Changes in Forensic Mental Health Law in Georgia

by Charles B. Hess, MPA, JD

Have you heard that the Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital (NWGRH) in Rome is closing? They are scheduled to close their doors on June 30. Patients in that facility not able to be treated with community-based services at that time will be transferred to other regional hospitals, including Atlanta, or to Central State Hospital in Milledgeville.

Back in October 2010, the State of Georgia reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Justice Department that requires the state to provide more community based mental health services and rely less on hospitalization. By July 2011, the State is required to stop admitting patients whose primary diagnosis is developmental disability, and instead offer treatment through community services. Hopefully, the closure of Rome’s NWGRH will allow the state to use that estimated $42 million operating budget to increase the community-based mental health services that are available.

Perhaps due to the increased scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department in recent years, the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), formerly part of the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR), has recently become much more diligent in requesting commitment orders on an annual basis. DBHDD is required to report to the committing court on an annual basis on whether the person found Incompetent to Stand Trial continues to meet the criteria for involuntary commitment. O.C.G.A. § 17-7-130 (d). A person found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity is also entitled to petition the committing court once every 12 months to request a release hearing on the ground that they no longer meet the civil commitment criteria. O.C.G.A. § 17-7-131 (f)(3).

The law regarding persons believed to be Incompetent to Stand Trial has been changed in recent years to allow persons charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent offenses to be treated on an outpatient basis while being restored to competency. O.C.G.A. 17-7-130 (b). This statute was also amended to limit the time defendants charged with misdemeanors can be committed on a criminal charge while being restored to competency to one year. O.C.G.A. 17-7-130 (d)(2)(B)(i). This law may be changed again this year by HB 421.

The law regarding persons found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity was changed several years ago to make it clear that they would be committed to DHR (now DBHDD) for treatment, as opposed to persons found Guilty but Mentally Ill who receive treatment, if any, in the Department of Corrections. (Not a very therapeutic setting for mental illness.) O.C.G.A § 17-7-131 (b)(3). This law may also be changed again this year by SB 256.

Charles B. Hess, MPA, JD, is a staff attorney with the Office of the Mental Health Advocate, part of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council.