All too often, across the nation, individuals with untreated severe mental illness (SMI) find themselves sitting in jail, for weeks or even months, while they await a court decision on whether or not they are competent to stand trial. Countless people suffering from SMI are stuck behind bars simply because there are not enough beds in state psychiatric facilities, and wait times are long. 

While incarcerated, those with SMI rarely receive medication or treatment, their illness often worsens, and they are likely to receive additional charges as a result of their untreated SMI. 

Compounding the crisis caused by more and more nonviolent defendants awaiting competency restoration in jail is the fact that what few psychiatric beds do exist are set aside to serve this population. The result is a critical shortage of beds for civil patients also suffering from SMI. 

TAC believes there is a better - more humane and more helpful - way to handle individuals with SMI who find themselves caught in the criminal legal system. Today we are proud to release a new video “Martha’s Story: How Dismiss Upon Civil Commitment with AOT Could Have Made a Difference," which presents a viable alternative to address the growing competency restoration crisis.

We believe no one should have to commit a crime to get treatment for their SMI. Dismiss upon civil commitment with assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) is the only type of diversion that completely removes a person from the criminal legal system, and places them back into treatment without charges. Our accompanying handbook, Dismiss Upon Civil Commitment with AOT, provides an actionable plan to implement DCC with AOT, mitigating the crisis at hand.

This is what decriminalization should look like. We hope you will watch our video and share it widely in your circles and on social media. Together, we can make a brighter future for everyone impacted by SMI!

If you would like to support TAC's education and implementation efforts, please consider a donation today.