Crystal Fox

It would be sent to the CMH and they'd be bound to hear the treatment plan.

Within 30 days, get it back to the probate court so you can make sure they're actually doing their job and we're off and running.

And what you need is the judge involved from beginning to end when the petition is filed.

So we measure now when we get someone who comes in for a pickup order to have their loved one transported to the hospital for an evaluation, we measure how many petitions we get after that.

We're running around 25%.

So what happens to the other 75%?

We don't have the answer to that yet.

So we're at the front end.

We make sure that the deferment process is followed.

So what happens is if someone is hospitalized, there's a deferment conference with CMH and the individual and the lawyer.

If they work out a treatment plan, that becomes the plan, and there's a deferment.

But what has happened historically is the hospital doesn't invite CMH to the table, patient signs a deferral, and it's a deferral to nowhere.

So we're trying to tighten up the ship all the way through the end.

And we're measuring things.

For example, we measure how many people we put on an AOT order are getting treatment within 30 days.

And we know that number.

And we know what provider is hitting the target.

Right now, the best provider is 75%, which doesn't sound great, but it's better than zero.

Well, the Michigan Mental Health Commission back in 2004 came to the conclusion that mental illness was treatable, recovery was possible, provided you intervened early.

And early intervention was the key and now waiting for crisis.