House Passes FY 2007 Science, State, Justice, Commerce Appropriations Bill

On June 29, the House passed its fiscal year 2007 Science, State, Justice, Commerce (SSJC) appropriations bill. In the bill, the House reserved $5 million for mental health courts and adult and juvenile collaboration program grants authorized by the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act.

Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA), Chairman of the SSJC Subcommittee, has been a key supporter of the grant program. Other supporters include MIOTCRA cosponsors Ted Strickland (D-OH) and Jim Ramstad (R-MN), who worked closely with colleagues to ensure continued funding for the program in FY 07.

The grant program, called the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program, is administered by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and provides grants to states to improve collaboration between criminal justice and mental health agencies. The program received $5 million in FY 06 and BJA recently closed its for applications for this fiscal year.

Please click here for more information on the SSJC appropriations bill including its full text and cosponsors. The Senate Commerce Justice Science Subcommittee will consider its FY '07 appropriations bill later in the summer. For more information on FY 07 appropriations, please contact Hope Glassberg.