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Senate health committee advances four bills to expand assisted outpatient treatment
Summary
The Senate Committee on Health Policy voted unanimously to report four bills (SB 219–SB 222) that expand who may initiate or testify to the need for assisted outpatient treatment (AOT), broaden mediation options, permit misdemeanor diversion to AOT, and allow family petitions to extend AOT orders.
The Senate Committee on Health Policy voted unanimously to report four bills aimed at expanding assisted outpatient treatment, following testimony from judges, clinicians and advocates who said the changes would allow families and providers to seek community‑based treatment earlier.
Judge Milton Mack, a retired probate judge and chair of the governor’s Mental Health Diversion Council, told the committee the bills would lower barriers to using AOT and reduce unnecessary hospitalization. “If we make assisted outpatient treatment more readily available, we're going to help ease the impact of that shortage of beds,” Mack said, noting that some counties that embraced early intervention have seen hospitalization fall sharply.
The bills are a reintroduction of measures considered in the previous legislative session. Together they would: expand the types of clinicians who may testify to a court about a person’s need for AOT; broaden use of mediation so providers can seek mediated agreements rather than file petitions; allow voluntary AOT as an alternative to forensic evaluation for certain misdemeanor defendants; and permit family members to petition for continuations or extensions of existing AOT orders when providers fail to file timely requests.
Mack described a practical barrier the bills address: the current code requires a psychiatrist to testify about a patient’s need for outpatient involuntary treatment, and he said that requirement has made AOT difficult to obtain in many places. “In fact, less than 5% of the petitions for treatment filed in Michigan at this time are for AOT only,” he said. The proposal would allow a physician, psychologist, or psychiatric nurse practitioner (and physician assistants under supervision of a psychiatrist) to testify to need; a psychiatrist would still supervise the treatment plan if the court orders AOT.
Marianne Hough of the Mental Health Association in Michigan supported the package and underscored the value of early intervention. Hough said mediation can give families and people subject to petitions a chance to reach agreements that foster engagement in services without immediate court involvement. “AOT is a great tool,” she said.
Committee members moved to report each bill to the Senate floor with a recommendation that it pass. The clerk recorded unanimous roll‑call votes for all four bills: SB 219 (moved by Sen. Santana) reported 10–0; SB 220 (moved by Sen. Bueno) reported 10–0; SB 221 (moved by Sen. Cherry) reported 10–0; and SB 222 (moved by Sen. Kleinfeld) reported 10–0.
Supporters who submitted written testimony or cards in support included the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, Disability Rights Michigan, PAAM, and the Community Mental Health Association (cards noted as not wishing to speak).
Committee members did not ask detailed follow‑up questions during the testimony period. The bills now go to the Senate floor for further consideration.
