Sozosei Foundation Grant Will Expand Wilson Center’s Critical Leadership on Psychiatric Advance Directives
This funding will support national outreach, training, education, and implementation to help more people shape their own care and avoid unnecessary criminal legal system involvement
A new $100,000 grant from the Sozosei Foundation will support the Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law in expanding access to Psychiatric Advance Directives (PADs), legal tools that empower people with serious mental illnesses to make decisions about their future care while helping reduce unnecessary involvement with the criminal legal system. This funding will allow the Wilson Center, through its stewardship of the National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives (NRC-PAD), to expand national outreach and training, develop new educational resources, support individuals completing PADs, and build a national learning collaborative to increase awareness and implementation of these important legal tools.
Psychiatric Advance Directives allow individuals to document their treatment preferences and appoint a trusted decision-maker during periods when they are well, so those preferences can guide care during a future mental health crisis if they become unable to make treatment decisions. Research led by Duke faculty has shown that PADs can increase access to timely, person-centered treatment while reducing reliance on involuntary hospitalization and other coercive interventions.
"This investment allows us to build on more than two decades of research and implementation work to make Psychiatric Advance Directives a practical reality for more people across the country," said Dr. Marvin Swartz, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine and lead of the Wilson Center's Behavioral Health Team. "PADs give people with serious mental illnesses the opportunity to shape their own care before a crisis occurs. By expanding education, training, and implementation resources, we can help more individuals exercise their autonomy, improve communication with providers, and receive care that reflects their own goals and preferences."
"Psychiatric Advance Directives can be a critical diversion tool," added Yvette Garcia Missri, Executive Director of the Wilson Center for Science and Justice. "The support from the Sozosei Foundation will allow us to reach more communities, equip more providers, and help more people avoid unnecessary involvement with the criminal legal system by receiving care that reflects their own choices."
The Wilson Center will use the funding to expand the National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives through updated online resources, webinars for healthcare providers, behavioral health advocates, law enforcement, and justice professionals, and technical assistance for organizations interested in implementing PAD programs. The initiative will also explore new approaches—including artificial intelligence-assisted tools—to make completing PADs more accessible while carefully evaluating their usability and acceptability.
"Too many people with mental illness end up in jails and prisons because they cannot access timely, appropriate care," said Melissa Beck, executive director of the Sozosei Foundation. "We are proud to support the Wilson Center's leadership on Psychiatric Advance Directives, which advances our Foundation’s mission to expand access to mental healthcare and reduce the inappropriate criminalization of mental illness."