Federal Studies Undermine Court‑Ordered Treatment

A Government Accountability Office summary and weak HHS evaluations (based on self‑reports and small/new programs) create a public impression that Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) ‘doesn’t work,’ even though long‑standing programs like New York’s Kendra’s Law show large declines in homelessness, arrests, and hospitalizations. The 2014 federal grant rules exacerbated this by funding only new programs, excluding established jurisdictions with usable outcome data. — If federal evaluation design and reporting can erase evidence of an effective program, policy and funding decisions may inadvertently increase homelessness, incarceration, and public‑safety risks.