Involuntary outpatient commitment (IOC) targets persons documented as presenting a danger to themselves and/or others, with intent to supply community-based psychiatric care instead of in-hospital treatment.
Two caveats: First, the ‘involuntary’ component, particularly the court-ordered part. Secondly, the availability of appropriate community-based services where the person is based.
In the U.S., 47 states have some form of IOC laws in place. The three holdouts are Connecticut, Maryland and Massachusetts. Now, Massachusetts lawmakers in the state Senate have introduced a bill to institute IOC measures.
The Massachusetts Senate bill, S980, “An Act to Provide Critical Community Services,” follows a previous Senate bill S942, both presented a...
