Outpatient Civil Commitment Criteria

1. Outpatient Services Programs Workgroup: Select Outpatient Civil Commitment CriteriaMay 29, 2014

2. Outpatient Civil Commitment Criteria • Criteria for outpatient commitment tends to vary by jurisdiction. Generally, an individual must have a mental illness; capability to survive safely in the community with supports; based on their psychiatric history, is in need of treatment to prevent further deterioration; and an inability or unwillingness to participate in treatment voluntarily. • In comparison, inpatient commitment usually involves danger to self or others, gravely disabled, or in need of protection or treatment for health and safety because of a mental disorder. Some states use the same criteria for both inpatient and outpatient commitment.

3. Select Outpatient Civil Commitment Criteria • Arizona • California • Maine • New York • North Carolina

4. Arizona • The individual, as a result of mental disorder, is a danger to self, is a danger to others, is persistently or acutely disabled or is gravely disabled and in need of treatment, and is either unwilling or unable to accept the voluntary treatment. • The same standard is used for both inpatient and/or outpatient treatment. • The court determines the least restrictive setting if treatment is ordered (inpatient, outpatient, or a combination of both).

5. California • 18 years of age or older; • Has a mental illness; • Is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision, based on a clinical determination; • Has a history of lack of compliance with treatment and at least one of the following is true: • The individual has been hospitalized, or received services in other specified settings (a mental health unit of a state or local correctional facility) at least twice in the past 36 months; or • The individual has harmed, threated , or attempted to, harm to themselves or another individual in the past 48 months;

6. California • Has been offered an opportunity to participate in a treatment plan fails to engage in treatment; • The person’s condition is substantially deteriorating; • The outpatient civil commitment program would be the least restrictive placement; • In view of the person’s treatment history and current behavior, the person is in need of outpatient civil commitment treatment in order to prevent a relapse or deterioration that would be likely to result in grave disability or serious harm to himself/herself or others; and • Is likely that the person will benefit from outpatient civil commitment treatment.

7. Maine • Has a severe and persistent mental illness; • The individual poses a likelihood of serious harm; • The individual has the benefit of a suitable individualized treatment plan; • Licensed and qualified community providers are available to support the treatment plan; • The individual is unlikely to follow the treatment plan voluntarily; • Court-ordered compliance will help to protect the individual from interruptions in treatment, relapses or deterioration of mental health; and • Compliance will enable the individual to survive more safely in a community setting without posing a likelihood of serious harm.

8. New York • 18 years of age or older; • Has a mental illness; • Is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision, based on a clinical determination; • Has a history of lack of compliance with treatment for mental illness that has: • The individual has been hospitalized, or received services in other specified settings (a mental health unit of a state or local correctional facility) at least twice in the past 36 months; • The individual has harmed, threated , or attempted to, harm to themselves or another individual in the past 48 months;

9. New York • Is, as a result of his or her mental illness, unlikely to voluntarily participate in outpatient treatment that would enable him or her to survive safely in the community; • In view of his/her treatment history and current behavior, is in need of outpatient civil commitment treatment in order to prevent a relapse or deterioration which would likely to result in serious harm to the person or others; and • Is likely to benefit from outpatient civil commitment treatment.

10. North Carolina • Has a mental illness; • Is capable of surviving safely in the community with available supervision from family, friends, or others; • Based on their treatment history, the individual is in need of treatment in order to prevent further disability or deterioration that would predictably result in dangerousness to self or others; and • The individual’s current mental status or the nature of his illness limits or negates his ability to make an informed decision to seek voluntarily or comply with recommended treatment.

11. Sources • Arizona Rev. Statute . § 36-540, http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/36/00540.htm&Title=36&DocType=AR • California Welfare and Institutions Code 5345, http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=wic&group=05001-06000&file=5345-5349.5 • Maine Rev. Statute §3873-A http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/34-b/title34-Bsec3873-A.html • New York Mental Hygiene - Article 9 - § 9.60 Assisted Outpatient Treatment, http://law.onecle.com/new-york/mental-hygiene/MHY09.60_9.60.html • North Carolina Gen Stat § 122C-271, http://law.justia.com/codes/north-carolina/2010/chapter122c/article5/section122c-271