It’s hard to believe there is any controversy over making Kendra’s Law permanent.

That is exactly the case in New York state, however, despite the continuous efforts of state Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean. It was Young who pushed Kendra’s Law through the state Legislature two decades ago, but the legislation has to be extended every five years. There is a very real possibility, given the resistance in the state Assembly to make Kendra’s Law permanent, that Kendra’s Law could be removed from the books entirely if Democrats win control of the state Senate.

Kendra’s Law helps address the concerns about mentally ill people who are potentially a danger to themselves and society by allowing for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment for individuals who won’t voluntarily seek help. Since Kendra’s Law was enacted, studies have found that patients given mandatory outpatient treatment and who were more violent to begin with were four times less likely than members of a control group to perpetrate serious violence after undergoing assisted outpatient treatment. The studies also found fewer psychiatric hospitalizations, shorter lengths of hospitalizations, declines in the probability of arrest, higher social functioning, less stigma, and no increase in perceived coercion.

Legislation proposed by Young, and passed by the state Senate earlier this year, would build on Kendra’s Law by making the law permanent, mandating follow-up for those who move during their treatment period to make sure they continue their treatment after they move; mandate an assessment for assisted outpatient treatment when mental health patients are released from inpatient facilities or from jail so people who need help receive it; and makes counties notify the state Office of Mental Health when someone with mental health issues undergoing assisted outpatient treatment is missing and unavailable for an evaluation.

Study after study have shown the effectiveness of Kendra’s Law, yet the state Assembly refuses to get off the schneid and pass a piece of legislation that protects the public and helps those with mental illness. Shame on them.