The origins of the AMHI Consent Decree date back to the early 1990s, following significant shortcomings at the Augusta Mental Health Institute (AMHI), where deteriorating conditions and a series of patient deaths in 1988 prompted legal intervention. To address these issues, the courts intervened by appointing a “special master” to monitor improvements at AMHI, which ultimately closed in 2004 and was replaced by Riverview Psychiatric Center.
Since that time, multiple independent monitors, including Wathen, have noted the state’s persistent challenges in meeting the decree’s rigorous standards, particularly as the state transitioned patients to community-based care. Wathen’s latest report marks a turning point, however, indicating that Maine has now implemented policies, practices, and systems that demonstrate enduring improvements in adult community mental health services.
“The system now supports a sustainable and compliance-driven approach to adult mental health care, strongly backed by robust advocacy,” Wathen wrote in his report. He further recommended that the state take steps to petition for the termination of court oversight.
Following this recommendation, Health and Human Services Commissioner Jeanne Lambrew announced the department’s commitment to formally request the court to end its oversight. Commissioner Lambrew highlighted the substantial efforts over the past six years to enhance Maine’s adult community mental health care, aiming to ensure timely access to quality services. “Our hard work to implement systemic improvements in the mental health system has made a difference,” she stated, expressing optimism about the system’s future independence.
This development brings a sense of closure to a long-standing legal mandate while marking a new era for Maine’s mental health care infrastructure, now equipped to meet the needs of its residents without court intervention.
