United States Senate WASHINGTON. DC 20510
May 18,2017 The Honorable Richard Shelby The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen Chairman Ranking Member Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Science, and Related Agencies Senate Appropriations Committee Senate Appropriations Committee Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Chairman Shelby and Ranking Member Shaheen: We write to express our support to fully fund. the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration program in the fiscal year (FY) 2018 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. This program provides state and local governments with the resources necessary to plan and implement initiatives for people with mental illness who interact with the criminal justice system—resources proven to increase public safety, reduce state and local spending, and improve the lives of both people with mental illness and their families. People with mental health conditions are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. Statistics indicate that individuals with mental illness disproportionately are arrested and incarcerated, and make up a significant percentage of the population notjust in jails and prisons, but also on parole and in probation caseloads across the country. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, approximately 45 percent of federal inmates, 56 percent of state inmates,
and 64 percent of jail inmates displayed symptoms of a mental health condition. Once incarcerated, individuals with mental illness tend to stay longer in jail and upon release are at a higher risk of returning to incarceration than those without these illnesses. Additionally, people
with mental illness spend twice as long in jail awaiting trial than people without mental illness. Our criminal justice system should not be used as a substitute for a functioning mental health system. Right now, law enforcement officers put their lives at risk every time they are called upon to intervene in a mental health crisis. Our courts are inundated with cases involving
people with mental illness, and the criminal justice system is failing those who would better benefit from treatment and intensive supervision as opposed to incarceration. Consequently. taxpayers are currently footing the bill for high incarceration costs and overcrowded facilities.
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration program funds innovations that bring together mental health and criminal justice agencies to address the unique needs of persons with mental health conditions. It supports crisis intervention teams (CIT), which give law enforcement officers the resources and training they need to identify and properly respond to mental health crises in their communities. To date, grants awarded under this program have funded 121 mental health courts and other court-based initiatives, supported more than 100 local police and county sheriff departments. In total, 380 grants have been awarded to 47 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and American Samoa.
The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration program, which is authorized under the
Mentally 111 Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA), was enacted in 2004 and reauthorized in 2008 and 2016 with broad bipartisan support. The program was reauthorized as part of 21st Century Cures Act, which incorporated two bills, the Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act and the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act. The provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act made improvements to the program that would support state and local efforts
to identify people with mental health conditions at each point in the criminal justice system in order to appropriately direct them to mental health services; increase focus on corrections-based programs, such as transitional services that reduce recidivism rates and screening practices that
identify inmates with mental health conditions; support the development of curricula for police academies and orientations; and develop programs to train federal law enforcement officers in how to respond appropriately to incidents involving a person with a mental health condition. It also expands treatment and transitional services for people reentering society from prison and jail with mental illness, substance use problems or chronic homelessness, and it also creates the National Criminal Justice and Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center, for which we support continued funding.
With the responsibility of treating people with mental illness often falling on an already strained criminal justice system, it is clear that we need to direct resources to treatment. The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration program has helped law enforcement officers, judges, corrections officers, and mental health professionals develop more thoughtful and cost-effective approaches to incarceration for individuals with mental illness. We appreciate your subcommittee's past support for the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration program and
respectfully request that you fund this important program at its authorized level in the FY 2018 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill.. Sincerely,
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