Involuntary Mental Illness Treatment Process

The Petition

• To obtain court-ordered involuntary mental illness hospitalization or treatment for a person, a Petition for Mental Health Treatment must be filled out and two clinical certificates of the person’s mental illness must be completed (unless the request is for Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT)).
• A completed petition should include a report of observations or witness statements which are basis for the request, address information on all relevant relatives (if no spouse, then next of kin), and whether or not the person is a veteran.

Pick-up Orders

• If someone is not able to have the person examined, he/she may be able to file a Supplemental Petition for Examination/Hospitalization and Orderfor an order to have the person examined and for law enforcement to pick up the person and transport him/her to Community Mental Health (CMH) for the examination.
• The supplemental petition requires the petitioner to affirm under oath that he/she has been unable, after reasonable effort, to secure an examination, and give the reasons for not getting the examination.
• It is possible that someone transported to CMH for examination is not in a proper state for mental health assessment and may need some type of stabilization at a hospital. Initial pick-up orders are not available in relation to petitions for Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT).

The Clinical Certificate

• The clinical certificate certifies that the individual personally examined is mentally ill and a person requiring treatment.
• The first certificate can be executed by any physician or licensed psychologist and is good for up to 72 hours prior to hospitalization.
• The second certificate must be completed by a psychiatrist within 24 hours of hospitalization.