Treatment plans can include medication, therapy, attendance of daylong or partial-day programs, housing or supervised living services, substance abuse treatment and more. More information about types of extended involuntary treatment in Allegheny County can be found on the Department of Human Services website.Īssisted outpatient treatment (aka involuntary outpatient treatment): When a court orders a person to adhere to a mental health treatment plan while living in the community, rather than being hospitalized.
After the additional 90 days, a 305 hearing can be held to extend treatment for up to 180 more days. If further treatment is still necessary after 20 days, a 304b hearing is held and treatment can be extended for up to 90 additional days. Medical emergencies, mac-and-cheese mishaps and elevator rescues: Pitt dorms draw city services, but should the university help fund them?Įxtended involuntary treatment: After an emergency evaluation, if a doctor decides that a person needs to spend more days in the hospital, a 303 hearing is held and a mental health review officer can sign an order issuing extended emergency hospital treatment up to 20 days.The Ohio-PA abortion pipeline is fraught with barriers.ShotSpotter reports gunshots in Pittsburgh 3,000 times a year.
#CLEAR DAY TREATMENT OF WESTMORELAND PROFESSIONAL#
A physician or police officer can authorize the medical evaluation without a warrant, or a petitioner - often a person’s loved one or a mental health professional - can sign a 302 form petitioning the county mental health administrator to issue a warrant.Ī 302-related evaluation can last up to 120 hours, after which the person is either released or, if the doctor finds that the person needs extended treatment, a hearing can be held to extend the person’s involuntary treatment. When a person is believed to be a danger to themselves or others due to mental illness, they can be taken to a hospital and evaluated by a physician. Like most states, Pennsylvania permits three types of involuntary, court-ordered treatment: emergency evaluation, extended involuntary treatment and assisted outpatient treatment.Įmergency evaluation (aka “a 302”): This is typically the first step of involuntary treatment. The state’s Mental Health Procedures Act outlines the mental health treatment options allowed in Pennsylvania, including involuntary treatment. What types of involuntary treatment options exist in Pennsylvania? Read more: PA’s controversial mental health law on involuntary treatment stands to get a test run more than 3 years after its passing To learn more about the potential impact of the change, we spoke to experts from both sides about the key points of the debate. The legislative change sparked a new round of statewide conversations on if and how involuntary treatment methods should be utilized. Pennsylvania is one of the last states to change its standard in this manner and, so far, every county has opted out of implementing it, citing issues like costs and concerns about how the new AOT law would work in practice. Now a person can qualify for AOT if there is “clear and convincing evidence that the person would benefit” from it. Until last year, a person had to be deemed “a clear and present danger” to themselves or others, and AOT was mainly used as a step-down from involuntary inpatient treatment. In April, Pennsylvania changed the standards required for someone to receive assisted outpatient treatment - a technical term for a kind of involuntary treatment, such as mandated therapy or day programs while living in the community. Related: Mental health system model of ‘forced treatment’ doesn’t work Others say it infringes on a person’s civil rights and can push them away from seeking help in the future. Some argue that involuntary treatment is the only way to guarantee that certain people get the help they need. Involuntary mental health treatment is a highly controversial issue among practitioners, advocates and those who have sought and received treatment. Editor’s note: Three years after it passed, the state’s mental health law on involuntary treatment is slated to get a test run.