Title 47, Welfare, Social Services, and Institutions

The department may acquire existing facilities for mental health care.

The purpose of AS 47.30.350 — 47.30.400 is to provide for the constructing and equipping of hospitals and other facilities in this state needed for carrying out a comprehensive mental health program, to accept the benefits of 42 U.S.C. 274, and to authorize the department to take…

A person alleged to be of unsound mind found in this state, who has fled from another state, shall, on demand of the executive authority of the state from which the person fled, be delivered up to be removed to the state where, at the time of the flight the person (1) was under d…

If the executive authority of a state demands of the executive authority of this state a fugitive under AS 47.30.410 and produces a copy of the commitment decree or other judicial process and proceedings, certified as authentic by the governor or chief magistrate of the state fro…

All proceedings under AS 47.30.410 — 47.30.460 shall be begun within one year after the flight referred to in AS 47.30.410.

AS 47.30.410 — 47.30.460 shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states that enact it.

In AS 47.30.410 — 47.30.460 (1) “executive authority,” “governor,” and “chief magistrate,” respectively, as applied to a request to return a person under AS 47.30.410 — 47.30.460 to or from the District of Columbia, include a justice of the supreme court of the District of Columb…

AS 47.30.410 — 47.30.460 may be cited as the Uniform Act for the Extradition of Persons of Unsound Mind.

The department shall (1) ascertain and keep current a list of all institutions in the state that have available facilities for the care and treatment of alcoholics and drug abusers; (2) encourage the development and advancement of standards of treatment of alcoholics and drug abu…

(a) A nonprofit corporation, a city or borough government, or other political subdivision of the state, or a combination of these, is eligible for grant-in-aid funds under this section. Applications shall be sent to the department. (b) Money available under this section shall be …

The department shall adopt regulations implementing AS 47.30.475. The regulations must provide for the method of application, the time for consideration of applications, the processing of applications, the type of record keeping, the requirements for reporting the progress and st…

The superior courts of this state may take judicial notice of the fact that an alcoholic is suffering from an illness and is in need of proper medical, advisory, or rehabilitative treatment.

The department may accept on behalf of the state and deposit, apart from other public funds, grants from the federal government or gifts or contributions from other sources to assist in carrying out the purposes of AS 47.30.470.

In AS 47.30.470 — 47.30.490, (1) “alcoholism” means a condition related to alcohol and concerns a physical compulsion which exists, coupled with a mental obsession; (2) “costs of improvement, renovation, or new construction of facilities” includes, in addition to costs directly r…

It is the purpose of the Community Mental Health Services Act to (1) provide a range of community-based inpatient, outpatient, and support services for persons with mental disorders; (2) assist communities in planning, organizing, and financing community mental health services th…

(a) It is the policy of the state that (1) the community mental health program provide a comprehensive and integrated system of community-based facilities, supports, and mental health services, including child and adolescent screening and diagnosis, inpatient, outpatient, prevent…

(a) The department shall administer the provisions of AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620 and shall (1) define and develop standards for various levels and qualities of mental health care; (2) provide fiscal and professional technical assistance in planning, organizing, developing, implemen…

(a) A city or borough government or other political subdivision of the state, a nonprofit corporation, or a combination of these, is eligible to receive funds and administer local programs under AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620. In order to ensure equitable access to funds and programs t…

The entities designated by the department to receive money under AS 47.30.540(b) shall provide one or more of the services that are set out in AS 44.25.290(i) to persons identified in AS 44.25.290.

An entity that provides community mental health services shall (1) make services available at times and locations that enable residents of the entity's service area to obtain services readily; (2) ensure each client's right to confidentiality and treatment with dignity; (3) estab…

(a) In a district designated by the department as a poverty area, the department may fund not more than 90 percent of the eligible costs of the community mental health services to be furnished under an entity's approved plan. (b) In a district that has not been designated by the …

The contracts for services provided for in AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620 shall be reviewed, revised if necessary, and approved at the expiration of each contract year. A contract shall be approved if the department finds that the community entity has complied with its plan, AS 47.30.5…

The department shall adopt regulations specifying the types of services and program costs eligible for state participation. These regulations must include (1) a provision excluding capital expenditures as eligible costs; and (2) a requirement that the community entity contractor …

Plans and regulations adopted under AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620 must allow local programs sufficient administrative and program flexibility so that local community mental health programs may be joined with other programs such as intellectual and developmental disability programs, dr…

