Civil Commitment in the Context of Pathways to and through Services in the United States: Individual, Program-Level and Structural Impacts
Over the past decade in the United States, civil commitment programs, including involuntary outpatient commitment, have steadily expanded. Recent federal policy changes are poised to further the number and reach of involuntary outpatient programs.
For example, the recent White House Executive Order on mental health services directs calls on states and regional mental health authorities to “enforce, and where necessary, adopt, standards that address individuals who are a danger to themselves or others and suffer from serious mental illness or substance use disorder, or who are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves, through assisted outpatient treatment or by moving them into treatment centers or other appropriate facilities via civil commitment or other available means, to the maximum extent permitted by law.” In parallel, many states have been developing or expanding varying forms of outpatient commitment, including the recent expansion of Care Court in California.
Our Project
The expansions note above raise critical questions about the impact of increased utilization of civil commitment. Building on prior work in this area, including research on involuntary inpatient commitment in Florida and evaluation of the impacts of Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) in New York, the PathLab team has developed a multi-state study focused on understanding the implementation, role and impacts of involuntary inpatient and outpatient commitment as experienced by multiple stakeholders, including those with direct experience of commitment, family members and kin, attorneys representing individuals in commitment proceedings, providers and individuals engaged as advocates.
Who is eligible? Individuals 18 years of age or older and proficient in English and who
- Has been or currently is on an Assisted Outpatient Treatment order or outpatient involuntary commitment order, including Care Court, in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, California or New Jersey OR
- Has experienced an involuntary inpatient commitment in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, California or New Jersey OR
- Family members and kin, providers, attorneys or government administrators, and advocates who have worked with individuals who have experienced involuntary inpatient or outpatient commitment, including AOT and Care Court
All participants will be compensated $60.
Please reach out with any further questions and see more information on our outpatient commitment flyer here and our inpatient commitment flyer here.
Research Team:
Nev Jones PhD, Principal Investigator, University of Pittsburgh
Shannon Pagdon, Doctoral Student, University of Pittsburgh
Todd Wittenberg, Research Training Manager, University of Pittsburgh
Sophia Shieh, Doctoral Student, Duquesne University