New York now has even clearer evidence that investments in voluntary mental health services — not Kendra’s Law court orders — must be the first response to serious mental illness. When lawmakers reauthorized Kendra’s Law in 2022, they required an independent evaluation. The state Office of Mental Health hired researchers at University of Pittsburgh’s School of Social Work and Human Services Research Institute. Their 400-page report is now public, and the findings are undeniable.

Researchers compared people forced into treatment under Kendra’s Law with individuals who voluntarily received services. For most indicators, voluntary care matched or outperformed court-ordered treatment — faring just as well on daily living functions and employment, and significantly better on arrests.

Where court-ordered treatment appeared to outperform voluntary care — housing stability, hospitalization, and risk of harm — the interviews explain why. People credited the........

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