(a) An entity designated by the department under AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620 may provide community mental health services authorized under AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620 through telehealth to a patient in this state. (b) If an individual employed by an entity designated by the department …

(a) The department shall adopt regulations to assure patient rights and to safeguard the confidential nature of records and information about the recipients of services provided under this chapter. The regulations must require that entities identified in AS 47.30.540(b) develop a…

In AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.610, (1) “authority” means the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority established in AS 44.25.200; (2) “department” means the Department of Health; (3) “persons with mental disorders” means persons with disorders currently included within nationally accepted…

AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620 may be cited as the Community Mental Health Services Act.

The purpose of the 1981 major revision of Alaska civil commitment statutes (AS 47.30.660 and 47.30.670 — 47.30.915) is to more adequately protect the legal rights of persons suffering from mental illness. The legislature has attempted to balance the individual's constitutional ri…

(a) The Department of Family and Community Services and the Department of Health, in cooperation, shall (1) prepare, and periodically revise and amend, a plan for an integrated comprehensive mental health program, as that term is defined by AS 44.25.290(i); the preparation of the…

A person 18 years of age or older may be voluntarily admitted to a treatment facility if the person is suffering from mental illness and voluntarily signs the admission papers.

(a) Upon the application of a person for voluntary admission, or at the time a person admitted under AS 47.30.690 reaches the age of 18, the person shall be given a copy of the following documents which shall be explained as necessary: (1) notice of rights as set out in AS 47.30.…

A patient who no longer meets the standards established in AS 47.30.670 shall be discharged from the treatment facility.

A voluntary patient who is 18 years of age or older and who desires to leave a treatment facility shall submit to the facility a request to leave on a form provided by the facility. When the investigation is completed, the patient shall be evaluated immediately in writing and dis…

(a) A minor under the age of 18 may be admitted for 30 days of evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment at a designated treatment facility if the minor's parent or guardian signs the admission papers and if, in the opinion of the professional person in charge, (1) the minor is gravel…

When a minor under 18 years of age is detained at or admitted or committed to a treatment facility, the facility shall inform the parent or guardian of the location of the minor as soon as possible after the arrival of the minor at the facility. When an adult for whom a guardian …

The parent or guardian of a minor who is less than 18 years of age may file a notice to withdraw the minor from the facility. On receipt of the notice, (1) the facility may discharge the minor to the custody of the parent or guardian; or (2) if, in the opinion of the treating phy…

(a) Upon petition of any adult, a judge shall immediately conduct a screening investigation or direct a local mental health professional employed by the department or by a local mental health program that receives money from the department under AS 47.30.520 — 47.30.620 or anothe…

(a) A peace officer, health officer, mental health professional, or physician assistant licensed by the State Medical Board to practice in this state who has probable cause to believe that a person is gravely disabled or is suffering from mental illness and is likely to cause ser…

(a) If a person who has been charged with a felony offense against a person under AS 11.41 or felony arson has been found incompetent to proceed under AS 12.47, before the charges are dismissed, an attorney with the Department of Law shall petition a court to have the person deli…

(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, when a crisis stabilization center admits a respondent under AS 47.30.705, the crisis stabilization center may hold the respondent at the center for a period not to exceed 23 hours and 59 minutes. A mental health professional shall e…

(a) A respondent who is delivered to a crisis residential center for emergency examination and treatment shall be examined and evaluated as to mental and physical condition by a mental health professional within three hours after arrival at the facility. (b) The mental health pro…

(a) If, at any time during a respondent's hold at a crisis stabilization center or detention at a crisis residential center, the professional person in charge determines that the respondent does not meet the standard for a hold or detention, the respondent may no longer be held o…

(a) A respondent who is delivered under AS 47.30.700 — 47.30.706 to an evaluation facility for examination and treatment shall be examined and evaluated as to mental and physical condition by a mental health professional and by a physician within 24 hours after arrival at the fac…

(a) After the court grants an ex parte order authorizing hospitalization for evaluation, the department shall immediately transport a person who is detained at a medical or other facility, including a correctional facility, to a crisis residential center or evaluation facility fo…

If at any time in the course of the 72-hour period the mental health professionals conducting the evaluation determine that the respondent does not meet the standards for commitment specified in AS 47.30.700, the respondent shall be discharged from the facility or the place of ev…