IN THE NEWS
OpEd:
Make Kendra’s Law Permanent
By E. FULLER TORREY
New York Times, May 28, 2010
ELEVEN years ago, when the New York Legislature passed Kendra’s Law,
few could have foretold what a resounding success it would be. At the
time lawmakers were searching for a useful response to the tragic
death of 32-year-old Kendra Webdale, who was pushed in front of a
subway train in Manhattan by a stranger who had untreated
schizophrenia.
The law, initially intended for a trial period of five years, permits
state judges to order closely monitored outpatient treatment for a
small subset of seriously mentally ill people who have records of
failing to take medication, and who have consequently been
rehospitalized or jailed or have exhibited violent behavior.
In 2005, Kendra’s Law was extended for another five years. In all,
more than 8,000 people have been treated under its provisions, and the
results have been striking. A 2005 study of more than 2,700 people to
whom the law was applied found that, after treatment, the rate of
homelessness in the population fell by 74 percent, the number who
needed to be rehospitalized dropped by 77 percent and the number
arrested fell by 83 percent. And a study published this year found
that people receiving treatment under Kendra’s Law were only
one-fourth as likely to commit violent acts, had a reduced risk of
suicide and were functioning better socially than members of a control
group.
It’s hard to imagine a stronger argument for making the law permanent.
And yet, as it comes up for renewal this month, the state Office of
Mental Health is recommending only a five-year extension. Why the
hesitation? Apparently, the Office of Mental Health is ambivalent
about its star performer. In its latest five-year Statewide
Comprehensive Plan for Mental Health Services, Kendra’s Law is not
even mentioned, and the program it supports — assisted outpatient
treatment — is referred to briefly only twice.
Perhaps state mental health officials are responding to critics who
consider the law politically incorrect because it mandates psychiatric
treatment by court order, supposedly violating the patients’ freedom
to choose or forgo treatment. But these are people whose illness
interferes with their ability to understand that they are sick and
need medication. They do not have the choice to live freely and
comfortably, but only to be homeless, in jail or in a psychiatric
hospital.
The people who could be treated under Kendra’s Law account for only
one in 10 seriously ill psychiatric patients. But when these people
are untreated, they also make up one-third of the homeless population,
and at least 16 percent of the jail and prison population. These
people are ubiquitous in city parks, public libraries and train
stations. And a small percentage become dangerous, even homicidal.
The law has been a model of success, not only in New York but also in
44 other states that now have similar laws (including, most recently,
New Jersey and Maine). Unfortunately, these laws are too rarely used.
California, for example, has passed an equivalent to Kendra’s Law
known as Laura’s Law, but has not enforced it. If it had, it might
have prevented 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell from wandering the
country last March, taking orders from his psychotic brain, despite
his family’s frantic attempts to get treatment for him. Mr. Bedell
ultimately shot two security guards at the Pentagon, and was shot and
killed by the officers he injured.
Kendra’s Law saves lives. By keeping patients on medication, it also
saves money that might otherwise be spent on rehospitalization,
prosecution and incarceration. New York should take lasting advantage
of both benefits by making the law permanent.
E. Fuller Torrey, the founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center, is the
author of “The Insanity Offense: How America’s Failure to Treat the
Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens.”
Make Kendra’s Law Permanent
By E. FULLER TORREY
New York Times, May 28, 2010
ELEVEN years ago, when the New York Legislature passed Kendra’s Law,
few could have foretold what a resounding success it would be. At the
time lawmakers were searching for a useful response to the tragic
death of 32-year-old Kendra Webdale, who was pushed in front of a
subway train in Manhattan by a stranger who had untreated
schizophrenia.
The law, initially intended for a trial period of five years, permits
state judges to order closely monitored outpatient treatment for a
small subset of seriously mentally ill people who have records of
failing to take medication, and who have consequently been
rehospitalized or jailed or have exhibited violent behavior.
In 2005, Kendra’s Law was extended for another five years. In all,
more than 8,000 people have been treated under its provisions, and the
results have been striking. A 2005 study of more than 2,700 people to
whom the law was applied found that, after treatment, the rate of
homelessness in the population fell by 74 percent, the number who
needed to be rehospitalized dropped by 77 percent and the number
arrested fell by 83 percent. And a study published this year found
that people receiving treatment under Kendra’s Law were only
one-fourth as likely to commit violent acts, had a reduced risk of
suicide and were functioning better socially than members of a control
group.
It’s hard to imagine a stronger argument for making the law permanent.
And yet, as it comes up for renewal this month, the state Office of
Mental Health is recommending only a five-year extension. Why the
hesitation? Apparently, the Office of Mental Health is ambivalent
about its star performer. In its latest five-year Statewide
Comprehensive Plan for Mental Health Services, Kendra’s Law is not
even mentioned, and the program it supports — assisted outpatient
treatment — is referred to briefly only twice.
Perhaps state mental health officials are responding to critics who
consider the law politically incorrect because it mandates psychiatric
treatment by court order, supposedly violating the patients’ freedom
to choose or forgo treatment. But these are people whose illness
interferes with their ability to understand that they are sick and
need medication. They do not have the choice to live freely and
comfortably, but only to be homeless, in jail or in a psychiatric
hospital.
The people who could be treated under Kendra’s Law account for only
one in 10 seriously ill psychiatric patients. But when these people
are untreated, they also make up one-third of the homeless population,
and at least 16 percent of the jail and prison population. These
people are ubiquitous in city parks, public libraries and train
stations. And a small percentage become dangerous, even homicidal.
The law has been a model of success, not only in New York but also in
44 other states that now have similar laws (including, most recently,
New Jersey and Maine). Unfortunately, these laws are too rarely used.
California, for example, has passed an equivalent to Kendra’s Law
known as Laura’s Law, but has not enforced it. If it had, it might
have prevented 36-year-old John Patrick Bedell from wandering the
country last March, taking orders from his psychotic brain, despite
his family’s frantic attempts to get treatment for him. Mr. Bedell
ultimately shot two security guards at the Pentagon, and was shot and
killed by the officers he injured.
Kendra’s Law saves lives. By keeping patients on medication, it also
saves money that might otherwise be spent on rehospitalization,
prosecution and incarceration. New York should take lasting advantage
of both benefits by making the law permanent.
E. Fuller Torrey, the founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center, is the
author of “The Insanity Offense: How America’s Failure to Treat the
Seriously Mentally Ill Endangers Its Citizens.”