BLOOMINGTON - The apparent emotional distress of troubled performer Britney Spears has highlighted the long road some travel before they hit the bottom rung of the mental health ladder.

In and out of treatment in Los Angeles, Spears recently left the hospital over the objection of her psychiatrist, leaving family members to take over her affairs.

Involuntary commitment is a serious step to take, and each state has its own rules for when it can be done.

In Illinois, a new law taking effect this summer could make it easier for people to obtain mental health treatment before they reach such a crisis level.

The new law will expand treatment for anyone who may be unable to understand the need for treatment and is at risk of becoming more seriously ill or engaging in dangerous conduct without medical attention.

"It offers the hope of getting a loved one with mental illness into treatment," said Lora Thomas, executive director of Illinois' National Alliance on Mental Illness. "Illinois can no longer retain the right for people to remain dangerously ill. It means no one needs to hit bottom."

Currently in Illinois, a person may be committed for up to five business days without the patient's consent. After five days, a hearing in court is required to keep the person in the facility.

Locally, crisis teams evaluate people every day for hospitalization to address a mental illness. When the hospital stay is involuntary but in the patient's best interest, a list of strict state guidelines must be followed.

"On a typical day, we screen eight to 12 clients for some type of hospitalization. Within a given week, I'm sure we do a handful of involuntary commitments," said Chris Hays, program manager of crisis and access teams for McLean County Center for Human Services.

The state's criteria for court-ordered treatment are based on an opinion from an adult that, because of mental illness, a person may inflict serious harm upon himself or another. Threatening behavior that suggests such harm meets the criteria. A person who is unable to take care of basic physical needs or guard himself from serious harm without help also may be committed.

The law that becomes effective this summer could provide earlier intervention to people with symptoms of illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

People who stop taking required medications and slip into the symptoms of their illness are among those who will benefit from the new law. Currently, their only help is a brief involuntary commitment while the person resumes their medication and stops being a danger to themselves or others.

The new law must be closely monitored to avoid abuses by family members and others, said Steven Beckett, director of Trial Advocacy at the University of Illinois College of Law.

"The frightening thing about this is some people who should not be committed will be. Well-meaning family relatives may think they should be involuntarily committed because they stop taking pills," Beckett said.

For mentally ill people, a hospital stay can relieve or avert a crisis, Hays said.

"I know we have saved innumerable lives by getting people into the hospital and turning their lives in a different direction," Hays said.