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Treatment Advocacy Center's acting director Jon Stanley will be speaking at the 2007 NAMI Delaware Annual Conference

Recent news

Assisted (court-ordered) outpatient treatment has been proven to make a dramatic difference in the lives of those in the program. For instance, for those in New York's program:

• 74 percent fewer experienced homelessness;
• 77 percent fewer experienced psychiatric hospitalization;
• 83 percent fewer experienced arrest; and
• 87 percent fewer experienced incarceration.

NAMI Delaware supports assisted outpatient treatment, sometimes also called involuntary outpatient commitment. Their policy: "Support legislation that provides an outpatient Patient’s Bill of Rights and allows involuntary outpatient commitment at a level below the dangerous standard so that objective commitment criteria are used and patient rights are protected."

PREVENTABLE TRAGEDIES The Preventable Tragedies database includes summaries of news articles of which an individual with a neurobiological brain disorder (usually untreated) is involved in a violent episode, either as a victim or perpetrator. Search for Delaware episodes by choosing DE in the drop down box.

History

LEGISLATION Introduced April 6, 2003, House Bill 520 provides criteria for assisted outpatient treatment. The law relaxes the standard in existing law for assisted outpatient treatment. It also allows treatment for someone who meets all of the following criteria: probability of deteriorating symptoms in such person that will result in dangerousness; incapacity of such person to makean informed treatment decision; such person is likely to benefit from treatment; such person has a history of a need for treatment; such person exhibits symptoms that previously resulted in the need for treatment; and such person needs treatment to prevent deterioration of symptoms.

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