Federal Spending and Pandemic Relief Package Signed into Law

After months of delays and negotiations, Congress approved a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package for 2021 and a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package in December. The omnibus spending bill funds various state and local justice system grant programs within the Department of Justice (DOJ), such as the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program (JMHCP), the Justice Reinvestment Initiative, and the Second Chance Act. The bill provides the following:

• $35 million for JMHCP, authorized under the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act and reauthorized under the 21st Century Cures Act. These funds ensure that criminal justice and mental health systems throughout the country have the money they need to serve some of the nation’s most vulnerable people. The law funds mental health courts, mental health and substance use disorder treatment for people in the criminal justice system, community reentry services, and local law enforcement training to help officers identify and improve their responses to people who have mental health needs. To date, grants awarded under JMHCP have funded more than 200 mental health courts and other court-based initiatives, supported over 125 law enforcement agencies, and provided a total of 531 grants to 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and American Samoa.
• $33 million for Justice Reinvestment, a data-driven approach that helps states reduce corrections and related criminal justice spending and reinvest savings in strategies to improve public safety. In recent years, more than 35 states have used a Justice Reinvestment approach to develop policies to slow overall prison growth, and for some states, reduce the total prison population. States have reported cumulative savings and averted costs of more than $1.1 billion while also investing hundreds of millions in effective supervision and treatment programs to make communities safer. These investments have included efforts to improve community supervision, expand community-based treatment and services, create grants to support local law enforcement, enhance victims’ services, and more.
• $100 million for the Second Chance Act, which was reauthorized as part of the landmark First Step Act. Since its enactment, recipients of Second Chance Act grants have worked to improve outcomes for people returning to their communities from prisons and jails, providing vital services—including employment training and assistance, substance use disorder treatment, education, housing, family programming, mentoring, and victims’ support. There have been more than 900 grants awarded in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, allowing jurisdictions to develop, improve, and expand reentry programs and policies. Second Chance Act grantees have served more than 164,000 participants since 2009.

In addition to the programs above, the package includes $409.4 million for the First Step Act, the restoration of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated individuals, and funding to address policing reform and substance use disorders.