In awarding grants under this subchapter, the Attorney General shall give preference to a State, Indian Tribe, unit of local government, or community-based nonprofit organization that ensures that individuals who participate in a program, funded by a grant under this subchapter will be provided with continuity of care, in accordance with paragraph (2), in a community care provider program upon release from a correctional facility and adopt policies that focus on programming, strategies, and educational components for reducing recidivism and probation violations.
For purposes of paragraph (1), the continuity of care shall involve the coordination of the correctional facility treatment program with qualified community behavioral health providers and other recovery supports, pre-trial release programs, parole supervision programs, half-way house programs, and participation in peer recovery group programs, which may aid in ongoing recovery after the individual is released from the correctional facility.
For purposes of this subsection, the term “community care provider program” means a community mental health center or certified community behavioral health clinic that directly provides to an individual, or assists in connecting an individual to the provision of, appropriate community-based treatment, medication management, and other recovery supports, when the individual leaves a correctional facility at the end of a sentence or on parole.
Each application submitted for a grant under this subchapter shall include a description of how the funds made available under this subchapter will be coordinated with Federal assistance for behavioral health services currently provided by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.