Legislation to
Improve Addiction Treatment and Mental Health Services for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System Introduced in the House
On August 3rd, Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) introduced
H.R. 3411, the “Juvenile Crime Reduction Act.” H.R. 3411 seeks to improve the treatment of young people in the juvenile justice system
with mental health or substance use disorders. The legislation would establish a number of grant programs to increase training, technical assistance,
and coordination of service providers, including those who provide addiction treatment services, to young people who are involved with the juvenile
justice system. H.R. 3411 would establish a number of grant programs aimed at improving services for youth in the juvenile justice
system with mental health or substance use disorders. The Juvenile Crime Reduction Act would:
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Establish a grant program through the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to educate individuals who have decision-making ability concerning the disposition of cases for youth in the
juvenile justice system, such as addiction or mental health treatment providers or administrators, juvenile justice or law enforcement personnel,
prosecutors, public defenders, judges, probation officers and parents of juveniles with mental health or substance use disorders about: the
availability of standardized, age-appropriate and culturally competent screening and assessment tools and the effective use of such tools to divert
youth from secure confinement into home- and community-based care; the purpose, benefits and availability of home- and community-based mental health
or addiction treatment programs available to youth; and public and private programs that fund these services
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Authorize a grant program administered by OJJDP, in consultation
with the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), for eligible public agencies to develop a
collaborative plan that addresses the needs of juveniles with mental health or substance use disorders who are in or at risk of coming into contact
with the juvenile justice system; grantees would be required to include a plan to: provide for coordinated and effective aftercare programs for youth
who have been diagnosed with a mental health or substance use disorder and who have been discharged; provide for cross-system training among mental
health and addiction treatment providers, law enforcement personnel, corrections personnel and educational agency personnel to enhance collaboration
among systems; determine how the service needs of juveniles with mental health or substance use disorders who come into contact with the juvenile
justice system will be made from the initial detention stage until after discharge to avoid further contact with the system; and show that the agency
has entered into appropriate agreements with all entities responsible, including those administering juvenile justice programs, and those providing
mental health and addiction treatment services
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Authorize a $4 million grant program through the OJJDP to
establish four regional technical assistance centers to provide training on mental health and substance use disorder services in custodial and
non-custodial juvenile justice-related settings and on how to engage in successful collaborations between mental health and substance use disorder
service providers; under this grant program, technical assistance could be provided to a variety of individuals including substance use disorder and
mental health service providers and administrators, parents and parents’ advocates, public policymakers, juvenile court
judges and law enforcement personnel
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H.R. 3411 also includes provisions to amend the current law to:
After its introduction,
H.R. 3411 was referred to the House Committees on Education and Labor and Energy and Commerce. The legislation currently has seven
Democratic co-sponsors.
The text and status of H.R. 3411 can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov/.
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Loan
Forgiveness for Certain Public Service Workers, Including Public Health Workers, Approved by Congress; President Bush Expected to Sign Bill into Law
Congress recently approved legislation focused on higher
education and improving student financial aid. The “College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007,” or H.R. 2669,
would make a number of changes to the student lending process, including raising the maximum amount for Pell grants to over $5,000 over the next five
years, capping annual loan payments for students at a percentage of their income, and creating a loan forgiveness program for public service
employees.
H.R. 2669 would amend the current law to require the Secretary of
Education to cancel eligible ‘Federal Direct Loans’ not in default, including principal and interest, for individuals working in public
service jobs who have made ten years’ worth of monthly payments after October 1, 2007. The term eligible ‘Federal Direct Loan' means a
Federal Direct Stafford Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan, or Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, or a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan.
Individuals eligible for this loan forgiveness program would be required to have been employed in a public service job during the
ten-year payment period through the time the loan obligation is forgiven. Under the legislation, public service jobs are defined
as including full-time jobs in public health, public education, public safety, social work, public interest law services, and public service for
individuals with disabilities or the elderly.
President Bush is expected to sign H.R. 2669 into law. The
text of the legislation can be found at: http://thomas.loc.gov/.
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