Grant program

(a) Establishment Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall establish a grant program (hereinafter referred to as the Program) to implement and administer mental health screenings to individuals at intake into an eligible detention center and refer such individuals to mental healthcare providers before or immediately after exit from an eligible detention center, as applicable. (b) Grant authority In carrying out the Program, the Attorney General may award a grant on a competitive basis to an eligible recipient in accordance with this section. (c) Application The Attorney General may award a grant under the Program to a State or locality, determined by the Attorney General to carry out a project described in subsection (d). (d) Eligible recipients (1) Hiring requirement To be eligible for a grant under the Program, a State or locality shall hire a mental health liaison staff member for each eligible detention center under its jurisdiction. If an eligible detention center has a small enough population, subject to approval by the Advisory Board, one mental health liaison staff member may cover multiple detention centers. The mental health liaison staff member shall be responsible for— (A) coordinating efforts between the prison or jail and mental health providers in the local region to help individuals currently or formerly in prison or jail access mental healthcare; (B) coordinating with the Advisory Board to ensure that the Program is operating in accordance with this section; and (C) overseeing and coordinating activities of the outreach team (as described in subsection (g)). (2) Plan To be eligible for a grant under the Program, a State or locality shall submit a plan to the Advisory Board explaining how the Program established shall meet the criteria under subsection (e). (3) Relevant data To be eligible for a grant under the Program, a State or locality shall partner with the Advisory Board and an independent research organization to evaluate the impact of their program as a condition of receiving a grant, and are also required to share relevant data with the Advisory Board and the research organization contracted with by the Attorney General as specified by section 5(a) regarding individuals’ participation in the mental health screen and referral program and their arrest, arraignment, and incarceration rates. (e) Eligible projects Grant funds awarded under the Program may only be used to: (1) Develop and administer a brief mental health screening survey as required under subsection (f). (2) Develop any technology necessary for a prison or jail to provide the survey under paragraph (1). (3) Hire any staff necessary for a prison or jail to provide the survey under paragraph (1). (4) Establish an outreach team pursuant to subsection (g) to refer an individual, if their responses to the survey indicate severe mental illness, to a local mental healthcare provider for further assessment and outreach, admission (when necessary), and support for that individual in re-establishing ties with a mental health provider. (5) Pay the salary or overtime pay of an outreach team as established pursuant to subsection (g), including providing direct funding to a prison, jail, or mental health center to compensate staff members. (f) Brief mental health screening survey The mental health screening survey developed and administered under subsection (e) shall: (1) Be composed of 5 to 10 questions. (2) Be based on the questions and content of the Brief Jail Mental Health Screen (BJMHS). (3) Seek to identify severe mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. (4) Ask individuals about the symptoms of severe mental illness they may be experiencing or have experienced and any prior use of mental health-related medications or inpatient care. (5) Identify the individual’s place of residence. (6) Be administered by a trained staff member at the jail or prison to all entering individuals who are incarcerated in the jail or prison and to all incarcerated individuals who entered the jail or prison before the survey was implemented. (g) Outreach team (1) In general A referral to a mental healthcare provider, as described in subsection (e), shall be made by a mental health outreach team that is composed of— (A) mental healthcare professionals and clinicians from mental healthcare centers local to the prison or jail; (B) staff from the jail or prison, when applicable; and (C) a mental health liaison staff member who shall oversee the outreach team. (2) Alert If an individual has been determined to need a referral to a mental healthcare provider, the mental health outreach team shall be notified immediately by jail or prison staff and informed, when applicable, of the individual’s release date from such jail or prison and the individual’s trial date. (3) Contact attempts required (A) In general A mental health outreach team member shall first attempt to contact an individual that has been determined to need a referral to a mental healthcare provider in person at the jail or prison, before such individual is released. If in person contact was not made before such individual was released from prison or jail, the outreach team member shall attempt to contact via telephone such individual within 24 hours, and at the latest within 48 hours, of their release from jail or prison for the purpose of making the mental health referral. The mental health outreach team member shall not need to contact the individual via telephone after release if such contact was made in person. (B) Additional contacts A mental health outreach team member shall make at least three attempts at telephone contact for each individual that has been determined to need a referral to a mental healthcare provider if in person contact before release was not made. If phone contact is unsuccessful, a mental health outreach team member shall attempt to contact the individual in person at their place of residence, as provided on the mental health survey.