Minnesota task force recommends a competency statute, certified forensic navigators and a three-tier restoration system
In its final report to the Legislature, the Community Competency Restoration Task Force said that from 2014 to 2018 Minnesota saw a 73 percent jump in people examined for competency, while judicial branch spending on forensic examinations climbed 40 percent to about $6 million in 2018. It identified three gaps in the Rule 20 process: people found incompetent who do not meet civil commitment criteria, people unlikely to attain competency, and misdemeanor cases that are dismissed without any treatment.
The task force recommended a dedicated statute on competency to stand trial with at least a year for implementation and training, and a new role of certified forensic navigator to support defendants and speed the process. It also proposed a continuum with inpatient acute care, community-based settings including locked and unlocked residential programs and home-based services, and time-limited jail-based services with strong mental health care, plus more funding for mobile crisis teams.
Source: Community Competency Restoration Task Force Final Legislative Report — Minnesota Department of Human Services, by Minnesota Department of Human Services, Behavioral Health Division and Direct Care and Treatment
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