Biomaterial Database

Reforming the law in action through empirically grounded civil commitment guidelines. 1988

D B Wexler

University of Arizona, Tucson 85721.

Some assumptions that guided the national task force in developing the Guidelines for Involuntary Civil Commitment are identified and discussed. The task force's multidisciplinary membership is seen as enhancing the credibility of the suggested reforms. The task force developed guidelines instead of a model law, avoiding disputes about the philosophical basis of commitment laws and providing local jurisdictions the liberty to adapt the task force's recommendations to suit local conditions. Both the problems identified and the suggestions offered by the guidelines were based on the empirical experience of local commitment systems. Communication among the components of civil commitment systems was seen as crucial to reform and as achievable through a recommended structural change.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007400	Interprofessional Relations	The reciprocal interaction of two or more professional individuals.	Etiquette, Medical,Medical Etiquette,Relations, Interprofessional
D009936	Organizational Innovation	Introduction of changes which are new to the organization and are created by management.	Organizational Change,Change, Organizational,Innovation, Organizational,Changes, Organizational,Innovations, Organizational,Organizational Changes,Organizational Innovations
D003134	Commitment of Mentally Ill	Legal process required for the institutionalization of a patient with severe mental problems.	Outpatient Commitment,Commitment, Outpatient,Mentally Ill Commitments
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D014481	United States	A country in NORTH AMERICA between CANADA and MEXICO.
D026683	Advisory Committees	Groups set up to advise governmental bodies, societies, or other institutions on policy. (Bioethics Thesaurus)	Governmental Commissions,Review Committees,Task Forces,Advisory Committee,Commission, Governmental,Commissions, Governmental,Committee, Advisory,Committee, Review,Committees, Advisory,Committees, Review,Governmental Commission,Review Committee,Task Force
D028642	Mentally Ill Persons	Persons with psychiatric illnesses or diseases, particularly psychotic and severe mood disorders.	Mental Patients,Mentally Ill,Ill, Mentally,Mentally Ill Person,Person, Mentally Ill,Persons, Mentally Ill
D033183	Interdisciplinary Communication	Communication, in the sense of cross-fertilization of ideas, involving two or more academic disciplines (such as the disciplines that comprise the cross-disciplinary field of bioethics, including the health and biological sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences and law). Also includes differences in patterns of language usage in different academic or medical disciplines.	Communication Research,Cross-Disciplinary Communication,Multidisciplinary Communication,Communication, Cross-Disciplinary,Communication, Interdisciplinary,Communication, Multidisciplinary,Communications, Cross-Disciplinary,Communications, Interdisciplinary,Communications, Multidisciplinary,Cross Disciplinary Communication,Cross-Disciplinary Communications,Interdisciplinary Communications,Multidisciplinary Communications,Research, Communication
D035141	Voluntary Programs	Programs in which participation is not required.	Program, Voluntary,Programs, Voluntary,Voluntary Program