and is not receiving such care as is essential for health or safety
.A designated crisis responder (DCR) may detain a person for involuntary commitment based on a behavioral health disorder if, following an investigation, the DCR determines that, due to a behavioral health disorder, the person presents a likelihood of serious harm or is gravely disabled.
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A person presents a likelihood of serious harm if, due to a behavioral health disorder, there is a substantial risk the person will inflict physical harm on themself or others, or on the property of others, as evidenced by behavior which has caused such harm or places others in reasonable fear of harm. It may also mean that the person has threatened the physical safety of another and has a history of one or more violent acts.?
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A person is gravely disabled if, due to a mental disorder:
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A DCR may initiate 120 hours of detention, excluding weekends and holidays, in an evaluation and treatment facility or secure withdrawal management and stabilization facility, after which the person must be released unless a petition is filed asking a court to authorize a longer period of detention for treatment, beginning with 14 days and, if subsequent petitions are filed, increasing to 90 days and then successive periods of 180 days. At such court hearings, the person has the right to counsel and a panoply of constitutional rights to?challenge their commitment.
The bill as referred to committee not considered.
The options for proving that a person is gravely disabled due to a behavioral health disorder for the purposes of involuntary commitment are expanded to allow proof that the person has, within two weeks prior to their initial detention, required revival by opioid overdose reversal medication to prevent a fatality or near fatality and is not receiving such care as is essential for health or safety.
The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard.? PRO: This bill is about saving lives. People are unable to make good decisions for themselves. If first responders don't show up in time, there is high likelihood they will die. They also take away resources from other people. This bill provides help to those who need it. People suffering this badly from substance use disorder are gravely disabled. ?Last year Yakima County had 146 deaths by overdose. Even more were revived by Narcan. Fentanyl dramatically increases the risk of death. More beds will be needed. There is also a negative impact on first responders.
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CON: Having experienced forced treatment multiple times, it left me feeling hopeless, isolated, and powerless, and did nothing to address the structural reasons that contributed to my use, such as intimate partner violence and lack of a support systems including appropriate medical care. Nonpunitive peer support that prioritizes dignity and autonomy is what works, medications for opioid use disorder is what works. Involuntary treatment perpetuates cycles of harm. Risk of overdose increases 33 percent after involuntary treatment. This deters people from seeking help. This change may have unintended consequences, circumventing assessment of present risk, deterioration, and functioning due to a behavioral health disorder. People who overdose may be able to function in society. We should focus on treatment, harm reduction, and rehabilitation. Involuntary detention should remain a measure of last resort, when a person is truly unable to care for themselves.
PRO: Senator Keith Wagoner, Prime Sponsor; James McMahan, Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs; LaDon Linde, Yakima County; Anne Anderson, Washington State Narcotics Investigators Association.