(Aug. 27, 2015) August, typically considered a sleepy month on Capitol Hill, turned out to be a watershed moment for assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) and other criminal justice diversion programs.
Two bills were introduced earlier this month that included AOT and other proven diversion strategies for treating instead of jailing people with severe mental illness - programs that have been long supported by the Treatment Advocacy Center.
Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act which would make additional federal funding opportunities available to expand AOT for the most severely ill before they become entangled in the criminal justice system. The bill also increases training for law enforcement on how to handle people in a psychiatric crisis and supports data collection on the criminalization of mental illness. Read more about the Mental Health and Safe Communities Act.
“Getting arrested should not be the first step in getting treatment,” said Treatment Advocacy Center Executive Director John Snook. “Senator Cornyn’s bill will help ensure people with severe mental illness get help before they deteriorate to the point of crisis.”
Also at the federal level, the bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, unveiled by Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA), would make it easier for states to implement court-ordered outpatient treatment by providing funding for local programs through a federal grant program. The bill seeks to reform America’s mental health system so that it meets the needs of all patients, the senators said at a press event in August. Read more about the Mental Health Reform Act of 2015.
“If passed into law, these provisions would expand access to treatment through proven outpatient treatment programs, catalyze important jail diversion programs and bolster the availability of treatment in acute facilities for those in need," Snook continued.
You can help.
Write your US senators today and tell them to support efforts to ensure treatment before incarceration. Include your story about what these bills would mean for you and your family.