The federal Office of Justice Programs has determined that AOT is an “effective” and evidence-based practice for reducing crime and violence

After months of research, the federal Office of Justice Programs has determined that assisted outpatient treatment is an “effective” and evidence-based practice for reducing crime and violence.

The "Crime Solutions" rating by the OJP is reserved for crime prevention strategies that “have strong evidence indicating they achieve their intended outcomes when implemented with fidelity,” including more than one study confirming the results. Read more here:http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/

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The federal Office of Justice Programs on Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT)

Program Goals
Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT), also known as outpatient commitment (OPC), is a civil legal procedure whereby a judge can order an individual with a serious mental illness to follow a court-ordered treatment plan in the community. AOT is intended for adults diagnosed with a serious mental illness who are unlikely to live safely in the community without supervision and treatment, and who also are unlikely to voluntarily participate in treatment. The goal of AOT is to improve access and adherence to intensive behavioral health services in order to avert relapse, repeated hospitalizations, arrest, incarceration, suicide, property destruction, and violent behavior.

Forty-four states have statutes permitting some form of OPC or AOT (Robbins et al. 2010). One example is New York State’s “Kendra’s Law.” The law, passed in 1999, which was proposed by the New York State Attorney General, was named for a young woman who was killed after being pushed in front of a New York City subway by a man with a history of serious mental illness and hospitalizations. The intent of the law was not only to authorize court-ordered community treatment but also to require mental health authorities to provide resources and oversight necessary so that high-risk individuals with serious mental illness may experience fewer incidents and can live in a less restrictive alternative to incarceration or involuntary hospitalization. Read more here:http://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=228