The “Forensication” of Public Sector Mental Health

Abstract The Kansas vs. Hendricks U. S. Supreme Court decision of 1996 has been widely criticized by a variety of mental health professionals. Concerns have been expressed that its provisions for the indefinite involuntary commitment of persons who have committed sex offenses will weaken the protection of patients' rights and lead to a huge increase in forensic inpatient treatment for individuals who historically not responded well to treatment. This paper will review how states have begun to respond to the Hendricks decision. It will also examine how the Hendricks decision is part of a larger trend towards the “forensication” of public sector mental health services. Forensication refers to the ongoing process though which ever-increasing public sector resources are applied to forensic populations. Increasing tensions between the need to protect public safety and the need to attend to patient rights within a consumer-based approach will also be examined. Finally, recommendations for coping with changing expectations for mental health professionals will also be presented.