Title: Kalief's Law
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Kalief Browder Reentry Success Act of 2017 or Kalief's Law
This bill directs the Department of Justice to establish a pilot program to provide pre-release mental health screenings and post-release mental health and social services to individuals who are incarcerated or detained at federal and state or local correctional facilities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1853 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1853

To authorize the Attorney General, in consultation with the Director of 
 the National Institute of Mental Health, to carry out a pilot program 
 in correctional facilities in order to provide mental health services 
   and other social services to eligible individuals, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 3, 2017

 Mr. Crowley introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize the Attorney General, in consultation with the Director of 
 the National Institute of Mental Health, to carry out a pilot program 
 in correctional facilities in order to provide mental health services 
   and other social services to eligible individuals, 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 ``Kalief Browder Reentry Success Act 
of 2017'' or ``Kalief's Law''.

SEC. 2. MENTAL HEALTHCARE PILOT PROGRAM FOR PRISONERS UPON RELEASE.

    (a) Authorization.--The Attorney General, in consultation with the 
Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, shall carry out a 
pilot program in not more than 5 correctional facilities owned and 
operated by the Bureau of Prisons and not more than 5 correctional 
facilities owned or operated by a State or local department of 
corrections in order to provide mental health services and other social 
services to eligible individuals in accordance with subsection (b).
    (b) Availability of Mental Health Services.--The head of a 
correctional facility that is participating in the pilot program under 
this section shall enter into a contract with a provider of mental 
health services and providers of other social services in order to 
provide, for eligible individuals, the following:
            (1) A comprehensive screening of the individual's mental 
        health prior to the individual's release from custody.
            (2) Upon release from a correctional facility, access to 
        mental health services and other social services, including 
        measures to facilitate the individual's access to--
                    (A) evidence-based psychosocial interventions;
                    (B) necessary psychiatric medications, including 
                re-evaluation by a psychiatrist who may prescribe 
                medications that are different than those eligible 
                individuals received in a correctional setting;
                    (C) the individual's medical records from the 
                correctional facility; and
                    (D) services to assist the individual in obtaining 
                housing, employment, and personal records, including 
                records which may be required to obtain a personal 
                identification card.
    (c) Application for State and Local Correctional Facilities.--The 
head of a State or local department of corrections seeking to 
participate in the pilot program under this section shall submit to the 
Attorney General an application at such time, in such manner, and 
containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably 
require, including a plan to provide the services described in 
subsection (b).
    (d) Federal Prisons.--The Attorney General, in consultation with 
the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, shall select the 5 Federal 
correctional facilities to participate in the pilot program under this 
section.
    (e) Priority.--In determining which correctional facilities to 
select for the pilot program under this section, the Attorney General 
shall give priority to correctional facilities at which--
            (1) a high percentage of prisoners spend time in 
        restrictive housing; or
            (2) there is a high percentage of recidivism and 
        reincarceration among individuals recently released from that 
        correctional facility.
    (f) Inclusion of Male and Female Correctional Facilities.--At least 
one correctional facility participating in the pilot program shall be a 
correctional facility at which only females are incarcerated, and at 
least one correctional facility participating in the pilot program 
shall be a correctional facility at which only males are incarcerated.
    (g) Certain Correctional Facilities Ineligible.--A correctional 
facility which is owned or operated by a private company with which a 
State, unit of local government, or the Bureau of Prisons has a 
contract is ineligible to participate in the pilot program under this 
section.
    (h) Termination.--The pilot program shall terminate on the date 
which is 2 years after the funds to carry out the pilot program are 
distributed to the correctional facilities participating in the pilot 
program.
    (i) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the conclusion of the 
pilot program under this section, the Attorney General, in consultation 
with the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health, shall 
submit to Congress a report that contains the following information:
            (1) Demographics of the eligible individuals who used the 
        mental health services and other social services made available 
        under the pilot program, including information relating to 
        race, ethnicity, age, types of disability, and gender.
            (2) A description of the conditions at the correctional 
        facilities participating in the pilot program, including 
        information relating to the use and duration of restrictive 
        housing.
            (3) Relating to the group of individuals described in 
        paragraph (1)--
                    (A) employment and earning statistics;
                    (B) information relating to housing and 
                homelessness rates;
                    (C) statistics relating to education levels;
                    (D) mental health treatment utilization and 
                adherence, and mental health outcomes;
                    (E) statistics relating to recidivism; and
                    (F) statistics relating to reincarceration.
    (j) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``eligible individual'' means an individual 
        who is serving a term of imprisonment or who is detained 
        pending trial, and who has been ordered to be released from 
        incarceration on a date that is not more than 180 days after 
        the date on which the correctional facility at which the 
        individual is incarcerated receives funds to carry out the 
        pilot program under this section.
            (2) The term ``restrictive housing'' means any type of 
        detention that involves--
                    (A) removal from the general inmate population, 
                whether voluntary or involuntary;
                    (B) placement in a locked room or cell, whether 
                alone or with another inmate; and
                    (C) inability to leave the room or cell for the 
                vast majority of the day.
    (k) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated $20,000,000 to carry out the program under this section 
for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2020.
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