Does New Jersey have enough services available to ensure the success of AOT?
AOT legislation should include specific provisions mandating that courts may not order an individual into assisted outpatient treatment if the services are not available in the community. But the services are available. Authoritative studies on the effectiveness of AOT published by Duke University showed that t he service level required was three or more outpatient visits per month, with a mean of seven service events per month. Most counties in New Jersey will be able to provide this level of services to the limited number of individuals who would qualify for AOT. New Jersey currently has over 31 PACT teams that far exceed the services standard utilized in the Duke studies. These teams are already tasked with serving a number of severely ill individuals who repeatedly refuse the services offered to them. AOT would provide these teams with another tool to provide effective mental health treatment. In addition, New Jersey currently provides a minimum of 18 months of Integrated Case Mana
