Expedited diversion to court ordered treatment (EDCOT)is a criminal justice diversion model that is intended to move individuals with serious mental illness out of the criminal justice system and into court-ordered mental health treatment, using a civil commitment process. Legislation introduced during the 2023 Session of the General Assembly sought to implement the concept of EDCOT but was ultimately not enacted.

The Behavioral Health Commission directed staff to conduct a limited-scope study to identify factors that may constitute barriers to effective implementation of EDCOT in Virginia. This limited-scope study provides an overview of the EDCOT process and benefits both in concept, as envisioned by its authors, Steven Hoge and Richard Bonnie, and as operationalized in legislation introduced in Virginia in 2023. The report also describes concerns identified during interviews with a variety of stakeholders that would be involved in the EDCOT process if it were implemented, and who sometimes have differing interests. If the General Assembly wishes to consider legislation to implement EDCOT, it will be necessary to address the issues identified by stakeholders and to weigh competing interests. While certain issues could be resolved through legislative design of EDCOT, others – such as the impact this new process could have on the behavioral health and court systems – will exist no matter how EDCOT is crafted and should be addressed before legislative action on EDCOT is considered.

To conduct this limited-scope study, BHC staff reviewed Virginia statutes and legislation, reviewed a range of secondary sources, and conducted in-depth interviews with stakeholders including the Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy; the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards; the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia; the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission; and individuals with lived experience and their representatives.