WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association (APA) applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for passing S. 1194, the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act of 2004, today. Sponsored by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH) and Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH), this legislation authorizes $50 million in federal grants to fund increased training for law enforcement officials and mental health personnel dealing with adult and juvenile offenders with mental health disorders, expand prisoners' access to mental health treatment while incarcerated and upon re-entry into the community, and provide additional resources for pre-trial jail diversion programs, mental health courts, and related initiatives. The bill now moves back to the Senate for reconsideration.
"The need for the mental health courts program and the other initiatives promoted in this bill has never been more important. This legislation will help the criminal justice and mental health communities work together to make sure that both adult and juvenile non-violent offenders with mental health disorders are identified properly and receive the treatment they need from the point of arrest to re-entry into the community, and are not simply recycled into the system," says Russ Newman, Ph.D., J.D., APA's executive director for professional practice.
The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act expands upon Sen DeWine's and Rep. Strickland's America's Law Enforcement and Mental Health Project, the innovative mental health courts pilot program. The Act recognizes the special needs of offenders with mental health disorders, and is consistent with the recommendations of President Bush's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. Specifically, the Commission cited jail diversion and community re-entry programs as best practices.
According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, more than 20 percent of those in the juvenile justice system have serious mental health problems, with many more also suffering from mental health and substance abuse disorders. The Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act expands the funding available to communities to address effectively the mental health needs of adult and juvenile offenders from the point of crisis intervention to re-entry.
"This bill places critical resources where they are needed most, on the front lines. Its provisions are sensible and effective, and the bill deserves to be signed by the president without delay," Newman said.
The American Psychological Association (APA), located in Washington, DC, is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States and is the world's largest association of psychologists. APA's membership includes more than 150,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its 53 divisions and its affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance psychology as a science and profession, and as a means of promoting health, education, and human welfare.