Bad Federal Evaluations Threaten AOT

A Government Accountability Office (GAO) review and HHS evaluations labeled Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) 'inconclusive' despite strong independent evidence (e.g., New York’s Kendra’s Law), because the federal grants required new programs and used self‑report surveys rather than established administrative outcomes. That framing risks rolling back or politicizing a court‑ordered continuity‑of‑care tool for people with severe mental illness. — If federal evaluation design and reporting can delegitimize proven state court‑ordered treatment, it will reshape policy on involuntary community care, public safety, and how evidence is used to expand or contract services for the severely mentally ill.