Policy
Agency policy, standards, and guidelines.
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California law expands judges' discretion in competency diversion cases Statewide
Source: Becker's Behavioral Health, by Ella Ruder
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New York lawmakers pass bills to speed up competency rulings and study restoration reform Statewide
Source: Queens Daily Eagle, by Noah Powelson
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Virginia audit finds no clear policy for forensic-patient custody transfers Statewide
Source: VPM, by Dean Mirshahi
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Georgia agrees to fixed deadlines for competency evaluations and hospital admission Statewide
Source: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
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AP: Vermont is the only state without a locked facility for defendants found incompetent, and lawmakers consider building one Statewide
Source: Associated Press / VTDigger (via Boston.com), by Charlotte Oliver/VTDigger, Associated Press
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Investigation: Ohio's psychiatric hospitals are now dominated by the criminal justice system Statewide
Source: The Marshall Project, by Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News, and Doug Livingston, The Marshall Project
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State assessment finds Pennsylvania's competency system 'in crisis' Statewide
Source: Spotlight PA, by Danielle Ohl
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Hawaii's law diverting minor offenders to the state hospital after fitness checks is producing repeat admissions Statewide
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Caitlin Thompson
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Disability Rights California finds jail-based IST program offers little treatment and frequent isolation Statewide
Source: Disability Rights California
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National Center for State Courts issues roadmap for managing competency dockets National
Source: National Center for State Courts
- Washington submits latest phase of its court-ordered competency overhaul Statewide
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New Mexico launches its first competency-diversion program Statewide
Source: KUNM, by Ted Alcorn, New Mexico In Depth
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Georgia's forensic agency publishes a toolkit to help courts cut delays in competency hearings Statewide
Source: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, by Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, with the Center for Justice Innovation
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Ohio's state psychiatric hospitals run near capacity as defendants wait in jail, public radio reports Statewide
Source: The Ohio Newsroom (Statehouse News Bureau), by Kendall Crawford
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Oklahoma mental health commissioner fires attorney general as board rejects competency decree Statewide
Source: FOX 25 (KOKH), Oklahoma City, by Colleen Wilson
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New Mexico legislators review draft competency statute and outpatient alternatives Statewide
Source: New Mexico Political Report, by Nicole Maxwell
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DeWine forms work group on competency restoration and diversion as forensic patients fill 93 percent of state hospital beds Statewide
Source: Office of Gov. Mike DeWine, by Office of the Governor of Ohio
- 22 Washington counties sue the state over mental-health treatment obligations Statewide
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Nashville judge opens incompetency docket after dozens of charges dismissed against defendants found incompetent
Source: NewsChannel 5 (WTVF), Nashville, by Ben Hall
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Colorado further reforms competency evaluation and certification rules Statewide
Source: Colorado General Assembly
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Washington adds jail-based specialists and new diversion options Statewide
Source: Washington State Governor's Office (Medium), by Governor Jay Inslee
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National judicial task force calls for competency-process reforms National
Source: State Justice Institute
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Arizona Rule 11 Task Force interim report finds competency evaluations concentrated in superior court and misdemeanor cases dropped without restoration Statewide
Source: Arizona Supreme Court, by Arizona Supreme Court Task Force on Rule 11
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California details $535 million IST solutions plan, including jail stabilization and diversion Statewide
Source: California Department of State Hospitals
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Alabama mental health department outlines plan to add jail-based and community competency restoration Statewide
Source: Alabama Department of Mental Health, by Virginia Scott-Adams, Psy.D.
