Assisted outpatient treatment (AOT)

MDHHS Mental Health Diversion Council logoWelcome to the assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) toolkit, funded by Michigan’s Mental Health Diversion Council and maintained by the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice. The purpose of this toolkit is to serve as a resource for those wanting to learn more about AOT in Michigan. This resource is curated for people who are involved personally, or professionally, in supporting individuals with serious mental illness that either have an existing AOT order or may be a candidate for an AOT order. The content of this toolkit comes from people with knowledge about AOT and experience in various systems across Michigan. We update this toolkit regularly to reflect new findings, new legislation, and to incorporate valuable feedback from our users.

Assisted outpatient treatment is civil-court ordered community-based mental health treatment for those with serious mental illness that can include a period of hospitalization, or not. AOT can be ordered anywhere in Michigan, however, it is important to note that not every county has a comprehensive AOT program. Some counties do not have the need and/or capacity for an AOT program, and instead support individuals on AOT orders using what existing resources and services are available.

AOT orders can be a helpful tool, and there have been some successes around Michigan and the country in reducing hospitalization and incarceration for this population using AOT. Given the involuntary nature of this intervention, it is imperative that important safeguards and guidelines are in place to ensure that AOT is used with discretion, delivered the way it is intended, and its recipients--some of society’s most vulnerablea--re included in the process to ensure their rights are protected.

Thank you for visiting the AOT Toolkit. Please feel free to share any suggestions and feedback with us. We want this to be a valuable and useful tool for people in Michigan (and beyond), and that means your input matters.

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