Mentally ill Andrew Goldstein was recently released from Sing Sing Correctional Facility after serving 19 years for pushing a young woman named Kendra Webdale in front of a subway train and to her death. After this tragedy, New York State passed a law to help prevent incidents like these: Kendra’s Law. It has been immensely successful but sunsets every five years. It should be made permanent.
Kendra’s Law, also known as assisted outpatient treatment, allows judges to order someone with mental illness into treatment if they have a history of multiple arrests, hospitalizations or noncompliance.
Many of those with the most serious mental illnesses do not seek treatment voluntarily. When they do, they are often sent to the back of the line or on their way without adequate services or follow-up. Kendra’s Law not only compels them to comply with treatment that can prevent violent incidents, it also forces the mental health industry to provide it.
Despite the law’s success — it reduces homelessness, incarceration and hospitalizations by more than 70% each among the seriously mentally ill — it is not used enough and more mental health funds could be reallocated to it from less effective mental health initiatives.
Here are just seven reasons why we need Kendra’s Law:
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Carolyn Gorman is the project manager for education policy and mental-illness policy at the Manhattan Institute.
This piece originally appeared in New York Daily News