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Reporting finds people released after incompetency dismissals often get no follow-up treatment National
Source: KFF Health News, by Katheryn Houghton
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Court-appointed expert tells Oregon to limit hospital stays and expand community options to meet the seven-day rule Statewide
Source: Oregon Capital Chronicle, by Lynne Terry
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Texas senator and county official call state hospital waits 'horrifying' as the jail waitlist hits 2,309 Statewide
Source: KXAN (Austin), by David Barer, Josh Hinkle
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Minnesota creates statewide 'forensic navigator' system for competency cases Statewide
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, by Minnesota Legislature (Office of the Revisor of Statutes)
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Nashville task force finds long waits for forensic evaluation and quick re-arrest of incompetent misdemeanor defendants
Source: Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, by Task Force on Competency & Wellbeing, Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County (primary author Dia Cirillo, Office of Mayor John Cooper)
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Legislative Analyst reviews Newsom's $317 million IST package as felony waitlist tops 1,700 Statewide
Source: California Legislative Analyst's Office
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Alaska victims' advocates say incompetency findings can end a case with no closure and no commitment
Source: Alaska's News Source (KTUU), by Taylor Burke
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Vermont state working group recommends forensic facility and restoration program for defendants found incompetent Statewide
Source: Vermont Department of Mental Health (posted by the Vermont General Assembly), by Vermont Department of Mental Health
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Oregon settles interim deal with advocates, agrees to hire an independent expert on hospital admissions Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Oregon (OHA release), by Oregon Health Authority and Disability Rights Oregon
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KXAN reports Texas's jail waitlist for competency restoration hit 1,838 and examines a statewide plan to cut it Statewide
Source: KXAN (Austin), by David Barer, Josh Hinkle
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State workgroup sets out 2021 plan to shrink California's incompetent-to-stand-trial waitlist Statewide
Source: California Health and Human Services Agency, by California Health and Human Services Agency and California Department of State Hospitals
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Kansas health agency reports male defendants waited an average of 171 days for Larned competency services Statewide
Source: Kansas Legislature (special committee testimony), Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, by Scott Brunner
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New York City evaluation pilot finds most competency exams in Queens finished within target times
Source: NYC Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice
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Texas judicial and health commissions publish a toolkit to shrink the jail wait for competency restoration beds Statewide
Source: Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health, by Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health and Texas Health and Human Services Commission
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New York counties' association proposes overhaul of competency restoration after state shifts full cost to counties Statewide
Source: New York State Association of Counties
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Vermont enacts Act 57 revising competency and insanity procedures and creating a forensic care working group Statewide
Source: Vermont General Assembly
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Vermont Senate passes bill adding prosecutor notice and reevaluation rights in competency and insanity cases Statewide
Source: Bennington Banner, by Tiffany Tan
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Minnesota task force recommends a competency statute, certified forensic navigators and a three-tier restoration system Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services, by Minnesota Department of Human Services, Behavioral Health Division and Direct Care and Treatment
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State task force urges planning a replacement for Whiting Forensic Hospital, citing competency patients housed in maximum security
Source: CT Mirror, by Kelan Lyons
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National report calls for states to rethink competency evaluation and restoration National
Source: CSG Justice Center, by Hallie Fader-Towe and Ethan Kelly
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Connecticut's competency exam referrals climbed nearly 20 percent over four fiscal years while criminal caseloads shrank Statewide
Source: CT Mirror, by Kelan Lyons
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Illinois opens $1 million grant round for outpatient restoration of defendants found unfit Statewide
Source: Illinois Department of Human Services, by Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health
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Psychiatrist argues a full continuum of restoration services makes jail-based restoration unnecessary National
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Reena Kapoor
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Commentary compares state approaches for defendants who are incompetent, unrestorable and deemed dangerous National
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, by Joseph D. Bloom and Scott E. Kirkorsky
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Arizona publishes statewide best-practices guide for competency restoration programs Statewide
Source: Arizona Supreme Court, by Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Mental Health and the Justice System
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Minnesota task force's interim report finds incompetent defendants in state facilities have more than doubled since 2013 Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services, by Minnesota Department of Human Services, Behavioral Health Division and Direct Care and Treatment
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Klamath County builds a local alternative as Oregon's SB 24 restricts state hospital referrals
Source: KOBI-TV NBC5 / KOTI-TV NBC2, by Newsroom Staff
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Georgia forensic director tells the behavioral health board that forensic waitlists keep growing Statewide
Source: Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, by Karen Bailey, Ph.D., Director, Office of Forensic Services, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
