Assisted Outpatient Treatment in New York: Reading Medication Adherence Without Overstating Dangerousness

Stephan M. Carlson, MD, MBA, FAPA · Emergency Psychiatry and Civil Commitment

An AOT petition asks a statutory question, not a moral one: does this person meet each criterion Kendra's Law sets out, on the record? Opinions falter when a history of stopping medication is treated as proof of future violence rather than one input among several. What Kendra's Law actually requires Assisted Outpatient Treatment in New York is governed by Mental Hygiene Law §9.60, enacted as Kendra's Law. The statute does not authorize court-ordered treatment for anyone whose illness has worsened. It sets a layered set of findings the court must reach: the person is eighteen or older, has a mental illness, and is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision; has a history

Most relevant service: Risk & Civil Commitment Assessment