NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition

250 West 27th St., Suite 4B, New York, NY 10001 (212) 366-0527

The NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition (NY-TAC) was founded by the Treatment Advocacy Center in Arlington, VA. It is a coalition of individuals and organizations interested in reforming New York State's Assisted Treatment (formerly known as 'involuntary treatment') laws so certain individuals with neurobiological disorders (like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder) may be treated before they become "danger to self or others" rather than after. NY-TAC members believe that this would be beneficial to the individual and the surrounding community. Learn more about NY-TAC and get free e-mail updates.

NY SITE INDEX

[ Editorials/Op-eds ]  [ NYS Legislation ]  [ Issues ]  [ Other Orgs. ]

[ Assisted Treatment in NYS ]  [ Assisted Treatment in rest of country ]  [ Join NY TAC ]

Editorials and Op-eds

• Uncivil Liberties (Excellent)
• Editorial, op-ed, & columnist in support of outpatient assisted treatment (NY Times)
• Involuntary Commitment Reconsidered (NY Times news story)
• Lessons from Around NY (Albany Times Union Op-Ed)
• Toward Rational Commitment Laws (National Review)
• Deinstitutionalization Turned Deadly (Wall St. Journal)
• Why do severely mentally ill go untreated? (Boston Globe)
• Violent Fantasies (National Review)
• Supporting Editorial, Op-ed, and Letter (NY Post)
• Larry Hogue (Daily News)

Outpatient Assisted Treatment Legislation in NYS

• History of Outpatient Assisted Treatment in America and New York
• 1999 Overview of NYS Outpatient Assisted Treatment initiatives
• Memo on Attorney General Spitzer’s Outpatient Assisted Treatment Act (“Kendra’s Law” S-5113)

• Overview and Description
• Entire enabling Legislation (long) or substantive part of legislation
• Attorney General’s Press Release
• Treatment Advocacy Center Press Release
• NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition Press Release

• Description of the Bellevue Pilot Outpatient Commitment Program
• Laws enabling the Bellevue Pilot Program and expanding it (Chapter 9.61)
• Dr. Telson (Program Director) Testimony on Bellevue Pilot Program
• NY-TAC Press Release on Bellevue Pilot Program
• NY-TAC Testimony on expanding pilot to rest of state
• Changes to make when expanding Bellevue Pilot to rest of state
• Limitations on the study NYC commissioned to determine the program’s effectiveness
• Conclusions that can be drawn from the study of the program
• Bellevue Hospital’s Report on the success of the program (in sections):
• Contents, Acknowlegements, Preface
• Background
• Program Description
• Program Development and Findings
• Program Statistics
• Observations on (inadequacies of) PRA Report
• Conclusions and Bibliography
• Participating Providers
• Outpatient Assisted Treatment Eligibility Requirements in other states
• Compliance Mechanisms in states other than New York

• Assemblyman John Ravitz’s Proposal (A-7146)
• Assemblyman Jim Brennan’s Proposal (A-7936)

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Assisted Treatment Issues and Fact Sheets

• Myths surrounding Assisted Treatment
• Violence and  neurobiological disorders
• Issues that have to be considered in formulating Assisted Treatment Laws
• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Policy on Assisted Treatment
• NYS “Involuntary Treatment” Laws - Article 9 (long)
• Commitment  to a NYS hospital on affidavit of 2 Psychiatrists (”2 PC” Commitments 9.27)
• Commitment to a NYS hospital by a court (9.43)
• Commitment to a NYS hospital by a Director of Community Services (9.37)
• Emergency  admissions  for  immediate  observation,  care, and treatment (9.39)
• NY should make greater use of Conditional Discharge
• Section 29.15 of NYS Mental Hygiene Code
• Substitute Judgment (Chapter 80) 
• Does Assisted Outpatient Treatment Work
• Learnings about Assisted Treatment from the treatment of Tuberculosis

Tragedies in NY from untreated neurobiological disorders (news clippings database)

Fact Sheets, Federal Law, Personal Accounts, National Perspective

More about NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition

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Some organizations which have called for reform of Assisted Treatment Laws in New York

• Alliance for the Mentally Ill of New York State
• American Psychiatric Assoc. Task Force on Involuntary Commitment to Outpatient Treatment
• Greater NY Hospital Association
• Center for the Community Interest
• Citizens Crime Commission
• Victim Services Agency
• Visiting Nurses Service
• Justice for All
• Office of the New York State Attorney General
• St. Francis Residence
• Project for Psychiatric Outreach to the Homeless
• NY Society for the Deaf
• New York Post
• New York  Times
• Buffalo News
• Concerned Citizens for Creedmoore
• The Bridge, Inc.
• NY Center for Neuropsychology and Forensic Behavioral Science
• AMI/Albany Relatives
• NAMI/PATH (Queens/Nassau)
• NAMI/Buffalo and Erie County
• NAMI/Familya (Rockland County)
• NYS Public Employees Federation
• Treatment Advocacy Center
• Schizophrenia.com
• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill/Metro-New York City
• 70 Other orgs. that participated in Outpatient Assisted Treatment Program

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Other Links

• NYS Laws
• Excellent Articles on NYS Assisted Treatment Laws
• Treatment Advocacy Center

(Posted 3/1999; Updated 4/1999)

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The information on /newyork is provided as a public service by the NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition. For more information, to join, or to make a donation, write to NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition, Suite 4B, 250 West 27th St., New York, NY 10001 or call (212) 366-0527. To support our efforts, make checks payable to Treatment Advocacy Center. To become a free member and receive updates, please send your name, (organization's name, if any) address, phone, fax, and e-mail address to the above address, along with the following signed statement: "I HAVE RECEIVED INFORMATION ABOUT THE NY TREATMENT ADVOCACY COALITION, SUPPORT IT'S MISSION, WANT TO RECEIVE UPDATES AND BE LISTED AS A MEMBER AND SUPPORTER." Unfortunately, requests for free memberships without this information and statement can not be honored. Contents of all material on the Coalition's web site is copyrighted and rights are reserved by the NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition unless otherwise indicated. However content may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, or transferred by nonprofit organizations that support our mission for educational purposes if correct attribution is made to the NY Treatment Advocacy Coalition. Please feel free to call with questions on neurobiological disorders, treatment laws or the benefits of medication compliance at 703.294.6001 or 212.366.0527. Send questions via e-mail to stanleyj@psychlaws.org. Media inquiries to press@treatmentadvocacycenter.org. Technical comments on the web site (www.psychlaws.org) can be sent to Webmaster@psychlaws.org.

Treatment Advocacy Center

The contents of TAC's website are copyrighted by the Treatment Advocacy Center unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved and content may be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, or transferred, for single use, or by nonprofit organizations for educational purposes only, if correct attribution is made. TAC is an I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. Donations are appreciated and are eligible for the charitable contribution deduction under the provisions of I.R.C. § 170. Please note that TAC does not accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or entities involved in the sale, marketing, or distribution of such products.