AOT

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The Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Program is a civil court-ordered treatment program for individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) who have difficulties committing to treatment. Doña Ana County implemented the AOT program in 2016 and clients that are part of the program attend regular hearings at the Third Judicial District Court. AOT is an evidence-based approach that has been proven to reduce hospitalization and incarceration days for people living with SMI.

To ensure the individual's needs are met to be successful in the program, they are assigned a team to support them. The AOT team comprises of; a mental health provider, case manager, treatment guardian, peer support from the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), a housing navigator, and a team of lawyers that represent the client and the petitioner. AOT_final

First row (seating): Yvette Lopez, Patricia Ulloa, Claudia Iglesias, Judge Robert Lara, Shannon Petsche, Margaret Mitchell.

Second row (standing): Elliott Mohler, Scott Ludlow, Monica Urquieta, Jill Vigil, Mario Gomez, Jazmine Pena, Brad Cherry.

Available Services w/ AOT

AOT may include:

Medication management
Individual or group therapy
Day or partial-day programming activities
Alcohol and substance abuse treatment and counseling
Emergency, transitional, and permanent housing arrangements
Any other service prescribed to treat a patient’s mental disorder and to assist the patient in living and functioning in the community.
Uber Health rides

Dona Ana County offers the following specific services for eligible participants in the program:

Care Coordination
Comprehensive outpatient mental health and medical services including:

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT)
Comprehensive Community Support Services (CCSS)
Psychosocial Rehabilitation Services (PSR)
Intensive Outpatient Therapy (IOP)

Comprehensive Peer Support through the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Including:

Peer to Peer Groups and Family to Family Training

Eligibility

ALL SEVEN CRITERIA REQUIREMENTS MUST BE MET

The individual may be ordered to participate in assisted outpatient treatment if the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person meets all of the following criteria:

Is eighteen years of age or older
Resides in Doña Ana County
Has a primary diagnosis of a mental disorder
Has demonstrated a history of lack of compliance with treatment for a mental disorder that has resulted in one of the following:
1. Been hospitalized or received mental health services in a jail, prison, or detention center at least twice over the past four years.
2. OR Serious violent behaviors toward self or others at least once over the past four years
3. OR been hospitalized, incarcerated, or detained, for six months or more if the person is about to be released in the next 30 days or was discharged in the past 60 days.
Is unwilling or unlikely, as a result of a mental disorder, to participate voluntarily in outpatient treatment that would enable the person to live safely in the community
Is likely to relapse or deteriorate without court intervention such that assisted outpatient treatment is the least restrictive option
Will benefit from the intervention and that it is in their best interest

Demographics of Participants and Outcome Data for AOT

System outcomes	Baseline Before AOT (past 30 days)	Six months (Monthly Average)	Reduction (%)
Number of Psychiatric Hospitalizations	0.81	0.34	58%
Number of Days Spent in a Psychiatric Hospital*	8.14	2.55	69%
Number of Arrests	0.26	0.05	81%

Client Outcomes	Baseline Agree/Strongly Agree	Six months Agree/Strongly Agree
I have people with whom I can do enjoyable things.	58.8%	90.9%
In a crisis, I would have the support I need from family or friends.	67.7%	81.9%
I have family or friends that are supportive of my recovery.	69.7%	81.9%

Category	Participants
Gender
Female	41.9% (n=39)
Male	58.1% (n=54
Ethnicity
Hispanic/Latino	59.1% (n=55)
Race
White	73.1% (n=68)
American Indian	19.4% (n=18)
Black or African American	8.6% (n=8)
Asian	2.2% (n=2)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander	1.1% (n=1)
Age
18 to 25	21.5% (n=20)
26 to 34	21.5% (n=20)
35 to 44	22.6% (n=21)
45 to 54	20.4% (n=19)
55 to 64	10.8% (n=10)
65 or older	3.2% (n=3)
Sexual identity
Heterosexual	88.2% (n=82)
Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual	9.6% (n=9)

(As of 2021)

At this time, we have reached our enrollment capacity and will update the community once we accept referrals again.

Doña Ana County, NM

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AOT