VA Chief Justice convenes Commission on Mental Health Law Reform

Virginia Chief Justice Leroy Rountree Hassell Sr. called the commission to study ways to use the law more effectively to serve the needs of people with mental illnesses, while protecting the interests of their families and communities.

Topics that will be discussed include ways to improve access to mental health services, to reduce criminalization of people with mental illness, to make the process of involuntary treatment more fair and effective, and to enable consumers of mental health services to have more control over the services they receive.

Schedules and final drafts of the Commission's work will be posted on the Supreme Court of Virginia's web site at www.courts.state.va.us/scv