate grant awards are awarded for the same purpose.
(B) Report
If the Attorney General awards duplicate grants to the same applicant for the same purpose the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report that includes—
(i) a list of all duplicate grants awarded, including the total dollar amount of any duplicate grants awarded; and
(ii) the reason the Attorney General awarded the duplicate grants.
(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, § 2992, as added Pub. L. 114–255, div. B, title XIV, § 14014, Dec. 13, 2016, 130 Stat. 1303.)
heading: References in Text
text: This Act, referred to in subsec. (d)(5)(A), is Pub. L. 90–351, June 19, 1968, 82 Stat. 197, known as the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3711 of this title and Tables.
heading: Mental Health Training for Federal Uniformed Services
text: Pub. L. 114–255, div. B, title XIV, § 14008, Dec. 13, 2016, 130 Stat. 1296, provided that:
“(a) In General.—
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 13, 2016], the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Commerce shall provide the following to each of the uniformed services (as that term is defined in section 101 of title 10, United States Code) under their direction:
“(1) Training programs.—
Programs that offer specialized and comprehensive training in procedures to identify and respond appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of individuals with mental illnesses are involved.
“(2) Improved technology.—
Computerized information systems or technological improvements to provide timely information to Federal law enforcement personnel, other branches of the uniformed services, and criminal justice system personnel to improve the Federal response to mentally ill individuals.
“(3) Cooperative programs.—
The establishment and expansion of cooperative efforts to promote public safety through the use of effective intervention with respect to mentally ill individuals encountered by members of the uniformed services.”
heading: Federal Law Enforcement Training
text: Pub. L. 114–255, div. B, title XIV, § 14025, Dec. 13, 2016, 130 Stat. 1310, provided that:
“Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 13, 2016], the Attorney General shall provide direction and guidance for the following:
“(1) Training programs.—
Programs that offer specialized and comprehensive training, in procedures to identify and appropriately respond to incidents in which the unique needs of individuals who have a mental illness are involved, to first responders and tactical units of—
“(A) Federal law enforcement agencies; and
“(B) other Federal criminal justice agencies such as the Bureau of Prisons, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, and other agencies that the Attorney General determines appropriate.
“(2) Improved technology.—
The establishment of, or improvement of existing, computerized information systems to provide timely information to employees of Federal law enforcement agencies, and Federal criminal justice agencies to improve the response of such employees to situations involving individuals who have a mental illness.”