I recently went to my state senator, Edward Kennedy open house to ask him to sponsor an Assisted Outpatient Treatment bill….
a bill that 47 other states have. He asked me to send information on the bill. After some time spent on google, I learned that there is opposition in Massachusetts from patient’s rights groups. In addition, I hardly think that during this time in history where budget cuts rule, Massachusetts is dealing with paying for emergency shelters, inflation and struggling schools- that the state legislators will be interested in the cost of community mental health services. The correctional system is much cheaper!!!
In fact, governor Healey is cutting the mental health budget… https://www.wgbh.org/news/politics/2025-01-22/healeys-budget-proposal-bolsters-mbta-and-education-cuts-healthcare-costs
From the following report:
According to the following news report- Massachusetts is not as “progressive” and caring as many residents like to think… I happen to be the parent of a 36 year old mentally ill son who has and will always be emotionally and financially dependent on my husband and myself. He is on the autism spectrum, received years of special education and college disability services, but is still unable to perform basic functional skills…. he refuses therapy, medication and any services that might help him to become independent…. Ironically, I just happen to be an occupational therapist (retired).
From the above article:
Some are lobbying for a proposed law called Assisted Outpatient Treatment, or AOT, which they say could help. Massachusetts is one of only three states in the country that does not have it on the books.
“Families, really, you can be begging for help and there is none available until somebody meets the criteria for being dangerous,” said Ann Corcoran, who heads a group called the National Shattering Silence Coalition.
How AOT works
She says doctors, mental health professionals, relatives, or a housemate would be able to petition a civil court to order treatment. Only extreme cases would be eligible: those who’ve been in residential treatment at least twice in three years and have a history of not sticking with a care plan once they’re released. A civil court judge regularly checks in for one year.
“A psychiatrist, a case worker, therapist, a peer would be involved in that,” said Corcoran. “So, I think that’s…what we’re missing in Massachusetts because there’s no follow up.”
While NAMI opposes this law, claiming that it will impact patient’s rights- I say what about my right to having my son receive services and supports from someone other than my husband and myself? We are old and need supports and our son deserves a better quality of life than sleeping all day!
From the above article:
What about patient rights?
The Massachusetts branch of the most widely known mental health advocacy group, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI, did not respond to the I-Team’s request for an interview, but the group filed testimony at the Massachusetts State House opposing the legislation.
NAMI is concerned patients could lose “the right to make…personal decisions about their own healthcare.” The testimony says “…there are many, many stories about the trauma experienced by individuals living with a mental health condition when they are subjected to involuntary treatment, or AOT.”
Parents urge passage of new mental health law
Acton parents Vinita and Ashoke Rampuria also testified before lawmakers. “It’s high time Massachusetts join the other states,” Vinita told the I-Team. The couple founded a group called AOT Now. “My goal is to save my son,” said Ashoke. Their 36-year-old has been hospitalized more than 40 times since college. “He was so intelligent, he went to the University of Pennsylvania for computer science,” said Vinita.
They say AOT would prevent their son from falling off his medication. “He wants to get a job, live an independent life, and we have seen that he can do it with the right medication, and if this law gets him there, then he can get his life back,” said Ashoke.
The proposed AOT legislation is now with the Joint Committee on the Judiciary, where the deadline for a vote to push it forward has been extended until the end of April.
More Info on AOT:
https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/03/13/massachusetts-courts-assisted-outpatient-forced-treatment
I want my son forced to receive community mental health services. The only thing stopping him from living on the streets and dying from neglect or suicide due to his inability to take care of himself is- MY HUSBAND AND MYSELF.
