Political Quotes

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act. The Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program is authorized through the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act, what we call MIOTCRA, legislation that I was proud to work on nearly 20 years ago as the then-ranking member of the Crime Subcommittee of Judiciary Committee. This legislation has proven to successfully connect State and local governments with necessary resources to plan and implement initiatives designed to increase public safety, save tax dollars on ineffective or even counterproductive incarceration, and improve the lives of people with mental illness and their families. These grants for States and localities allow for the development of programming that connects those with mental illness and substance use issues with evidence-based and comprehensive treatment within the criminal justice system. Each year there are about 2 million people with serious mental illnesses admitted to jails across the country. In fact, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, 44 percent of those in jail and 37 percent of those in prisons have a history of mental illness. {time} 1545 Furthermore, once incarcerated, individuals with mental illness tend to stay in jail longer, and upon release are more likely to return to incarceration than those without mental illnesses.…”