A new sub-committee recently formed in the Virginia House of Delegates will review and evaluate bills dealing with mental health care policies in the Commonwealth.
The sub-committee is part of the Courts of Justice Committee, which deals with criminal and civil law, and will include local representatives Del. Rob Bell, R-Albemarle, and Del. David Toscano, D-Charlottesville.
The need for revision of current laws was magnified by the tragedy of Virginia Tech and the recent shooting in Fairfax County, according to Del. David Albo, R-Springfield, who chairs the Courts of Justice Committee.
Current state mental health laws are problematic because they do not make it clear under what conditions a person should be committed as an inpatient versus as an outpatient, Albo said.
Albo said Bell will chair the sub-committee, noting that "he's very sharp and detail-oriented."
Bell said he plans to examine situations where a person does not want medical care but is aware he or she has a psychological condition.
"We're going to be reviewing the full range of commitment laws, particularly when the person with the mental illness does not want to receive ... care," Bell said.
The sub-committee plans to use the University as a resource for improving the existing laws, Bell noted.
University Law Prof. Richard Bonnie has studied the efficacy of the Commonwealth's mental health laws for several years and is a member of a commission that will be giving recommendations to the House sub-committee on changes that should be made to the laws. Bonnie noted that several members of the commission are members of the Virginia House or Senate.
"My commission has been meeting several times over the month of November to prepare a preliminary report," Bonnie said. "It will have a blueprint for a long-term reform plan ... and it will include some specific recommendations for this session."
One of the main problems Bonnie said he sees with the current laws is the inconsistency in their application. Bonnie said in many cases the laws are interpreted in a manner that is too restricted.
Mandatory treatment is another issue Bonnie said he plans to address in his recommendations to the sub-committee, noting that the Virginia Tech shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, was given a treatment order that "was never really enforced."
Toscano will also serve on the sub-committee but was unavailable for comment as of press time.
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