Maine’s adult mental health facilities are on the verge of concluding court supervision following a determination by a designated expert that the state has achieved “substantial compliance” with the standards dictated by a recent court ruling.

This situation stems from the “AMHI Consent Decree,” established in 1990 after severe conditions were noted at the Augusta Mental Health Institute. The intervention was prompted by a lawsuit related to multiple fatalities in 1988, which exposed critical deficiencies at AMHI, leading to its closure in 2004. The facility was succeeded by the Riverview Psychiatric Center.

Over the years, the appointed overseer, former Chief Justice Daniel Wathen, along with his predecessors, consistently observed that the state frequently did not meet the standards outlined in the consent decree during the shift from institutional care to community-based services.

In his most recent evaluation released last week, Wathen noted that the policies, practices, and frameworks “exhibit lasting improvements to the adult community mental health system, and with strong advocacy currently in place, fulfill the requirements for substantial compliance.” He advised the state to seek the termination of the court’s injunction.

The Maine Department of Health and Human Services is set to act on Wathen’s recommendations, aiming to provide a long-desired resolution to the consent decree, according to Commissioner Sara Gagné-Holmes. She expressed, “The department has been diligently working to enhance Maine’s adult community mental health system over the last six years, ensuring timely access to high-quality services, and we are pleased to see that our systemic enhancements are yielding positive results.”