2011 US Code
Title 42 - The Public Health and Welfare
Chapter 46 - JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT (§§ 3701 - 3797ee-1)
Subchapter XII-J - MENTAL HEALTH COURTS (§§ 3796ii - 3796ii-7)
Section 3796ii - 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—

(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.

(Pub. L. 90–351, title I, §2201, as added Pub. L. 106–515, §3(a), Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2399.)

A prior section 3796ii, Pub. L. 90–351, title I, §2201, as added Pub. L. 103–322, title V, §50001(a)(3), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1956, related to grant authority, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 104–134, title I, §101[(a)] [title I, §114(b)(1)(A)], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321, 1321–21; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104–140, §1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1327.

A prior section 2201 of Pub. L. 90–351 was renumbered section 2601 and is classified to section 3797 of this title.

Pub. L. 107–273, div. C, title I, §11011, Nov. 2, 2002, 116 Stat. 1823, provided that:

“(a) Study.—The Attorney General shall commission a study of offenders, or a sampling of such offenders, with mental illness released from prison or jail in 2 or more jurisdictions, including at least 1 State or local and 1 Federal, to determine the extent to which participation in public benefit programs correlates with successful reentry and improved public safety.

“(b) Report.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act [Nov. 2, 2002], the Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and the House of Representatives—

“(1) a report detailing the results of the study conducted under subsection (a) with findings that address—

“(A) the number of offenders with mental illness released from the prison or jail who qualify for medicaid, SSI, or SSDI;

“(B) the number of offenders with mental illness who qualify for medicaid, SSI, or SSDI benefits and who are enrolled in these programs upon release from prison or jail; and

“(C) how enrollment in medicaid, SSI, or SSDI affects—

“(i) rearrest;

“(ii) violation of condition(s) of release;

“(iii) reincarceration;

“(iv) rehospitalization;

“(v) the length of time upon release from prison or jail time to the first contact with a mental health or substance abuse service; and

“(vi) the number of contacts with a mental health or substance abuse services [service] within the first 90 days of release; and

“(2) any recommendations.

“(c) Authorization of Appropriations.—There are authorized such sums as necessary to conduct the study and issue the report required by this section.”

Pub. L. 106–515, §2, Nov. 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 2399, provided that: “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.”