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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Chip Felton, MSW, Center for Information Technology and Evaluation Research, New York State Office of Mental Health, 44 Holland Ave, Albany, NY 12229, 518-473-7359, coevcjf@omh.state.ny.us

Involuntary outpatient commitment (IOC) remains a controversial approach to engaging individuals in treatment. Much attention regarding IOC tends to focus on the impact of the court order on improved outcomes for recipients. Although, this is a key issue, the effectiveness of IOC in engaging individuals in services that were previously not well-engaged in services is too often overlooked. The proposed panel presentation presents findings from two studies of individuals receiving court-ordered outpatient treatment in New York State on the impact of IOC on engagement in mental health services. In 1999, New York State joined more than 40 other states in establishing a mechanism for IOC through the enactment of Kendra's Law's. Kendra's Law established Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) as the means through which court-ordered outpatient treatment is delivered to certain individuals with mental illness and a history of hospitalizations or violence. The goal of AOT is to ensure that persons at risk for harm to themselves or others participate in mental health treatment needed to survive safely in the community. Longitudinal data from two evaluation studies of AOT recipients will be presented to examine engagement in treatment. The proposed panel will provide a unique opportunity to examine perceptions of engagement from both the provider and recipient perspective.

Session Organizer: Dorothy M Castille, PhD (212) 740-5904 ext 14 Dmc61@columbia.edu

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, the participant will be able to

• discuss the use of outpatient commitment in New York State,
• describe qualitative and quantitative approaches for assessing treatment engagement,
• identify statewide and local implications for persons mandated to outpatient commitment.

Keywords: Policy/Policy Development, Mental Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No