Active Shooting in Lewiston, Maine (Location of Bates)

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This is a Maine law that passed in 2010. It should have been used in this case. Law enforcement just doesn’t know about it. A fellow Board member of NAMI Maine is married to a police sergeant, and neither of them were aware of it before now!

(In the past, the cost of the hearings was on the shoulders of the organization that asked for them. Private hospitals, for example. That was a big hurdle, but in the last year or so, the law was amended so that the state pays for the hearings.)

§ 3612. Court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment #6

An Act To Allow Law Enforcement and Family Members To Petition the District Court To Initiate Assisted Outpatient Treatment

SUMMARY

This bill enables law enforcement or a family member of a person with a severe and persistent mental illness who is in need of assisted outpatient treatment to petition the District Court for an order that the person must participate in assisted outpatient treatment. The assisted outpatient treatment order lasts for 6 months and is renewable for an additional 12 months. The application, hearing, review and appeal process includes notice, a mental health examination, court-appointed or retained counsel, the right to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses and a record of the proceedings. The order to participate in assisted outpatient treatment includes within it an individualized treatment plan.

The bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to provide community mental health services, including assignment of an assertive community treatment team, for a person who is ordered to participate in assisted outpatient treatment.

The bill requires providers of mental health services who apply for grants and contracts with the Department of Health and Human Services to provide community mental health treatment to persons ordered by a court to participate in assisted outpatient treatment.

The bill includes as a duty of the Department of Health and Human Services, under the category of safety net services, providing services for persons ordered to participate in assisted outpatient treatment.

6. Nonparticipation. If a person ordered to participate in assisted outpatient treatment does not comply with the individualized treatment plan under subsection 3, paragraph B and the person’s mental health deteriorates to the extent that the person poses a likelihood of serious harm as defined by section 3801, subsection 4, any health officer, law enforcement officer or other person may make a written application to admit the person to a psychiatric hospital under the procedures for involuntary emergency hospitalization under section 3863.

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It would also be interesting to know whether authorities get lots of warnings that end up being false alarms, or where the potentially dangerous person is prevented from doing harm by some other means. If there are lots of false alarms, acting on such warnings may not be a very high priority.

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I think law enforcement agencies are just overwhelmed in general. NAMI Maine provides CIT (Community Intervention Team) training to any agency that requests it. We promote it pretty heavily.

The young sheriff’s deputy who drove an hour and a half when our son needed help at our remote cabin last year was awesome. It turns out he’d had CIT training through another county. His previous supervising officer is married to the NAMI Maine employee who conducts CIT training. She was happy to hear this young man did such a good job, and then told me she was frustrated that his current department had NOT completed the training.

I called the county sheriff to put in a good word for the deputy and also asked him why they hadn’t completed CIT training. He explained that they were short about 20 officers and just couldn’t take the time for the initial training and the followup meetings (this training isn’t just one and done, the idea is for law enforcement, social workers, judges, and others to get together regularly to discuss citizens who need help). It’s frustrating, because in the long run, the time spent on CIT should REDUCE the number of calls they have to take, repeatedly, for the same struggling people.

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My son’s law enforcement agency requires all patrol officers to complete their 40-hour crisis intervention training within the first two years of employment. Other local, state and federal agency members participate in this training as well, alongside the patrol officers.

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That’s awesome. I wish we could get all our counties on board. I believe that Cumberland County, the state’s most populated one, has not completed it. :frowning:

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Email from the Governor. I wish they had had this in place before.

Governor Mills Announces Launch of Online Behavioral Health Request Portal to Support Mental Health Following Lewiston Tragedy

November 1, 2023

Mills Administration encourages communities and organizations to request behavioral health support if needed

Governor Janet Mills announced today that her Administration has launched an online formfor communities and organizations to request special behavioral health support, such as on-site mental health clinics, or assistance tailored for specific communities, following the tragedy last week in Lewiston.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) launched the form today, as announced Monday by Governor Mills, to offer organizations counseling, training, and other behavioral health support.

“Many of us have been feeling a range of emotions this past week, from shock and sadness to anxiety and fear to grief and anger. I have felt many of these emotions myself, and I am sure that we will all feel these things in the coming days. I want Maine people to know this: if you feel this way, that is okay,” said Governor Janet Mills. “Mental health counseling and other behavioral health resources are available to community leaders from across Maine, from school principals to business owners to nonprofit directors, to help your networks navigate this difficult time. I encourage any organizations who are in need to take advantage of this new resource.”

“The profound mental health impacts of last week’s tragedy in Lewiston are just beginning to emerge,” said Jeanne Lambrew, Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services. “We want organizations and communities in Maine – including schools, municipalities, businesses, nonprofits, and more – to know that help is available. We encourage any group in need of support to complete this new form to explore connections to assistance and tools. For individuals in need of support, please call 988 for free, confidential mental health help.”

The online form is open to any organization in the state of Maine and offers connections to mental health counseling, crisis and trauma support, victim support, school-based support, employee assistance, and psychological first aid. DHHS will reach out to the organization’s contact person within 24 hours, or the next business day if the request is received on the weekend.

Individuals (rather than organizations) in need of support are encouraged to access the following resources:

  • Call 911 if you are experiencing a medical emergency.
  • Call or text 988: This suicide and behavioral health crisis hotline is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week by trained crisis specialists offering free, confidential support for anyone. Specialists also can respond by chat at 988lifeline.org. Information for the deaf and hard of hearing is available here.
  • Teens and young adults can text (207) 515-8398: The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Teen Text Line connects youth with other youth to help them manage their challenges every day from noon to 10 p.m.
  • Clinicians, educators, and first responders can call 1-800-769-9819: The FrontLine WarmLine offers free support services to help these professionals manage the stress of responding to disasters from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week.
  • If you’re unsure, contact 211. It provides general information, including how to access behavioral health and social service resources, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Information can also be found at 211maine.org.
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