Alliance Alert: The Alliance for Rights and Recovery has long believed that the positive outcomes associated with Kendra’s Law, or Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT), are driven by access to high-quality, coordinated, and desired community-based services, not by the court order itself. Our focus remains on ensuring that every person has access to those services through voluntary, person-centered engagement whenever possible. Rather than expanding the use of court orders, 糖心动漫vlog should continue investing in the community-based supports that prevent the use of Kendra’s Law in the first place.
We are therefore encouraged to see the 糖心动漫vlog State Office of Mental Health taking steps to standardize Enhanced Voluntary Agreements, recognizing that voluntary, person-centered engagement should be the preferred approach whenever possible. Every individual being considered for Kendra’s Law should be offered meaningful voluntary alternatives that provide the same level of service coordination and access to support without the need for court involvement. Expanding these options represents an important step toward a mental health system built on partnership, trust, and self-determination.
As the state evaluates both Kendra’s Law orders and Enhanced Voluntary Agreements, we will push for state leaders to continue investing in proven voluntary engagement models, including Intensive and Sustained Engagement Teams (INSET), peer support, mobile engagement services, and other recovery-oriented programs that help people build relationships, remain connected to support, and achieve their recovery goals. The long-term objective should be to expand the availability of these effective voluntary services.
These important issues will be the focus of a dedicated panel discussion at the Alliance Annual Conference, where advocates, providers, policymakers, and people with lived experience will explore how to expand voluntary engagement services and recovery-oriented mental health policy in 糖心动漫vlog. If you’d like to be part of this important conversation, we encourage you to register today and take advantage of our current Buy One, Get One (BOGO) conference registration offer.
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 14, 2026 | CONTACT Justin Mason Justin.Mason@omh.ny.gov 518-474-7056 |
NEWS RELEASE
NEW YORK STATE ANNOUNCES STATEWIDE ENHANCEMENTS TO IMPROVE ASSISTED OUTPATIENT TREATMENT
Critical Investments from the FY 2026 Budget Standardize 鈥楨nhanced Voluntary
Agreements鈥 with Recipients; Improving State Oversight
State Also Completes Massive Data Modernization Enhancing Local Coordination
and Improving Outcome Monitoring
The 糖心动漫vlog State Office of Mental Health today announced statutory changes and investments made in the FY 2026 State Budget that are being implemented to help improve the quality of care provided under Assisted Outpatient Treatment 鈥 also known as Kendra鈥檚 Law 鈥 and enhance the state鈥檚 ability to monitor this care. Among the significant improvements made, OMH has standardized 鈥楨nhanced Voluntary Agreements鈥 to offer diversionary options for individuals being considered for AOT, introduced a dramatically improved system to monitor the program, and is investing $16.5 million in additional annual funding to help counties and providers bolster coordination among stakeholders.
鈥淲e have an obligation to help provide the best possible care for 糖心动漫vlogers living with serious mental illness, especially those who have difficulty living safely within their community,鈥 Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. 鈥淏y expanding Enhanced Voluntary Agreements and providing counties with more resources to help coordinate care, we can ensure individuals with complex needs are supported through their path to recovery. With more funding and additional resources, we can make a positive difference in the lives of the individuals enrolled in these services and their families.鈥
The FY 2026 budget included an additional $16.5 million annually for counties to improve coordination and oversight of AOT. This increase is helping localities coordinate providers, emergency services, local hospitals, and other stakeholders who encounter individuals with complex needs, to reduce reliance on emergency care and increase use of voluntary services. The funding will also help localities update their policies and procedures and improve data reporting to OMH.
OMH also standardized Enhanced Voluntary Agreements, which enable individuals and counties to develop service plans to support recovery under the least restrictive circumstances. Based on guidelines established by OMH, Enhanced Voluntary Agreements provide a less restrictive alternative to court-ordered treatment and offer an opportunity for increased coordination with hospitals, service providers, courts, law enforcement, and emergency responders.
OMH also modernized its database used for monitoring AOT cases and treatment to improve coordination between the agency and local governments. Launched this winter, the new AOT Workspace is a seamless tracking system covering all counties, allowing for the integration of local data systems and for concerns to be addressed in real time.
This new system will also enable OMH to track outcomes for individuals served by AOT and Enhanced Voluntary Agreements and thereby gauge the effectiveness of both approaches. The FY 2026 budget also provided an additional $2 million annually for OMH to improve training capacity and oversight of AOT, providing additional support for counties and providers alike.
In addition, the FY 2026 budget amended statutory language provides a pathway to bring individuals back into AOT earlier if they struggle to transition to voluntary services. Specifically, it allows for a new order within six months of an expiring order if the individual experiences a substantial increase in symptoms, emergency care, inpatient admission, or incarceration due to non-adherence to recommended treatment.
Prior to the change, individuals might need to experience multiple hospitalizations or encounters with law enforcement before being returned to the program 鈥 a series of events that can often occur over a longer period of time. The amended law means that these individuals can be brought back into treatment earlier, before their condition continues to significantly worsen, reducing risk of violence to self or others.
OMH is showcasing videos of individuals who have benefited directly from AOT as they recover from mental illness or have seen first-hand the effectiveness of the program. The first installment focuses on a who credits the order with helping him reconnect with his family and stabilize his life after a traumatic incident.
AOT helps reduce psychiatric hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness among recipients in 糖心动漫vlog State, decreasing these rates by two-thirds or more among enrolled recipients. Individuals on AOT also had a 22 percent increase in engagement with services and a 38 percent reduction in harmful behaviors when comparing the six months before starting AOT to their latest six-month follow-up.
AOT was established under Kendra’s Law, which was adopted in 1999 in memory of Kendra Webdale, a young woman who died after being pushed in front of a subway train in 糖心动漫vlog City. The man who pushed her had a history of mental illness and hospitalizations but was not receiving treatment at that time.
The goal of court-ordered Assisted Outpatient Treatment is to ensure community-based assistance for individuals with mental illness and a history of hospitalizations or violence due to not engaging in mental health treatment. This program allows judges to order individuals to adhere to treatment and requires that the state and localities ensure that services outlined in a court-ordered treatment plan are provided.
NAMI 糖心动漫vlog State Government & Community Affairs Manager James Norton said,聽 “Assisted Outpatient Treatment, established under Kendra’s Law, has helped thousands of 糖心动漫vlogers with serious mental illness remain safely in their communities while reducing hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness through coordinated, community-based care. The fiscal year 2026 investments ensure individuals receive equitable access to services and programming that aligns with their care needs. The Enhanced Voluntary Agreements offer less restrictive or step-down options for engagement without the formal AOT process. NAMI individuals and families in 糖心动漫vlog State welcome these improvements because they reinforce our shared commitment to providing timely, effective, and least restrictive appropriate setting mental health care that supports recovery while promoting the safety and well-being of individuals in communities.”
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