Senate Majority Dean Skelos today said that “enacting a stronger, permanent Kendra’s Law must be a priority for the 2013 session, and should be included in any legislative agreement on gun safety” as part of New York’s response to the mass murder in Newtown, Ct. (not to mention New York City’s recent subway-shoving incidents).

The estimable D.J. Jaffe calls this “a great idea that will save lives” — and here’s his explanation of why a stronger Kendra’s Law is essential.

Perhaps the most consequential proposed legislation to fly almost completely under news media radar at the end of session has been a bipartisan bill that would amend and upgrade Kendra’s Law, which allows judges in certain situations to force people with serious mental illness to undergo treatment.

Mental health advocate D.J. Jaffe has laid out a case for enactment of the Kendra’s Law Improvement Act, sponsored by Sen. Catherine Young (R-Olean) and Assemblywoman Aileen Guenther (D-Forestburgh), and he has now followed up with this budgetary impact analysis.

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That’s the argument in this provocative City Journal essay by D.J. Jaffe, who says the “skewed priorities” of the state Office of Mental Health are actually preventing the delivery of adequate care to the most seriously mentally ill.

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