Competency Restoration Whitepaper

Competency restoration is the process used when an individual charged with a crime is found by a court to be incompetent to stand trial, typically due to an active mental illness or an intellectual disability.

A criminal defendant must be restored to competency before the legal process can continue. NYSAC, in partnership with the Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors (CLMHD), has developed a series of statutory reforms to improve restoration services and reduce the county cost of restoring defendants to competency.