Mental Health Involuntary Commitment

Involuntary Commitment

       Illinois law allows for the admission of certain individuals with mental illnesses for inpatient treatment at a mental health facility against their will. Because committing an individual through this process deprives a person of their freedom, the process is inherently limited and difficult to use. If you believe a loved one is experiencing a mental health crisis and would like to pursue an involuntary commitment of that person, this document is to inform you of what the Office of the State’s Attorney considers when determining whether an involuntary commitment is appropriate and provide you with some direction on how to move forward with the process.

Standards for Involuntary Commitment

        Due to the liberty concerns associated with committing a person against their will, the involuntary commitment process is designed to be used in emergencies and only as a last resort. Even very troubling behavior which causes you to believe a loved one is at risk and requires immediate mental health treatment will often not qualify as an emergency justifying involuntary commitment. Involuntary commitment for treatment of a mental illness is only available when a person fits into one of three categories: (1) the person is in danger of being physically harmed or causing physical harm to another person due to their mental illness, (2) the person, because of their mental illness, is unable to provide for their basic physical needs—such as eating and drinking, or (3) the person is not adhering to prescribed mental health treatment, cannot—due to their mental illness—understand the need for treatment, and their failure to follow the treatment plan places the person at risk of falling into one of the other categories. Additionally, involuntary commitment to treat a mental illness is not available if the mental condition causing the behavioral issue is: (1) a developmental disability, (2) dementia (absent psychosis), (3) Alzheimer’s disease (absent psychosis), (4) a substance abuse disorder, or (5) any other abnormality which manifests only through repeated criminal or other antisocial conduct.

      As another protection for a prospective patient, involuntary commitments generally require a very high burden of proof to succeed. A petitioner must prove that an involuntary commitment is appropriate by clear and convincing evidence. The petitioner must also prove—again, by clear and convincing evidence—that no less restrictive alternative would meet the patient’s needs. For all of these reasons, involuntary commitments are very difficult to complete and—even if your loved one is experiencing a genuine mental health crisis—you should not go into the process feeling that a commitment is in any way guaranteed.

 Involuntary Commitment Process

        The standard involuntary commitment process begins at the mental health facility you wish to admit your loved one to. In Rock Island County, our mental health treatment facility is the Robert Young Center, located in the Trinity Hospital at 2701 17th Street in Rock Island. If possible, any individual you believe is subject to involuntary commitment should be brought to the Robert Young Center first. If the mental health professionals at the Robert Young Center believe the individual is subject to emergency admission, they will admit the individiaul for inpatient treatment.

     The inpatient facility may hold a person against their will for inpatient treatment for up to 24 hours from the date they are admitted. Holding a patient for longer than 24 hours requires the facility to either have the patient’s consent or file a petition for involuntary commitment. The Robert Young Center and the Office of the State’s Attorney will ensure this process is followed if the mental health professionals believe that the patient qualifies for longer-term involuntary commitment. However, even if the mental health professionals believe a patient qualifies for such treatment, the reviewing judge may disagree and order the patient to be released.

Alternative Process: Private-Party-Initiated Commitment

       If, for any reason, you are unwilling or unable to follow the standard process, the Illinois Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code allows you to prepare and file a petition for involuntary commitment on your own. If you wish to pursue this process, you may hire a private attorney to assist you. The Office of the State’s Attorney is charged with reviewing every petition for involuntary commitment, but we cannot prepare the petitions ourselves or assist individuals with preparing the required documentation.

     A petition for involuntary commitment prepared this way must explain what you are asking the Court to do and provide the reasons for your request. The petition must also contain: (1) a list of the names and addresses of the spouse, parents, guardians, substitute decision makers, and close relatives, if any, of the person you wish to commit to inpatient treatment, (2) an explanation of your relationship to the person you wish to commit to inpatient treatment and statement of whether you have any legal or equitable interest in committing the person or are involved in litigation with the person, and (3) the names, addresses, and phone numbers of any witnesses who can testify to the facts you’ve alleged. Additionally, your petition should, if possible be accompanied by two certificates—one completed by a psychiatrist and one by a physician, clinical psychologist, advanced practice psychiatric nurse, qualified examiner, or another psychiatrist—which state that the person who prepared the certificate examined the individual not more than 72 hours before the petition was filed and providing the examiner’s observations, diagnosis, and opinion as to whether the individual is subject to involuntary commitment. If you are unable to take the individual you wish to commit to these qualifying mental health professionals to have the examinations performed, your petition should contain a statement to that effect and an explanation of why you could not do so.

        Before filing your petition for involuntary commitment with the Court, you should present your petition to the Office of the State’s Attorney for review. An attorney with our office will review the petition as soon as we can and provide you with an opinion as to whether it meets the statutory requirements for an involuntary commitment. If our office approves the petition, you may file it with the Circuit Court. You are responsible for serving the petition on the individual you wish to commit, notifying that individual of their rights in this process, and ensuring that all statutory deadlines are met. Any failure to follow these steps may result in your petition being rejected. If your petition was not accompanied by the required certificates produced by qualifying mental health professionals, or if you were only able to obtain one such certificate, the Court will perform an initial review of your petition after you file it and decide whether an examination of the individual you wish to commit is appropriate. If the Court decides that an examination is not appropriate, the Court will reject your petition. If the Court orders an examination, the Court may make additional orders as necessary to ensure the individual you wish to commit can be taken to the examination.

          If the petition is accompanied by the required certificates or if the Court ordered a mental health evaluation, the Court will set a hearing on your petition within five days—excluding weekends and holidays—of the date the petition was filed or the date the examining professionals filed their certificates following their evaluation, respectively. The individual you wish to admit will be entitled to a jury determination of whether they are subject to involuntary commitment, if they demand it. The Office of the State’s Attorney will represent the People of the State of Illinois at this hearing. If our office approved your petition before you filed it, you met all of your statutory post-filing obligations, and your petition has the support of the required number of qualified mental health professionals—either because your petition was accompanied by the required certificates or because the mental health professionals agree that involuntary commitment is appropriate after a Court-ordered mental health examination—our office will support your petition and will take responsibility for presenting evidence in favor of the petition at the final hearing. In any other case, our office may decline to take a position with respect to the petition or even oppose the petition and present evidence against it, depending on our review of the situation. The Robert Young Center will also be entitled to take an independent position during these proceedings, and may oppose your petition for any number of reasons. One common reason the facility may oppose involuntary commitment is if they do not have space to accept the prospective patient into their care. If the judge, or jury as the case may be, agrees that the prospective patient is subject to involuntary commitment, the judge will enter any orders necessary to authorize the patient to be transported to and/or held at the mental health facility. The judge may also consider alternatives, such as hospitalization or placement in the care of a relative, if they are appropriate under the circumstances.