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Reporting finds Oregon's 2019 aid-and-assist law is leaving some misdemeanor defendants without inpatient care Statewide
Source: NPR (reported by Oregon Public Broadcasting), by Conrad Wilson
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Arizona court committee proposes standardized Rule 11 evaluator guidelines and a fix for dangerous, unrestorable defendants Statewide
Source: Arizona Supreme Court (Arizona Judicial Council), by Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Mental Health and the Justice System
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Minnesota convenes a statewide task force on community competency restoration under a 2019 law Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services
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After Dayton shooting, Ohio governor floats shifting low-level defendants out of state psychiatric hospitals Statewide
Source: The Appeal, by Kira Lerner
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Washington's court-approved plan for phase one of the Trueblood settlement sets hiring, bed and diversion targets Statewide
Source: U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash. (court filing hosted by Disability Rights Washington), by U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash. (filing in Trueblood v. DSHS, No. C14-1178 MJP)
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Wisconsin Supreme Court limits forced medication to restore trial competency Statewide
Source: Wisconsin Supreme Court, by Wisconsin Supreme Court (opinion by Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley)
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Washington creates 'forensic navigator' role to speed competency cases Statewide
Source: Disability Rights Washington
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Colorado settles years-long lawsuit over competency evaluation delays Statewide
Source: Disability Law Colorado
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Arkansas overhauls how courts get mental evaluations of criminal defendants Statewide
Source: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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ABA Journal feature examines how routine forced medication has become in competency restoration National
Source: ABA Journal, by Lee Nacozy
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Pennsylvania human services department issues statewide procedures for competency evaluation and restoration Statewide
Source: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, by Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
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Federal judge approves settlement over Washington's competency delays Statewide
Source: DSHS (Washington State Department of Social and Health Services), by Washington State Department of Social and Health Services
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New York City launches a Queens pilot to speed 730 fitness-to-stand-trial evaluations
Source: NYC Health + Hospitals
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New Hampshire weighs a 100-bed forensic psychiatric hospital to replace the prison's Secure Psychiatric Unit
Source: InDepthNH.org, by Nancy West
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Florida woman ordered to a state mental facility sat 14 months in a Polk County jail after the order was never carried out
Source: WFLA (Tampa)
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San Antonio editorial: Texas's forensic waiting list of 675 defendants outpaces planned hospital expansion
Source: San Antonio Express-News, by Express-News Editorial Board
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North Carolina health department recommends ending local evaluators and piloting jail-based capacity restoration Statewide
Source: North Carolina General Assembly (report to Joint Legislative Oversight Committees), by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services
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Minnesota health department memo shows jail-priority admissions under the 48-hour law jumped fivefold in four years Statewide
Source: Minnesota Department of Human Services (memo to Senate Human Services Reform Finance and Policy Committee), by Dan Kitzberger, Legislative Director, Direct Care and Treatment, Minnesota Department of Human Services
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Court commitments to Hawaii State Hospital have more than tripled since 1997, most tied to fitness to proceed Statewide
Source: Honolulu Civil Beat, by Rui Kaneya
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Maryland forensic services director resigns after contempt ruling over hospital bed shortage Statewide
Source: The Baltimore Sun, by Michael Dresser
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Wyoming health department proposes statute changes to speed court-ordered competency and sanity evaluations Statewide
Source: Wyoming Legislature (interim committee materials), by Wyoming Department of Health, Director's Unit for Policy, Research, and Evaluation
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American Bar Association issues revised criminal justice mental health standards, including a competence-to-proceed section National
Source: American Bar Association
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Colorado passes law on where competency evaluations are performed Statewide
Source: Colorado General Assembly
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Virginia inspector general's review of an inmate's death flags missing records and a lost hospital transfer order
Source: Associated Press (via KSL.com), by Associated Press
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Minnesota legislative auditor finds most defendants found incompetent stay in jail awaiting treatment Statewide
Source: Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor, by Office of the Legislative Auditor, Program Evaluation Division (project manager Joel Alter)
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North Carolina proposes certification and annual training for community forensic evaluators Statewide
Source: North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, by North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of MH/DD/SAS
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LePage administration revives plan to move dangerous forensic patients from Riverview to the state prison Statewide
Source: Portland Press Herald, by Kevin Miller
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Florida lawmakers say fixing mental-hospital violence will take money, and a DCF official ties the rise in forensic admissions to missing community services Statewide
Source: Tampa Bay Times, by Michael Auslen
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Hennepin County data show about half of defendants found incompetent fall into a gap between criminal and civil commitment courts
Source: MinnPost, by Andy Mannix