Bill would allow probate judges to commit 18-year-olds

MONTGOMERY — Earlier this year, Florence police responded to a call involving an 18-year-old woman having a mental health crisis.

She was a risk to herself and others, Lt. Brad Holmes said.

State law doesn’t allow probate judges, or the specially trained mental health officers in Lauderdale County, to commitment 18-year-olds to mental health facilities, Holmes said.

He said the state departments of Human Resources and Youth Services generally don’t intervene for 18-year-olds who are not already in their systems, as was the case with this out-of-state University of North Alabama student, Holmes said.

The young woman, who refused to stay at the hospital her friends had taken her to, was arrested, charged with disorderly conduct, and held by police until her family members could get to Alabama.

What she needed was mental health care, Holmes said.

“If a service isn’t available that is appropriate, we still have to safeguard the public,” he said. “This individual should have been in a hospital, but we didn’t have the means to make that happen.”

Senate Bill 330 in the Alabama Legislature would end that “mental health no-man’s-land” for 18-year-olds, sponsor Sen. Tim Melson, R-Florence, said this week.

It would change from 19 to 18 the age at which people can be involuntarily committed to mental health facilities by probate judges.

However, officials with the Alabama Department of Mental Health said the bill isn’t needed because juvenile courts have jurisdiction over 18-year-olds.

There is not a gap in service per the letter of the law as to who has jurisdiction, mental health spokeswoman Malissa Valdes-Hubert said in an email Tuesday.

“ … should SB330 pass, a jurisdictional conflict would be created giving juvenile and probate courts jurisdiction to commit mentally ill or intellectually disabled 18-year-olds to the Department of Mental Health,” Valdes-Hubert said. “The department maintains the position that 18-year-olds are better served in juvenile court than probate court with adults.”

Valdes-Hubert said the department has committed to provide training on the law to stakeholders in the Florence area and to holding meetings to determine if additional steps need to be taken to ensure 18-year-olds are receiving the proper services.

A fiscal note on the bill says it would increase costs for the Alabama Department of Mental Health by an undetermined amount that would depend on the number of 18-year-olds committed, their diagnosis and needed treatment.

The bill has passed the Senate and will be in the House Judiciary Committee today.

The Department of Mental Health did not have a comment on Melson’s bill, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. The Department of Human Resources didn't respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

Lauderdale County Probate Judge Will Motlow said this week something needs to be done to make sure 18-year-olds get quick, appropriate mental health care.

“We haven’t had a situation where it’s ended in a tragedy, but it could,” he said. “We just want to make sure these 18-year-olds aren’t falling through the cracks. Whatever that takes, we’re in favor of.”

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Bill would allow probate judges to commit 18-year-olds