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Officials describe assisted community treatment program expansion and new legal tools to reach people who cannot consent to care
Summary
Department presenters outlined assisted community treatment (ACT) criteria, recent statutory changes that broaden "dangerousness" to permit earlier intervention, program outcomes to date (82 medicated, 25 ACT petitions granted, 21 pending, 13 guardianships), and steps the Attorney General’s office will take to help families file petitions.
Connie Mitchell, presenting for the Department, told the council that assisted community treatment (ACT) is a targeted intervention for people with severe mental illness who cannot or will not consent to needed care. "ACT is almost like the last resort," she said, describing criteria used to petition the court: evidence of mental illness or substance abuse, inability to live safely without supervision, refusal of necessary services, and a mental state that impairs decision‑making.
Mitchell said the department uses repeated outreach and documentation—including psychiatric evaluations, medical and legal records, and family contacts—before filing petitions. She described common clinical…
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