District of Columbia

Criminal Diversion | Additional District of Columbia Resources | Read District of Columbia’s civil commitment statutes now

Getting your loved one help in District of Columbia: In a psychiatric emergency, the more you know about your state’s laws and treatment options, the better prepared you will be to respond in the most effective way possible. These resources will help:

• Essential information on who may initiate proceedings leading to mandatory treatment
• State standards for emergency hospitalization for a psychiatric evaluation

Mandatory Treatment Laws in District of Columbia

Like every state, District of Columbia has civil commitment laws that establish criteria for determining when involuntary treatment is appropriate for individuals with severe mental illness who cannot seek care voluntarily. District of Columbia's laws allow for the use of court-ordered treatment in the community, known as assisted outpatient treatment (AOT).

You can find the District of Columbia civil commitment law, here.

(SOURCE: GRADING THE STATES: AN ANALYSIS OF INVOLUNTARY PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT LAWS, Treatment Advocacy Center, 2020)

Criminal Diversion in District of Columbia

Criminal justice officials are responding to the criminalization of individuals with innovative programs designed to divert individuals with severe mental illness away from the criminal justice system. Two of the most promising programs are: mental health courts and crisis intervention training (CIT).

(SOURCE: PREVALENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH DIVERSION PRACTICES: A SURVEY OF THE STATES, Treatment Advocacy Center, 2013)

Policy Recommendations

• Stop eliminating public psychiatric beds
• Restore a sufficient number of beds to create access to inpatient care for qualifying individuals in crisis
• Make active use of the state’s civil commitment laws to provide more timely treatment to individuals in need of treatment for symptoms of psychiatric crisis and reduce the consequences of non-treatment on them, their families and their communities

Additional District of Columbia Resources

• The Superior Court of D.C. provides a useful FAQs page addressing common questions about involuntary treatment such as when involuntary treatment may be sought for symptoms of mental illness, when a person is considered a danger to self and/or others under the law, and how to initiate involuntary treatment.
• Get help for a loved one
• Report card on quality and use of District of Columbia laws
• Treatment of persons with mental illness in District of Columbia prisons and jails
• Mental health courts and CIT policing by county