Title LI, Unified Juvenile Code

A parent or other person exercising custodial control or supervision of a child, including a hospital or the state or any interested person, may seek to hospitalize a child who is mentally ill or has symptoms of mental illness by filing a petition for certification with the court…

The petition for certification and all subsequent court documents shall be entitled "In the interest of ..., a child." The petition for certification shall state: (1) The petitioner's relationship to the child; (2) The child's name, age, address and present location; (3) The name…

(1) Upon receipt of a petition for certification, the court shall appoint counsel from the Department of Public Advocacy to represent the child at every stage of the proceedings. (2) Within seven (7) days, exclusive of weekends and holidays, of the filing of a petition, counsel s…

(1) All hearings under this chapter shall be conducted in accordance with the Kentucky Rules of Criminal Procedure unless otherwise provided. (2) Hearings under this chapter may be conducted in an informal manner, consistent with orderly procedures, and in a physical setting not …

(1) Disclosures made by a child during observation, diagnosis, or treatment shall be admissible during the certification hearing under this chapter. (2) No disclosure made by the child under this chapter shall be admissible in any public offense actions or criminal proceedings un…

The burden of proof at the certification and recertification hearings under this chapter shall be on the petitioner to show, by clear and convincing evidence, that: (1) The child is mentally ill or has symptoms of mental illness; (2) The child is dangerous to himself or others; (…

(1) Within three (3) days, exclusive of weekends and holidays, of the conclusion of the certification hearing, the court shall enter an order denying or granting the petition and shall state in writing the factual findings regarding criteria specified in KRS 645.090. (2) If the p…

(1) The certification referred to in this chapter shall be in the form prescribed by the department. The certification shall state that the child has been examined by each of the qualified mental health professionals making the certification within twenty-four (24) hours, excludi…

(1) If the petitioner or other interested person desires to continue a child's hospitalization beyond the initial sixty (60) days, he shall file a petition for recertification before the original sixty (60) days expire. The procedures and rights specified in KRS 645.050 to 645.10…

(1) If, as a result of mental illness, a child appears in need of immediate hospitalization for observation, diagnosis, or treatment, a peace officer or any interested person may either take the child to a hospital, mental health facility, or another less restrictive alternative …

(1) The Administrative Office of the Courts shall assign a court-designated worker, as described in KRS Chapters 600 and 605, to maintain contact with and perform other specific functions on behalf of each child involuntarily hospitalized under this chapter. (2) Under no circumst…

(1) The District Court may continue its jurisdiction over a hospitalized child for six (6) months beyond a child's eighteenth birthday for purposes of continuity of treatment. At the conclusion of the six (6) months, the cabinet may initiate proceedings under KRS Chapter 202A. (2…

patient -- Notice of discharge required. (1) A child hospitalized under this chapter shall receive necessary and appropriate treatment. (2) Except as provided for in KRS 645.120, no child shall be hospitalized involuntarily unless in the opinion of two (2) qualified mental health…

plan. (1) Every hospital which treats children under this chapter shall have a review committee of three (3) qualified mental health professionals appointed by the hospital director. The review committee shall have the authority to review the appropriateness of a patient's indivi…

(1) Upon notice to the court, an authorized staff physician may release an involuntary patient on convalescent leave not to exceed ninety (90) days. The physician may authorize convalescent leave only if he concludes that the patient would not present a danger or a threat of dang…

(1) Any child who was admitted pursuant to KRS 645.030(1)(b) or (c) may give notice of intent to leave at any time. The notice need not follow any specific form so long as it is written and the intent of the child can be discerned. The notice may be written by the child, a court-…

(1) An authorized staff physician of the hospital shall discharge the child from the hospital within five (5) days, exclusive of holidays and weekends, after receipt of a child's notice of intent to leave, unless the hospital, the parent, or other person exercising custodial cont…

(1) After a notice of contest has been received, the hospital may continue the hospitalization on an involuntary basis until a hearing has been held and the court orders otherwise. In no case may the child be held more than fifteen (15) days beyond the filing of the notice of con…

(1) If a child who is at least sixteen (16) years of age is voluntarily admitted to a hospital under this chapter, the hospital shall give notice within twenty-four (24) hours to the child's parents or other person exercising custodial control or supervision, including the state,…

(1) The child, parent or other person exercising custodial control or supervision of a child hospitalized under this chapter shall be entitled to confer at regular intervals with the treating or admitting physician or a member of the child's treatment team concerning the child's …

(1) A child admitted to a hospital pursuant to KRS 645.030 may object to a discharge requested by his parent or other person exercising custodial control or supervision by stating in writing his objection and his desire to remain as a patient. (2) If the hospital desires to conti…

(1) The cabinet may promulgate administrative regulations to implement the provisions of this chapter. (2) The Department of Juvenile Justice may promulgate administrative regulations to implement the provisions of this chapter. (3) The cabinet shall promulgate administrative reg…

Appeals from the final orders or judgments of the court made and entered in proceedings under this chapter shall be taken in the same manner as other appeals from District to Circuit Court.

threat of violence. (1) No monetary liability and no cause of action shall arise against any mental health professional or person serving in a counselor role for failing to predict, warn or take precautions to provide protection from a patient's violent behavior, unless the patie…

(1) No child held under the provisions of this chapter shall be held in a secure juvenile detention facility unless a status offense action or public offense action is also pending. No peace officer or any other person shall bring a status offense action or a public offense actio…

Any person who intentionally causes the unwarranted hospitalization of any individual under this chapter or the denial to any individual of any of the rights accorded to him under this chapter or the administrative regulations issued thereunder shall be guilty of a Class A misdem…