In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting, Gov. Christie has been reviewing many proposals regarding mental health. One of these is the Involuntary Outpatient Commitment (IOC) law that was passed in 2009 but didn’t receive the funding necessary to become fully implemented statewide. IOC has been implemented in several counties including Union County. The purpose of the law is to have a legal mechanism to force mental health treatment without forcing the person being treated to live in a more restrictive environment, such as a State Mental Hospital. For a list of mental health screening and crisis centers, click here. For a basic description of some of the legal areas that intersect with mental health, click here.