A blue-ribbon panel charged with studying ways to make New York more responsive to justice-involved people with mental illness recommended on Tuesday that the court system launch a two-year pilot program in which judges are more involved in assisted outpatient treatment, including from the start of these proceedings.
The Unified Court System’s Judicial Task Force on Mental Illness said that the pilot program should be established with cooperation from the state Office of Mental Health, in one or more counties, to implement the assisted outpatient treatment model, which would include ongoing judicial involvement. The 49-member panel says other states have successful programs under this model.
The task force, which makes four other recommendations in its 19-page report, say the pilot program would enable the court system and its partners to empirically evaluate whether assisted outpatients who participate under this model are more successful in avoiding hospitalization, criminalization and homelessness than those who receive assisted outpatient treatment as currently practiced.
The pilot might also help the courts determine whether the investment of judicial resources, to maintain this model, is cost effective, the study group reported.
The body’s four other recommendations include a call to launch a one-year planning process to establish mental health courts within the Family Court system, and establishment of regional mental health courts in low-volume counties.
Fourth, the panel recommends developing an internal dashboard to improve tracking and management of competency cases.
Lastly—at least for now—the body called for updating the CPL Article 730 examination order form to use “appropriate psychological terminology and gender-neutral verbiage.”
New York has more than 300 problem-solving courts, including 42 mental health courts, and where appropriate, court leaders endeavor to deflect—rather than divert—individuals in a mental health crisis from criminal appearance and prosecution as a means of “a more just, efficient, and humane way to connect them to treatment,” the report said.
The task force has a mandate to meet at least four times a year, reporting to Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas and the Administrative Board of the Courts.
“The burgeoning mental health crisis in New York and nationwide makes it imperative that New York’s courts, which long have been the national leader in offering treatment options to persons in need, now work harder than ever to do our part in addressing that crisis,” Wilson said in a statement. “I am determined to move forward on the Task Force’s initial recommendations and eagerly await forthcoming ideas from that diverse group of experts as we seek to develop more holistic, effective justice system responses for children, youth, and adults with behavioral health and co-occurring disorders.”
The task force, which held its first meeting in January 2024, limited its first report to five recommendations. But it says it has already come up with other ideas that it would like to unveil in the near future.
“The Task Force has made significant strides in its inaugural year as reflected by the thoughtful proposals outlined in this report—with many more ideas for reform forthcoming—as we seek to best serve the justice needs of New Yorkers with mental illness,” Zayas said.
Speaking about the ambitious proposed pilot program, the report notes that “Kendra’s Law” authorizes court-ordered assistant outpatient treatment for individuals with histories of mental illness and non-adherence to prescribed treatment which has led to multiple hospitalizations or incidents of violence.
Since enactment of the law, in 1999, the assisted outpatient treatment has become a fixture of county-operated mental health systems across New York.
But typically, the role of New York judges and courts in administering these programs has been limited to a statutory function of holding hearings to determine whether the justice-involved person meets the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment.
If he or she does meet the standard, the treatment plan is narrowly tailored to meet the respondent’s mental health needs, the task force report said.
“In many counties the respondent’s appearance is waived for these proceedings and there is no interaction between the judge and the participant, leaving encouragement to remain engaged to clinical professionals,” the task force report said.
This contrasts with the design of a significant number of assisted outpatient treatment programs in other states, which operate under a model derived from criminal diversion, problem-solving courts, according to the report, which singles out “notable examples” in parts of Texas, Ohio, New Mexico and Louisiana.
In those courts, the judge, at the initial assisted outpatient treatment hearing, endeavors to forge a personal connection with the respondent, inquiring about their immediate and long-term life goals.
The courts also hold periodic status conferences to review progress in treatment and quality of life, theory coined the “black robe effect” that involves “a caring, involved judge” who “is uniquely positioned to inspire a person to maintain treatment engagement.”
The New York task force said that there’s never been a study, to date, that addresses whether more judicial involvement adds value to assisted outpatient treatment programs by improving outcomes for participants, according to the task force, which heard a presentation about the work of other states and jurisdictions from Richard Schwermer of the National Center for State Courts during its November meeting.
The task force is co-chaired by state Supreme Court Justice Matthew D’Emic, the Administrative Judge for Criminal Matters in Brooklyn Supreme Court, and Canandaigua City Court Judge Jacqueline Sisson, who also serves as acting Ontario Family and County Court judge.
Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Cannataro had called for the creation of the task force during his State of the Judiciary address in February 2023, while he was serving as acting chief judge. The task force was launched by Wilson and Zayas by an administrative order.