§ 10479 — Mental Health Responses In The Judicial System

(1) The Attorney General may award grants to States, units of local government, territories, Indian Tribes, nonprofit agencies, or any combination thereof, to develop, implement, or expand pretrial services programs to improve the identification and outcomes of individuals with mental illness. (2) Grants awarded under this subsection may be may be used for— (A) behavioral health needs and risk screening of defendants, including verification of interview information, mental health evaluation, and criminal history screening; (B) assessment of risk of pretrial misconduct through objective, statistically validated means, and presentation to the court of recommendations based on such assessment, including services that will reduce the risk of pre-trial misconduct; (C) followup review of defendants unable to meet the conditions of pretrial release; (D) evaluation of process and results of pre-trial service programs; (E) supervision of defendants who are on pretrial release, including reminders to defendants of scheduled court dates; (F) reporting on process and results of pretrial services programs to relevant public and private mental health stakeholders; and (G) data collection and analysis necessary to make available information required for assessment of risk. (1) The Attorney General may award grants to States, units of local government, territories, Indian Tribes, nonprofit agencies, or any combination thereof, to develop, implement, or expand a behavioral health screening and assessment program framework for State or local criminal justice systems. (2) Grants awarded under this subsection may be used for— (A) promotion of the use of validated assessment tools to gauge the criminogenic risk, substance abuse needs, and mental health needs of individuals; (B) initiatives to match the risk factors and needs of individuals to programs and practices associated with research-based, positive outcomes; (C) implementing methods for identifying and treating individuals who are most likely to benefit from coordinated supervision and treatment strategies, and identifying individuals who can do well with fewer interventions; and (D) collaborative decision-making among the heads of criminal justice agencies, mental health systems, judicial systems, substance abuse systems, and other relevant systems or agencies for determining how treatment and intensive supervision services should be allocated in order to maximize benefits, and developing and utilizing capacity accordingly. (c) A State, unit of local government, territory, Indian Tribe, or nonprofit agency that receives a grant under this section shall, in accordance with subsection (b)(2), use grant funds for the expenses of a treatment program, including— (1) salaries, personnel costs, equipment costs, and other costs directly related to the operation of the program, including costs relating to enforcement; (2) payments for treatment providers that are approved by the State or Indian Tribe and licensed, if necessary, to provide needed treatment to program participants, including aftercare supervision, vocational training, education, and job placement; and (3) payments to public and nonprofit private entities that are approved by the State or Indian Tribe and licensed, if necessary, to provide alcohol and drug addiction treatment to offenders participating in the program. (1) Grants awarded under this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be available for programs described in this section. (2) The Federal share of a grant made under this section may not exceed 50 percent of the total costs of the program described in an application under subsection (e). (e) To request a grant under this section, a State, unit of local government, territory, Indian Tribe, or nonprofit agency shall submit an application to the Attorney General in such form and containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably require. (f) The Attorney General shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, the distribution of grants under this section is equitable and includes— (1) each State; and (2) a unit of local government, territory, Indian Tribe, or nonprofit agency— (A) in each State; and (B) in rural, suburban, Tribal, and urban jurisdictions. (g) For each fiscal year, each grantee under this section during that fiscal year shall submit to the Attorney General a report on the effectiveness of activities carried out using such grant. Each report shall include an evaluation in such form and containing such information as the Attorney General may reasonably require. The Attorney General shall specify the dates on which such reports shall be submitted. (h) Grants awarded under this section shall be subject to the following accountability provisions: (A) final audit report is issued. (B) 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) 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) 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) 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) 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. (A) 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) 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) 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. (A) Not more than $20,000 of the amounts made available to the Department of Justice to carry out this section may be used by the Attorney General, or by any individual or entity awarded a grant under this section to host, or make any expenditures relating to, a conference unless the Deputy Attorney General provides prior written authorization that the funds may be expended to host the conference or make such expenditure. (B) 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) 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) 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. (1) Before the Attorney General awards a grant to an applicant under this section, the Attorney General shall compare the possible grant with any other grants awarded to the applicant under this Act to determine whether the grants are for the same purpose. (2) If the Attorney General awards multiple 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— (A) a list of all duplicate grants awarded, including the total dollar amount of any such grants awarded; and (B) the reason the Attorney General awarded the duplicate grants.