Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2008
PL 110-416 (S.2304), enacted 10/14/2008

122 STAT. 4352 
PUBLIC LAW 110–416—OCT. 14, 2008 
Public Law 110–416 
110th Congress 
An Act 
To amend title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
to provide grants for the improved mental health treatment and services provided 
to offenders with mental illnesses, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mentally 
Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Reauthorization and 
Improvement Act of 2008’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for this Act 
is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings. 
Sec. 3. Reauthorization of the Adult and Juvenile Collaboration Program Grants. 
Sec. 4. Law enforcement response to mentally ill offenders improvement grants. 
Sec. 5. Examination and report on prevalence of mentally ill offenders. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Communities nationwide are struggling to respond to 
the high numbers of people with mental illnesses involved 
at all points in the criminal justice system. 
(2) A 1999 study by the Department of Justice estimated 
that 16 percent of people incarcerated in prisons and jails 
in the United States, which is more than 300,000 people, suffer 
from mental illnesses. 
(3) Los Angeles County Jail and New York’s Rikers Island 
jail complex hold more people with mental illnesses than the 
largest psychiatric inpatient facilities in the United States. 
(4) State prisoners with a mental health problem are twice 
as likely as those without a mental health problem to have 
been homeless in the year before their arrest. 
SEC. 
3. 
REAUTHORIZATION 
OF 
THE 
ADULT 
AND 
JUVENILE 
COLLABORATION PROGRAM GRANTS. 
(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS THROUGH 2014.—Sec-
tion 2991(h) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa(h)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking at the end ‘‘and’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘for fiscal years 2006 
through 2009.’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of the fiscal years 2006 
and 2007; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
42 USC 3797aa 
note. 
Mentally Ill 
Offender 
Treatment and 
Crime Reduction 
Reauthorization 
and 
Improvement 
Act of 2008. 
42 USC 3711 
note. 
Oct. 14, 2008 
[S. 2304] 
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122 STAT. 4353 
PUBLIC LAW 110–416—OCT. 14, 2008 
‘‘(3) $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 
2014.’’. 
(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSES.— 
Section 2991(h) of such title is further amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) (as added 
by subsection (a)(3)) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respec-
tively, and adjusting the margins accordingly; 
(2) by striking ‘‘There are authorized’’ and inserting ‘‘(1) 
IN GENERAL.—There are authorized’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PURPOSES.— 
For fiscal year 2009 and each subsequent fiscal year, of the amounts 
authorized under paragraph (1) for such fiscal year, the Attorney 
General may obligate not more than 3 percent for the administrative 
expenses of the Attorney General in carrying out this section for 
such fiscal year.’’. 
(c) ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS RECEIVING PRIORITY.—Subsection 
(c) of such section is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—The Attorney General, in awarding funds under 
this section, shall give priority to applications that— 
‘‘(1) promote effective strategies by law enforcement to 
identify and to reduce risk of harm to mentally ill offenders 
and public safety; 
‘‘(2) promote effective strategies for identification and treat-
ment of female mentally ill offenders; 
‘‘(3) promote effective strategies to expand the use of mental 
health courts, including the use of pretrial services and related 
treatment programs for offenders; or 
‘‘(4)(A) demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring 
that such funds are used to promote both public health and 
public safety; 
‘‘(B) demonstrate the active participation of each co- 
applicant in the administration of the collaboration program; 
‘‘(C) document, in the case of an application for a grant 
to be used in whole or in part to fund treatment services 
for adults or juveniles during periods of incarceration or deten-
tion, that treatment programs will be available to provide 
transition and reentry services for such individuals; and 
‘‘(D) have the support of both the Attorney General and 
the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 4. LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE TO MENTALLY ILL OFFENDERS 
IMPROVEMENT GRANTS. 
