What is the MDO Program?
The Mentally Disordered Offender (MDO) law applies only to prisoners whose crimes were committed on or after January 1, 1986. The statutes governing the MDO program are contained in Penal Code (PC) Sections 2960-2981. The law requires that a prisoner who meets six specific M DO criteria (listed below), shall be ordered by the Board of Prison Terms (BPT) to be treated by the Department of Mental Health (DMH) as a condition of parole. An MDO patient is a parolee who meets the criteria and is paroled on the condition that he or she receives DMH treatment. The intent of the MDO law is to increase public safety. The goal of the Department of Mental Health is to achieve this public protection through the provision of a safe and effective system of inpatient and outpatient services for Mentally Disordered Offenders. Treatment for MDO patients begins in a state hospital. When CONREP and the hospital treatment team believe a patient can be safely and effectively treated on an outpatient basis,
