What Happens if You Do Not Follow Your Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Order
What Happens if You Do Not Follow Your Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Order
This publication is a fact sheet that talks about what happens if you do not follow your AOT order.
Disclaimer: This publication is legal information only and is not legal advice about your individual situation. It is current as of the date posted. We try to update our materials regularly. However, laws are regularly changing. If you want to make sure the law has not changed, contact DRC or another legal office.
Assisted Outpatient Treatment, also known as AOT, is court ordered outpatient treatment for people with mental health disabilities.
This publication is a fact sheet that talks about what happens if you do not follow your AOT order.
You have a right to an attorney if the county has asked the court to order you to AOT. If you want a lawyer but don’t have enough money, you can ask the judge to give you a public defender.
If a judge decides that you qualify for AOT under the law, they may order you to AOT for up to 6 months.1 This means that you have to follow the judge’s orders and comply with your AOT treatment plan.
- For more information on how you qualify for AOT under the law, you can read the publication called “Who Can Be Ordered to AOT.”
- For information about your rights during an AOT hearing, read the publication “Your Rights if the County is Asking for AOT and AOT Hearings.” An AOT hearing is where a judge decides whether or not you qualify for AOT under the law.
If you do not follow your AOT treatment plan, you can be involuntarily placed in a psychiatric hospital on a 5150 (72-hour mental health hold). However, this can only happen if all of the following things are true2:
- A licensed mental health treatment provider thinks you are not following your AOT order.
- This decision must be based on a clinical judgment. This means the decision cannot be based on the provider’s personal opinion, but must be based on their clinical training.
- The licensed mental health treatment provider thinks people tried to get you to follow your AOT order.
- This decision must also be based on a clinical judgment.
- If the provider does not think people tried to get you to follow your AOT order, then they cannot involuntarily put you into a hospital.
- The licensed mental health treatment provider thinks you might need to be placed in a psychiatric hospital against your will.
- This might sound like the provider needs to think you need to be in a hospital based on the reasons from the 5150 law, but that is not required.
You can only be forced to stay in the hospital more than 72 hours if you are unable to care for yourself or a danger to yourself or others because of your mental health disability, not simply because you did not follow AOT.
Additional Information
If you need more information or have questions you can:
- Ask your lawyer. You have a right to an attorney if the county has asked (petitioned) the court to order you to AOT. If you want a lawyer but don’t have enough money, ask the judge to give you a public defender. You will only have to pay the public defender if you have the money to.
- Contact your county’s Patient’s Rights Advocate. To find the Patient’s Rights Advocate where you live, (916) 504-5810 and ask for your local Patient’s Rights Advocate or click on this link: https://www.disabilityrightsca.org/post/patients-rights-advocacy-directory.
- Call Disability Rights California at 1-800-776-5746.