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Burlington County Times
October 14, 2003
Reprinted with permission of the author. All rights reserved.
Parents seeking Gregory's law
by Danielle Delfin
During a chance encounter with a mentally ill man, 11-year-old Gregory Katsnelson was murdered in the woods near his home last Oct. 17.
"The pain of losing a child never goes away," said Cathy Katsnelson. "Some nights we still wait for him to come home. I still hope that I am going to wake up from this nightmare."
The couple is leading a drive for new legislation, which would be known as Gregory’s Law in New Jersey, that would empower the courts to require people with mental illnesses to receive assisted outpatient treatment.
State Sen. Martha Bark, R-8th of Medford, has drafted legislation likely to be introduced next month. It is based on New York’s Kendra’s Law, named after Kendra Webdale who was killed in 1999 when a mentally ill man pushed her into the path of a New York City subway train
Similar laws already are in place in 41 states.
The measure would allow the courts to order mentally ill people into assisted outpatient treatment before they are a threat to themselves or others.
Currently in New Jersey, people must voluntarily agree to outpatient treatment, said Mary Zdanowicz, executive director of the Treatment Advo-cacy Center in Vir-ginia, which is advising the Katsnelson family.
Many don’t seek treatment because they have an impaired awareness of their illness, she said. "People do not realize they are ill and need treatment," Zdanowicz said.
If such a law was in place last year, the Katsnelsons be-lieve, their son might not have met up with Ronald Pituch, the Medford man who awaits trial on charges of killing his mother, Josephine Pituch, and Gregory Katsnelson. The trial is scheduled to begin in January.
Authori-ties say Pituch, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, bludgeoned his mother to death and then fled their home.
A short time later, police said, Pituch encountered Gregory near a pond less than a mile from the boy’s home. Gregory was stabbed and killed while on his way to meet friends. Authorities called it "a random act of violence." Pituch, 27, faces the death penalty if convicted.
After the murders, the Pituch family expressed frustration at their inability to place their son in a hospital or outpatient service because of his age and his refusal to participate.
"I read reports that (Josephine Pituch) tried to get help for her son," Bark said. "This law is an effort to get these families the help and support they need before another tragedy happens."
Gregory’s Law would make it easier for families and mental-health workers to get the mentally ill the treatment they need, even when they refuse, supporters say.
"Right now, New Jersey law forces a family to sit by and watch as a person deteriorates until they become dangerous," said John Snook, a staff attorney at the Virginia center.
While the state currently has no mechanism to order outpatient treatment, it can mandate a mentally ill person be committed to a hospital for care if he or she is found to be a threat.
"Very often, families are told that they can’t do anything until their loved one is dangerous," Zdanowicz said. "That’s what results in tragedies."
A patient would have to meet certain criteria to be placed in outpatient treatment under Gregory’s Law. Patients would have to be 18 or older and suffer from a mental illness that prevents them from living safely in the community.
Another factor the courts would consider is whether the patient has a history of not cooperating with treatment that has resulted in hospitalization or violence.
Some mental-health professionals worry Gregory’s Law would not provide people in crisis the help they need. They are concerned that the state’s mental-health system does not have the funds or services to meet court-ordered treatment.
"I love the idea that family members could get the help they see a person needs. It would be wonderful to have the services available," said Mary Lynne Reynolds, executive director of the Mental Health As-sociation of Southwestern New Jersey.
"The system is grossly overburdened now. Where will we get the manpower to enforce this law and get people the mandated treatment?"
Currently, outpatient services in New Jersey are administered by Program in Assertive Community Treatment teams. Burlington County’s team in-cludes various medical and mental-health professionals. There are also private centers for treatment.
"The state is very fortunate to have PACT, but it is voluntary," Zdanowicz said. "Once a person says they do not want the services, there is nothing more PACT can do. This law would empower them to go further and keep delivering services."
Reynolds said such a law must be adequately funded to work in New Jersey. In addition, she said, the PACT model and other mobile outreach efforts must be expanded to provide more services.
"They need to make sure we have the resources," she said. "Even a court order cannot provide an individual with mental health treatment if it is not available,"
Bark said funding would be considered as the legislation moves forward.
"I look at this and think we can’t afford not to do this," she said. We need to find a way to do this. Can innocent lives be taken because it costs too much?"