Iowa launches statewide outpatient competency restoration program
Iowa's 2023 law (HF 471) directed the state's health and human services department to stand up an outpatient competency-restoration option; services began in July 2024, run statewide by a West Des Moines nonprofit, Community Support Advocates, under contract with the Polk County mental health region.
The program gives Iowa defendants an alternative to residential-only restoration, joining a growing list of states — including Utah, North Carolina, and New Mexico — building out outpatient or community-based restoration capacity rather than relying solely on hospital beds.
Source: A new state program aims to help people deemed incompetent to stand trial through outpatient care — Iowa Public Radio, by Meghan McKinney
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