Received at the Commission on Mental Hygiene Reform Public Forums

A consumer advocate said: I've talked to over a hundred people about the commitment law, and people would like to see an observation period, where maybe the problem can be solved before we commit them to a state hospital. We also need peer assistance, crisis intervention, respite care, and advance directives.

A consumer said: We need a better system, with people who can work with clients. People can't get medication.

A parent said: We need court-appointed advocates for the mentally ill.

A crisis worker said: Advocates need more training.

A mental hygiene commissioner said: We need to be attentive to the motivation in commitments. Hospitals are worried about liability in releasing someone, especially in close calls, and pass the buck to the mental hygiene commissioner.

A mental health center worker said: Family members don't have the right to information they need. Forensics is placing a huge burden on the state hospitals.

A crisis worker said: Temporary detention is helping us avoid commitments.

A consultant said: We don't have proper placements and services for children with mental and emotional problems. We need prevention, not just reaction.

A consumer said: Treatment in the community is much less expensive than hospitalization.

A parent said: Why do we have to wait until someone's swinging a knife at his mother before somebody can intervene? We need to look at the "dangerous" standard.

A psychiatrist said: We need much clearer rules about what we can do in emergencies. The forthwith hearing and the 10-day requirements are unworkable.

A mental health worker said: Transportation needs to be looked at and simplified. Family members should not have to file petitions. The system needs to be revised.

A family member said: This legal mess for someone who has a health problem is wrong. We need treatment help at home and instead we get commitment. This is awful.

A sheriff said: People should not be caged up like animals in the back of one of our cars. We're not medical people. The short-term stays and revolving door admissions are a tremendous waste of our time.

A prosecutor said: Our procedure is too formal and too adversarial by far. Petitions are not always emergencies. A hearing in 72 hours would be much better --most people are released by then.

A prosecutor said: Our system doesn't work. We should have initial evaluations by two physicians or psychologists who could temporarily commit. We need to use voluntary hospitalizations.

Another prosecutor said: We need a system with less lawyers and more medically trained people.

A deputy said: We drive 300 to 400 miles one way to take a person to the hospital for 2 days. It makes no sense. Attending hearings at all hours also makes no sense.

A county commissioner said: We need a place locally to take care of people. The trip to Weston is too far and expensive. A hearing costs us hundreds of dollars.

A public defender said: I represent these people and I've done dozens of hearings. We don't need lawyers making these decisions and we don't need these emergency hearings at all hours.

A doctor said: It is unfair to put an intoxicated or psychotic person into a trial format. We can care for people in local hospitals with minimum funding. We need an outpatient commitment option, and a voluntary option.

A parent said: We need to stabilize and maintain people in the community.

A mental hygiene commissioner said: Advocates should be more like guardian ad litems.

A parent said: We need to decriminalize the process. We need post-hospitalization follow-up and after-care.

A consumer said: The system is subject to abuse. I've been paraded in handcuffs like a criminal. We should get law enforcement out of the system.

A mental hygiene commissioner said: We have 700 or 800 hearings a year. Returnees are a big problem, a revolving door. Juveniles pose special challenges.

A parent said: This legal/criminal model was terrible for us. We're talking about sick people. They gave me the choice of taking my son home or a homeless shelter. I took him with no prescription.

A consumer and care giver said: We need community-based care and respite care.

A mental hygiene commissioner wrote: Many people want treatment but there are no beds for voluntary patients. We need a system that includes the voluntary commitment option.

A mental hygiene commissioner wrote: We have no facilities to deal with the many juveniles who are sent to us. Many are not mental illness problems, they are behavior and discipline problems.

A parent said that: The legal forum is inappropriate for medical decisions. Commissioners can ignore the medical recommendations for further hospitalization.

A judge wrote: We need more funding for local mental health facilities and a procedure based on a medical model.

Another judge wrote: The procedure is way too formalistic and too expensive, especially for short-term commitments.

A circuit clerk said: Applications should be made at a local mental health facility, not the clerk's office.

A probation officer said: There must be more training for commissioners. Juveniles are being lost in the system and need facilities.

A magistrate said: Magistrates are not a good substitute for an on-call mental hygiene commissioner. Commissioners are often not available.

A circuit clerk said: Expert exams at $300 -$500 each, several times a year, are a waste.