Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015

Bill: 114-hr-1854
Sponsor: Rep. Collins, Doug [R-GA-9]
Introduced: 2015-04-16 in the House
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Accounting and auditing
Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Crime prevention
Crime victims
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Employment and training programs
First responders and emergency personnel
Government studies and investigations
Health programs administration and funding
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Medical tests and diagnostic methods
Mental health
Performance measurement
Specialized courts
Tax-exempt organizations
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Veterans' loans, housing, homeless programs
Veterans' medical care

Summary:
action_date: 2015-04-16
text: 

Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act of 2015

 
 This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to authorize the Attorney General to make grants to an eligible entity for sequential intercept mapping and implementation for: 
 
 
 mental health and criminal justice stakeholders to develop a shared understanding of the flow of individuals with mental illnesses through the criminal justice system, and identify opportunities for improved responses, including emergency and crisis services, specialized police-based responses, and community and post-prison supervision; and 
 
 hiring and training personnel, identifying target populations, and providing services to reduce recidivism.
 
 
The Attorney General is authorized to award grants for: 
 
 
veterans treatment court programs involving collaboration among criminal justice, veterans, and mental health and substance abuse agencies; 
 
peer to peer services or programs for qualified veterans; 
 
practices that identify and provide treatment, rehabilitation, legal, and transitional services to such veterans who have been incarcerated; and 
 
training programs to teach criminal justice, law enforcement, corrections, mental health, and substance abuse personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving such veterans.
 
 
The Attorney General is authorized to award grants to enhance correctional facility capabilities to: 
 
 
identify and screen for mentally ill inmates; 
 
assess and provide the clinical, medical, and social needs of inmates and appropriate treatment and services that address mental health and substance abuse needs; and 
 
develop and implement post-release transition plans. 
 
 
 Adult and juvenile criminal/mental health collaboration program grants may be used to establish multidisciplinary teams that coordinate and implement community-based crisis responses and long-term plans for frequent users of crisis services. 
 
Collaboration grant accountability requirements are established.
 
 The Attorney General is authorized to make grants for programs that teach law enforcement personnel how to identify and respond to incidents involving persons with mental health disorders or co-occuring mental health and substance abuse disorders.
 
 The Attorney General is directed to provide direction for programs that offer specialized training to federal first responders and tactical units in order to identify and respond to incidents involving individuals who have a mental illness. 
 
 The definition of &quot;preliminarily qualified offender&quot; is revised for purposes of collaboration program grants to: 
 
 
include, in the case of a veterans treatment court program, an adult or juvenile accused of an offense who has been diagnosed with, or manifests signs of, mental illness or a substance abuse disorder; 
 
remove a requirement that the person be accused of a nonviolent offense; 
 
require a person to be unanimously approved for participation; and 
 
disqualify a person who has been charged with or convicted of a sex offense or murder or assault with intent to murder.
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2016-01-12
text: Ordered to be Reported by Voice Vote.
action_date: 2016-01-12
text: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
action_date: 2016-01-08
text: Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Discharged.
action_date: 2015-05-15
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
action_date: 2015-04-16
text: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2015-04-16
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H2273-2274)
action_date: 2015-04-16
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2015-04-16
text: Introduced in House