Section 2991 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and 
Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797aa) is amended by— 
(1) redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (i); and 
(2) inserting after subsection (g) the following: 
‘‘(h) 
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
RESPONSE
TO
MENTALLY
ILL 
OFFENDERS IMPROVEMENT GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is authorized 
to make grants under this section to States, units of local 
government, Indian tribes, and tribal organizations for the 
following purposes: 
‘‘(A) TRAINING
PROGRAMS.—To provide for programs 
that offer law enforcement personnel specialized and com-
prehensive training in procedures to identify and respond 
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122 STAT. 4354 
PUBLIC LAW 110–416—OCT. 14, 2008 
appropriately to incidents in which the unique needs of 
individuals with mental illnesses are involved. 
‘‘(B) RECEIVING CENTERS.—To provide for the develop-
ment of specialized receiving centers to assess individuals 
in the custody of law enforcement personnel for suicide 
risk and mental health and substance abuse treatment 
needs. 
‘‘(C) IMPROVED TECHNOLOGY.—To provide for computer-
ized information systems (or to improve existing systems) 
to provide timely information to law enforcement personnel 
and criminal justice system personnel to improve the 
response of such respective personnel to mentally ill 
offenders. 
‘‘(D) COOPERATIVE
PROGRAMS.—To provide for the 
establishment and expansion of cooperative efforts by 
criminal and juvenile justice agencies and mental health 
agencies to promote public safety through the use of effec-
tive intervention with respect to mentally ill offenders. 
‘‘(E) CAMPUS SECURITY PERSONNEL TRAINING.—To pro-
vide for programs that offer campus security personnel 
training in procedures to identify and respond appro-
priately to incidents in which the unique needs of individ-
uals with mental illnesses are involved. 
‘‘(2) BJA TRAINING MODELS.—For purposes of paragraph 
(1)(A), the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance shall 
develop training models for training law enforcement personnel 
in procedures to identify and respond appropriately to incidents 
in which the unique needs of individuals with mental illnesses 
are involved, including suicide prevention. 
‘‘(3) MATCHING
FUNDS.—The Federal share of funds for 
a program funded by a grant received under this subsection 
may not exceed 50 percent of the costs of the program. The 
non-Federal share of payments made for such a program may 
be made in cash or in-kind fairly evaluated, including planned 
equipment or services.’’. 
SEC. 5. EXAMINATION AND REPORT ON PREVALENCE OF MENTALLY 
ILL OFFENDERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall examine and 
report on mental illness and the criminal justice system. 
(2) SCOPE.—Congress encourages the Attorney General to 
specifically examine the following: 
(A) POPULATIONS.—The rate of occurrence of serious 
mental illnesses in each of the following populations: 
(i) Individuals, including juveniles, on probation. 
(ii) Individuals, including juveniles, incarcerated 
in a jail. 
(iii) Individuals, including juveniles, incarcerated 
in a prison. 
(iv) Individuals, including juveniles, on parole. 
(B) BENEFITS.—The percentage of individuals in each 
population described in subparagraph (A) who have— 
(i) a serious mental illness; and 
(ii) received disability benefits under title II or 
title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 
et seq. and 1381 et seq.). 
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122 STAT. 4355 
PUBLIC LAW 110–416—OCT. 14, 2008 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—S. 2304 (H.R. 3992): 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 110–514 accompanying H.R. 3992 (Comm. on the Judiciary). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 154 (2008): 
Sept. 26, considered and passed Senate. 
Sept. 27, 29, considered and passed House. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 36 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to Con-
gress the report described in subsection (a). 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 
(1) the term ‘‘serious mental illness’’ means that an indi-
vidual has, or at any time during the 1-year period ending 
on the date of enactment of this Act had, a covered mental, 
behavioral, or emotional disorder; and 
(2) the term ‘‘covered mental, behavioral, or emotional dis-
order’’— 
(A) means a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emo-
tional disorder of sufficient duration to meet diagnostic 
criteria specified within the Diagnostic and Statistical 
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, or the Inter-
national Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical 
Modification equivalent of the Diagnostic and Statistical 
Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition; and 
(B) does not include a disorder that has a V code 
within the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental 
Disorders, Fourth Edition, a substance use disorder, or 
a developmental disorder, unless that disorder cooccurs 
with another disorder described in subparagraph (A) and 
causes functional impairment which substantially inter-
feres with or limits 1 or more major life activities. 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for 2009. 
Approved October 14, 2008. 
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