U.S. CONGRESS Bill targets mentally ill offenders

The grants would fund health treatment services for mentally ill offenders.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland and U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine have introduced legislation in Congress to provide communities with money to establish programs for mentally ill offenders.
The grants would fund such things as jail diversion and mental health courts and also help pay for community mental health treatment services, treatment programs for the mentally ill people in prison, and transitional and aftercare programs for mentally ill offenders who have completed their sentences.
The bipartisan proposal -- Strickland is a Democrat and DeWine is a Republican -- calls for $100 million annually in federal funding for mental health programs.
"It's sad that as our understanding of mental illness grows and our treatments become more effective, fewer and fewer people can either afford or have access to these treatments," said Strickland of Lisbon, D-6th. "I hope this bill will enable American communities to provide the help these people need."
Grants
Under the proposal, communities could apply for federal planning grants of $75,000. They could also seek money to implement the programs, with no set dollar amount listed in the bill. The five-year implementation grants would require local matches of 20 percent annually for the first two years, 40 percent in year three, and 75 percent in years four and five.
The goal of the bill is to help communities eventually establish a self-financed local mental health treatment program, Strickland said.
"Mental health is one of the last frontiers of personal health to be accepted, understood and widely treated in our society," said Strickland, who is also a psychologist.
"I hope this legislation will give communities the help they need to provide treatment to those among us who suffer from mental illness."
A similar bill was introduced in November, a month before the previous congressional session ended, and did not receive a committee hearing.
skolnick@vindy.com