Human Services
Six West Virginia counties join commitment pilot
The new law adds Cabell, Berkeley, Ohio, Hampshire, Morgan and Wood to the program that tests how the state handles court-ordered hospitalization during a crisis.
West Virginia is widening its pilot for involuntary commitment. The law brings six more counties into the test area.
- The bill would add six counties to the pilot.
- It focuses on involuntary commitment, or court-ordered hospitalization.
- The basic process would stay the same, but the test area would grow.
- In West Virginia, the practical change is where the state can test its involuntary commitment process
- The proposal does not change the basic frame already in place
In West Virginia, the practical change is where the state can test its involuntary commitment process. Senate Bill 741 would expand pilot projects into Cabell, Berkeley, Ohio, Hampshire, Morgan and Wood counties, giving more places a role in how people are evaluated and moved through the system when a mental-health crisis turns into a legal question about hospitalization.
A wider test of the same system
The proposal does not change the basic frame already in place. It broadens the pilot program, so the state can try the process in more counties and see how it works outside the original footprint.