Special to IFN

RALEIGH — The N.C. House Select Committee on Involuntary Commitment and Public Safety has unanimously approved a comprehensive set of recommendations aimed at improving the state’s involuntary commitment (IVC) system.

House Speaker Destin Hall established the committee following the murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte last year by a violent, mentally ill repeat offender.

The committee’s recommendations focus on improving access to care, efficiency, and public safety, including:

♦ Expand access to timely evaluations: Equip county jails with telehealth capabilities, add licensed clinicians to Mobile Crisis teams, and broaden the pool of trained professionals to reduce delays in IVC assessments.

♦ Increase capacity and strengthen the workforce: Expand state facility bed capacity and recruit and retain more staff to meet demand.

♦ Improve real-time decision-making: Enhance data collection, improve agency coordination, and provide law enforcement with bed availability tools.

♦ Evaluate legal standards and reduce the “revolving door”: Review inconsistencies across commitment and competency laws and establish a working group to address repeat cycles of arrest and commitment.

♦ Analyze jail-based care and expand outpatient commitment: Assess how medical and behavioral health services are delivered in jails and align laws with proven best practices to increase utilization of outpatient services.

“Tragedies like the one that took Iryna Zarutska’s life are preventable and should never happen again,” Hall said. “We must reform the involuntary commitment system to ensure that individuals who pose a danger to themselves and others are taken off the streets so we can make our communities safer. I thank the committee for their recommendations and their hard work on this issue.”

The committee also recommended continuing its work through the 2026 short session and beyond to ensure long-term reform.