,,ii  #aadth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #babj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october #a1   
#bjae ,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself1 ,mr4 
,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,durbin1 ,mr4         
,franken1 ,mr4 ,schumer1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 
,ms4 ,klobuchar1 ,mr4 ,whitehouse1 ,mr4 
,bennet1 ,ms4 ,baldwin1 and ,mr4        
,markey7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs  ,a  
,,bill  ,to amend title #ch1 ,united    
,states ,code1 to require the ,secretary
 of ,veterans ,affairs to carry out a   
program to support veterans in contact  
with the criminal justice system by     
discouraging unnecessary criminalization
 of mental illness and other nonviolent 
crimes1 and for other purposes4  #a4    
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,veterans ,justice ,outreach ,act of
 #bjae4  #b4 ,department of ,veterans   
,affairs program of coordinated outreach
 for justice-involved veterans at risk  
of homelessness  7a7 ,program required  

7#a7 ,in general ,subchapter ,,iii of   
chapter #bj of title #ch1 ,united       
,states ,code1 is amended--  7,a7 by    
redesignating sections #bjbb and #bjbc  
as sections #bjbc and #bjbd1            
respectively2 and  7,b7 by inserting    
after section #bjba;,a the following new
 section #bjbb3  #bjbb4 ,coordination of
 outreach for justice-involved veterans 
at risk of homelessness  7a7 ,program   
required ,the ,secretary shall carry out
 a program to support veterans in       
contact with the criminal justice system
 by discouraging unnecessary            
criminalization of mental illness and   
other nonviolent crimes4  7b7           
,partnership ,the ,secretary shall carry
 out the program required by subsection 
7a7 in partnership with local law       
enforcement1 judicial1 and              
community-based treatment and legal     
assistance organizations4  7c7          
,authorized activities ,in carrying out 
the program required by subsection 7a71 
the ,secretary may conduct the          

following3 7#a7 ,training for police1   
prosecutors1 courts1 public defenders1  
and other community-based support       
organizations on matters relating to    
psychological trauma associated with    
military service and mental health and  
substance abuse services available from 
the ,department4  7#b7 ,support for     
courts and their officers1 including    
physical presence in the courtroom      
setting1 by facilitating mental health  
assessments1 treatment planning1        
referrals to ,department services1 or   
such other services as may be requested 
by the courts4  7#c7 ,such other        
outreach and assistance as the          
,secretary considers appropriate for the
 provision of support described in      
subsection 7a74  7d7 ,justice outreach  
coordinators  7#a7 ,in order to         
effectively assist veterans in contact  
with the criminal justice system1 the   
,secretary shall establish coordinators 
to provide outreach under the program   
required by subsection 7a74  7#b7 ,the  

,secretary shall ensure that each       
coordinator established under paragraph 
7#a7 is knowledgeable about             
psychological and psychiatric evaluation
 in relation to justice-based forensic  
matters1 such as--  7,a7 psychiatric    
diagnosis2  7,b7 developmental          
disabilities2  7,c7 medical issues1 such
 as traumatic brain injury2  7,d7       
competency and sanity2  7,e7 neglect and
 abuse2  7,f7 parental rights2 and  7,g7
 life threatening issues1 such as       
suicidality and homicidally4  7e7       
,veteran in contact with the criminal   
justice system defined ,in this section1
 the term veteran in contact with the   
criminal justice system includes the    
following3  7#a7 ,a veteran in contact  
with local law enforcement who can be   
appropriately diverted from arrest to   
mental health treatment4  7#b7 ,a       
veteran in local jail either pretrial or
 serving a sentence4  7#c7 ,a veteran in
 adjudication or monitoring by a court4 
4  7#b7 ,conforming amendment ,section  

#bjbc7;f7 of such title1 as redesignated
 by paragraph 7#a77;,a71 is amended in  
paragraphs 7#b77;,c7 and 7#c77;,c7 by   
striking section #bjbc both places it   
appears and inserting section #bjbd4    
7#c7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of  
sections at the beginning of chapter #bj
 of such title is amended by striking   
the items relating to sections #bjbb and
 #bjbc and inserting the following new  
items3  #bjbb4 ,coordination of outreach
 for justice-involved veterans at risk  
of homelessness4#bjbc4 ,coordination of 
outreach services for veterans at risk  
of homelessness4#bjbd4 ,referral and    
counseling services3 veterans at risk of
 homelessness who are transitioning from
 certain institutions4  4  7b7 ,report  
7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj   
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans  
,affairs shall submit to ,congress a    
report on the program carried out under 
section #bjbb7;a7 of such title1 as     
added by subsection 7a77#a74  7#b7      

,contents ,the report submitted under   
paragraph 7#a7 shall include an         
assessment of the following3 7,a7 ,the  
number of coordinators established under
 section #bjbb7;d77#a7 of such title1 as
 added by subsection 7a77#a74  7,b7 ,the
 training of such coordinators4  7,c7   
,the capabilities of such coordinators4 
7,d7 ,the capacity of the program       
carried out under section #bjbb7;a7 of  
such title1 as so added1 to meet the    
demand of veterans and courts for       
services under the program4