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Civil Commitment Is Disappearing in Oregon

Dr. Bloom is Dean Emeritus, School of Medicine, and Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR. Address correspondence to: Joseph D. Bloom, MD, Department of Psychiatry, OHSU, UHN-80, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR 97201. E-mail: bloomj{at}ohsu.edu

Over the past 20 years, in Oregon, the number of individuals entered into the civil commitment process has risen, but the number of those actually committed has gone down dramatically. This commentary compares commitment data during a time when the state’s population has increased substantially, while commitment rates have dropped by 50 percent. There are many possible factors that have contributed to this decline in commitment rates, including a stricter functional definition of "danger to self or others," but perhaps the most significant reason is the shortage of the acute psychiatric beds that are essential in the commitment process. It is hard not to conclude that civil commitment in this state is headed toward functional extinction.

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