Consumer advocates push for change in laws on mental-health treatment, Minot Daily News, January 8, 2003

Consumer advocates push for change in laws on mental-health treatment

By Jill Schramm, Staff Writer

There's also a misconception that a person must be dangerous to be involuntarily committed to a hospital, Zdanowicz said. The state law allowing for involuntary commitments could use clearer language, she said.

BISMARCK � Minor amendments to North Dakota's laws could improve the care people with mental illnesses receive, according to the director of the Treatment Advocacy Center.

Mary Zdanowicz, from the Arlington, Va., center, was in Bismarck this week to assist consumers who were meeting with state legislators about ways to expedite court-ordered treatment in certain instances.

North Dakota is among the most progressive states in the nation in its laws to benefit people with mental illness, Zdanowicz said.

"But like many other states now, I think it's time for North Dakota to look at a few minor changes to those laws that will enable families, and others who are concerned, to get early intervention and treatment for individuals with mental illness who don't realize they need treatment," she said.

Minnesota, New York, California and West Virginia have been among states that have updated their laws lately, she said. The Treatment Advocacy Center, nonprofit organization founded by a psychiatrist more than four years ago, was involved in the changes in Minnesota and New York.

Florida, Michigan, Maryland and Pennsylvania currently are looking at law changes.

Sheree Spear, an Iowa resident, has been spearheading efforts to get the law changed in North Dakota. Her interest stems from frustration in trying to get her son in Fargo into a hospital in 2001. He eventually was admitted after attempting suicide.

Zdanowicz, Spear and Janet Sabol, coordinator for the Northwest North Dakota chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Minot, met with some legislators from the judiciary and human services committees Monday and Tuesday.

The legislators were receptive to discussing legislation, although some indicated they need to become more familiar with the issues, Sabol said.

"There's going to be an education process that we are actually going to start across the state," Sabol said.

Legislators also advised starting with small changes. Zdanowicz said North Dakotas laws largely need to clarify existing language.

North Dakota allows court-ordered out-patient treatment �called alternative treatment orders�but there should be better explanation if people are to understand and use the law, she said.

"Part of it is a matter of education, too � making sure that the people are aware that this even exists," she said.

A example of a model law exists in Wisconsin, which spells out more specifically the criteria for committing a person to a hospital, she said. The law lists inability to survive safely in the community and loss of control over thoughts and actions as factors to consider.

Consumer-rights advocacy groups had raised objections to the Wisconsin law, but it has been upheld by courts, Zdanowicz said. Although some people feel only the consumer should make treatment decisions, there are many people with mental illness who, because of their impairment, are unable to make those decisions for themselves, she said.