Chapter 19

Section 1. There shall be a department of mental health, in this chapter called the department, and a commissioner of mental health who shall have and shall exercise supervision and control of the department. All action of the department shall be taken by the commissioner, or und…

Section 10. The superintendent of any state hospital or the director of any mental health facility of the department, who has reason to believe that a crime which is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison has been committed by or upon any person on the premises of the par…

Section 11. There shall be a mental health advisory council consisting of fifteen persons to be appointed by the secretary of health and human services, with the approval of the governor, eight of whom shall be members of community mental health area boards, and of the remaining …

Section 11A. Nothing in section 7 of chapter 268A shall prevent a person who has a financial interest, directly or indirectly, in a contract made by the department of mental health from serving as a member of the department's human rights advisory committee. Members of such commi…

Section 12. The department shall establish a comprehensive program of community mental health services which shall include state hospitals, clinics, comprehensive centers and other facilities of the department, and to promote such programs the department shall divide the commonwe…

Section 13. The commissioner shall, after consultation with the area board, appoint in each community mental health area an area director. Such area director shall have such educational qualifications and such administrative and other experience, including education or experience…

Section 14. In each area established under section twelve there shall be a community mental health area board, hereinafter called the area board, which shall be an agency of the commonwealth, and shall serve in the department. The area board shall consist of not fewer than 15 mem…

Section 15. The area board shall have the following duties and powers: (a) to act as the representative of the citizens of the area; (b) to advise regarding local needs and resources in the development of comprehensive mental health services; (c) to advise in the recruitment and …

Section 16. The department shall develop and maintain, subject to appropriation, and in accordance with its standards, a comprehensive, area-based system to provide community mental health services, including specialized services for both children and adults. Major consideration …

Section 16A. (a) Subject to appropriation, the department shall operate a statewide program to provide remote mental health consultations available for a at least 5 days a week to pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners and primary care practices for persons under t…

Section 17. The area board may appoint such advisory committees as it may from time to time deem necessary. The members of such committees shall serve for such terms as the area board may determine.

Section 18. The department may from time to time adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter, and may amend or repeal the same.

Section 19. (a) The department shall issue for a term of 2 years, and may renew for like terms, a license, subject to revocation by the department for cause, to any private, county or municipal facility or department or unit of any such facility that: (i) offers to the public inp…

Section 2. The secretary of health and human services shall appoint, with the approval of the governor, a commissioner of mental health who shall serve at the pleasure of the secretary and may be removed by the secretary at any time, subject to the approval of the governor. Such …

Section 20. Stationary engineers, steam firemen, school teachers and head farmers employed in mental health facilities of the department and, except as otherwise provided by the civil service law and rules, the classified labor service of the department, shall be exempt from chap…

Section 21. Subject to approval by the secretary of health and human services, the commissioner may enter into interagency agreements with the commissioner of developmental services for the coordinated regulation of or for the coordinated or joint management of certain services t…

Section 22. The commissioner of mental health shall be consulted on the design and implementation of the commonwealth's behavioral health services for children, under guidelines established by the secretary of health and human services under section 16S of chapter 6A.

Section 23. There shall be, within the department of mental health, a children's behavioral health research center, the primary mission of which shall be to ensure that the workforce of clinicians and direct care staff providing children's behavioral health services are highly sk…

Section 24. If the department is notified that a child who is eligible for department services is receiving inpatient psychiatric services, the department shall contact the child's parents or guardians and a member of the child's treatment team within 3 business days of being so …

Section 25. (a) Subject to appropriation, within the department of mental health, there shall be a center for responsive training in crisis intervention, in this section hereinafter referred to as the center. The center shall serve as a source for cost-effective, evidence-based m…

Section 26. (a) There shall be an expedited psychiatric inpatient admission advisory council within the department which shall investigate and recommend policies and solutions regarding the emergency department boarding of patients seeking mental health and substance use disorder…

Section 3. The commissioner shall appoint, with the approval of the secretary of health and human services, a person qualified to serve as deputy commissioner of mental health. Said deputy commissioner shall perform such duties as the commissioner may determine and shall, in the …

Section 4. The commissioner shall appoint, subject to appropriation, such other assistant, deputy or associate commissioners as the commissioner may determine to be necessary or desirable to carry out the work of the department. Assistant, deputy and associate commissioners shall…

Section 5. The commissioner shall appoint a member of the Massachusetts bar to serve as legal counsel to the commissioner. Such legal counsel shall devote full time to his duties. Such legal counsel shall have been a member of the bar for not less than six years and shall have be…

Section 6. The commissioner may establish a program for the training of residents in psychiatry and any other professional disciplines as required by departmental programs. Such residents shall be eligible for training grants from the commonwealth. Recipients of said grants shall…

Section 7. The state facilities under the control of the department shall be such state hospitals, mental health centers and other mental health facilities as the commissioner from time to time shall designate in the regulations of the department, including any facilities or port…

Section 8. When a vacancy occurs in the positions of superintendent of a state hospital of the department or director of any other mental health facility of the department, the commissioner shall appoint to such a vacancy a person who has such educational qualifications and such …

Section 8A. The governor shall appoint a board of trustees for the Taunton state hospital and for the Worcester recovery center and hospital. A majority of the members of each such board of trustees shall be consumers and their guardians or family members. Said board shall visit …