Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 118.djvu/2357

 118 STAT. 2327 PUBLIC LAW 108–414—OCT. 30, 2004 Public Law 108–414 108th Congress An Act To foster local collaborations which will ensure that resources are effectively and efficiently used within the criminal and juvenile justice systems. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004’’. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, over 16 percent of adults incarcerated in United States jails and prisons have a mental illness. (2) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin quency Prevention, approximately 20 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have serious mental health problems, and a significant number have co occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. (3) According to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, up to 40 percent of adults who suffer from a serious mental illness will come into contact with the American criminal justice system at some point in their lives. (4) According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delin quency Prevention, over 150,000 juveniles who come into contact with the juvenile justice system each year meet the diagnostic criteria for at least 1 mental or emotional disorder. (5) A significant proportion of adults with a serious mental illness who are involved with the criminal justice system are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, and many of these individuals are arrested and jailed for minor, nonviolent offenses. (6) The majority of individuals with a mental illness or emotional disorder who are involved in the criminal or juvenile justice systems are responsive to medical and psychological interventions that integrate treatment, rehabilitation, and sup port services. (7) Collaborative programs between mental health, sub stance abuse, and criminal or juvenile justice systems that ensure the provision of services for those with mental illness or co occurring mental illness and substance abuse disorders can reduce the number of such individuals in adult and juvenile corrections facilities, while providing improved public safety. 42 USC 3797aa note. 42 USC 3711 note. Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004. Oct. 30, 2004 [S. 1194]

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