Washington, DC – This week, Councilmember Henderson introduced the Enhancing Mental Health Crisis Support and Hospitalization Amendment Act of 2024. The bill would strengthen the District’s mental health processes regarding involuntary and voluntary commitment procedures.

Involuntary hospitalization, also referred to as involuntary commitment or civil commitment, is the legal procedure through which an individual is compelled to enter a hospital or psychiatric facility without their consent, temporarily, for the purpose of mental health evaluation and treatment. According to the Office of the Attorney General, 2,493 Emergency Petitions for involuntary hospitalization, also known as FD-12 Petitions, were filed in 2022, and 2,930 in 2023.  

“The Committee on Health has heard from various stakeholders about the need to improve the process to ensure that individuals who pose a significant risk to themselves or others can receive the evaluation and treatment they need,” stated Councilmember Henderson. “Here in the District, we are seeing cases of what happens when individuals experiencing mental health crisis do not receive care. This aims forth to maintain an overall well-being in our community by keeping residents safe from themselves and others. It also seeks to aid our hospitals and the courts as they work through the FD-12 process to ensure the best outcome.”

The legislation will:

• Broaden the pool of qualified healthcare professionals authorized to initiate involuntary commitment processes to include Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners. These individuals are recognized for their expertise and will increase the small pool of professionals, allowing more individuals to be evaluated and receive necessary care;  
  
• Extend the time for emergency observation and diagnosis from 7 to 15 days. This extension will allow for more time to evaluate individuals and bring them to competence so they may attend their hearing. In these instances, individuals could be presented with the option of receiving outpatient mental health resources and supports;
  
• Establish a minimum 15-day, but no more than 30-day, period for a comprehensive examination for individuals deemed incompetent, in a criminal matter and unlikely to attain competence in the foreseeable future by the courts, with the goal of providing more time for evaluation and treatment if necessary;
  
• Modify the timeframe for individuals to request a probable cause hearing from 7 days to 15 days, aligning with the extended time for emergency observation and diagnosis. The bill will also extend the timeline for holding the hearing to between 24 and 72 hours and clarify that hearsay evidence be permitted at probable cause hearings, to ensure a fairer process for individuals challenging involuntary hospitalization and allowing individuals to submit evidence regarding their behavior.

The bill was co-introduced by Councilmembers Brianne K. Nadeau, Anita Bonds, and Zachary Parker.  

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