Title 44, Health

A person to whom notice is required may appear at the hearing, testify and, within the discretion of the court, present and cross-examine witnesses, and the court may receive the testimony of other persons. The court may hold the hearing in a suitable location in the State, witho…

(A) If the court finds, after presentation of all the evidence, that the child is not in need of judicial admission, the court shall order that he must be discharged if he has been hospitalized before the hearing. (B) If upon completion of the hearing and consideration of the rec…

(A) A family court may order that a child, who is otherwise before the court on another matter, be given a psychiatric evaluation by the appropriate community mental health center. The community mental health center shall schedule the child for the ordered evaluation as soon as p…

A child admitted to an inpatient treatment program must be examined by a member of the professional staff of the program promptly after his admission and must be reviewed by the treatment team within seven days after admission. Promptly after the treatment team review, a formal p…

(A) A child is entitled to have a reexamination on his own petition or that of another interested person to the court of the county from which he was admitted. The treatment program must inform every child and the child's guardian of the right to petition for reexamination. The n…

(A) A child in need of treatment admitted involuntarily to a mental health service which removes him from home, must have his case reviewed by the court within twenty days of admission and every six months. If the review determines the child is no longer in need of mental health …

(A) No child who has been admitted involuntarily to a treatment facility or program may be moved from a less restrictive program to a more restrictive program without court approval. Court approval is not mandatory for moves from more restrictive to less restrictive programs. The…

(A) If a child is found to be a proper subject for voluntary admission, the director of a treatment program or facility shall admit for treatment an individual who is: (1) sixteen years of age or older and who applies for admission; (2) under sixteen years of age if his parent or…

(A) If a child committed to an inpatient facility or a residential treatment program is absent without proper authorization, the facility or program director immediately shall notify the appropriate state and local law enforcement officials and the parent or legal guardian of the…

It is unlawful for a person, without prior authorization from the child's attending physician or his designee, to take a child away or cause him to be taken away from the grounds of an inpatient facility or residential treatment program. A person violating the provisions of this …

No child may be discharged by the Office of Mental Health or private hospital without appropriate discharge planning. A member of the child's treatment team shall coordinate in advance with the child's parent or legal guardian as well as other service providers to ensure continui…

In order to provide community-based treatment as an alternative to hospitalization, the Office of Mental Health shall provide or cause to be provided a range of mental health programs for children in each mental health center recognized by the State. Based on available resources …

Agencies providing services to children or holding legal custody of children are accountable within their legislative mandate to participate in the planning and service provision to a child determined to be in need of treatment. Agencies shall exchange and share records of servic…

A parent or guardian of a child admitted to a treatment program or facility is entitled and expected to confer at reasonable intervals with the treating physician, psychologist, or other members of the treatment team concerning the child's condition, treatment, or diagnosis. The …

A child who is a patient of a treatment facility at all reasonable times may: (1) communicate and consult with the agency or individual having legal custody of him; (2) communicate, consult, and visit with legal counsel and private mental health service providers of his parent's …

(A) A child who is a patient of a treatment program has the right to: (1) receive special education and vocational training in addition to other forms of treatment from the State Department of Education as required by law; (2) participate in play, recreation, physical exercise, a…

No child may be subjected to mechanical or chemical restraints, seclusion, or another form of physical coercion or restraint unless the action is authorized by a physician as being required to prevent a child from taking actions which are dangerous to himself or to others or prev…

When a child sixteen years of age or older is admitted to an inpatient facility at the Office of Mental Health, the probate court of the county in which the child resides or where the child applied for admittance shall appoint a guardian ad litem. The guardian ad litem shall revi…

The director of a treatment program or facility immediately shall discharge to the parent, legal guardian, or agency a voluntarily admitted child who: (1) is no longer in need of that treatment program or facility; or (2) requests his own discharge or whose discharge is requested…

When admitted to the residential program or facility, thirty days after the date of admission, and every six months after, a voluntarily admitted child must be informed in writing of his right to release in language which is appropriate for his age. The child shall sign a stateme…

(A) A child may be admitted to an inpatient hospital for emergency admission upon: (1) written application under oath by an interested person stating: (a) belief that the child is in need of treatment and in danger of harming himself or others as a result of his need for treatmen…

If a child in need of emergency admission cannot be examined by a licensed physician pursuant to Section 44-24-60 because his whereabouts are unknown or for any other reason, the petitioner seeking commitment pursuant to Section 44-24-60 shall execute an affidavit stating that he…

The certificate provided for in Section 44-24-60(A)(2) requires a law enforcement officer, preferably in civilian clothes, to take the child into custody and transport him to the hospital designated by the certification. Upon request, a law enforcement officer shall transport the…

(A) Proceedings for judicial admission to a treatment program or facility begin by an interested person filing a written petition with the court of the county where the child is present or where the child is a resident. The petition must state the factual basis of the person's be…