Title 18, Health

§ 7103. Disclosure of information (a) All certificates, applications, records, and reports, other than an order of a court made for the purposes of this part of this title, and directly or indirectly identifying a patient or former patient or an individual whose hospitalization o…

§ 7104. Wrongful hospitalization or denial of rights; fraud; elopement A person shall be fined not more than $500.00 or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, if he or she willfully causes, or conspires with or assists another to cause: (1) the hospitalization of an individu…

§ 7105. Arrest of eloped persons Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, constable, or officer of state or local police, and any officer or employee of any designated hospital or designated program may arrest any person who has eloped from a designated hospital or designated program and ret…

§ 7106. Notice of hospitalization and discharge Whenever a patient has been admitted to a hospital other than upon the patient’s own application, the head of the hospital shall immediately notify the patient’s legal guardian, spouse, parent, or parents, or nearest known relative …

§ 7107. Extramural work Any hospital in the State dealing with mental health may do, or procure to be done, extramural work in the way of prevention, observation, care, and consultation with respect to mental health. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amen…

§ 7109. Sale of articles; revolving fund (a) The superintendent of a hospital or training school may sell articles made by the patients or students in the handiwork or occupational therapy departments of the institution and the proceeds thereof shall be credited to a revolving fu…

§ 7110. Certification of mental illness A certification of mental illness by a licensed physician required by section 7504 of this title shall be made by a board-eligible psychiatrist, a board-certified psychiatrist, or a resident in psychiatry, under penalty of perjury. In areas…

§ 7111. Right to legal counsel In any proceeding before, or notice to, a court of this State involving a patient or student, or a proposed patient or student, that person shall be afforded counsel, and if the patient or student or proposed patient or student is unable to pay for …

§ 7112. Appeals A patient may appeal any decision of the Board. The appeal shall be to the Family Division of the Superior Court of the county where the hospital is located. The appeal shall be taken in such manner as the Supreme Court may by rule provide, except that there shall…

§ 7113. Independent examination; payment Whenever a court orders an independent examination by a mental health professional or a qualified developmental disabilities professional pursuant to this title or 13 V.S.A. § 4822, the cost of the examination shall be paid by the Departme…

§ 7114. Safety policies for employees delivering direct social or mental health services (a) The Secretary of Human Services, in consultation with each department of the Agency, shall establish and maintain a workplace violence prevention and crisis response policy for the benefi…

§ 7115. Prohibited uses of artificial intelligence (a) As used in this section: (1) “Artificial intelligence” means an engineered or machine-based system that varies in its level of autonomy and that can, for explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it receives how t…

§ 7201. Mental health (a) The Department of Mental Health, as the successor to the Division of Mental Health Services of the Department of Health, shall centralize and more efficiently establish the general policy and execute the programs and services of the State concerning ment…

§ 7202. Coordination The Department of Mental Health shall be responsible for coordinating efforts of all agencies and services, government and private, on a statewide basis in order to promote and improve the mental health of individuals through outreach, education, and other ac…

§ 7204. Planning; grants; clinics The Department is the authority in this State for planning a comprehensive mental health program. It may apply for and receive grants from the federal government and other sources for that planning. It shall operate such clinics and other mental …

§ 7205. Supervision of institutions (a) The Department of Mental Health shall operate the Vermont State Hospital or its successor in interest and shall be responsible for patients receiving involuntary treatment. (b) The Commissioner of the Department of Mental Health, in consult…

§ 7206. Recommendations and reports The Department shall from time to time study comprehensively the mental health problems of the State, develop programs for mental health services, and recommend as to the integration within the Department of any other related agencies and servi…

§ 7207. Commissioner of Mental Health; appointment; qualifications The Secretary shall appoint a Commissioner of Mental Health, as provided in 3 V.S.A. § 3051, who shall be a mental health care professional who has had educational and practical experience in the field of mental h…

§ 7208. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Adult foster care” shall have the same meaning as in 33 V.S.A. § 502. (2) “Home care services” shall have the same meaning as in 33 V.S.A. § 502. (Added 2007, No. 37, § 2.)

§ 7251. Principles for mental health care reform The General Assembly adopts the following principles as a framework for reforming the mental health care system in Vermont: (1) The State of Vermont shall meet the needs of individuals with a mental condition or psychiatric disabil…

§ 7252. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Adult outpatient services” means flexible services responsive to individuals’ preferences, needs, and values that are necessary to stabilize, restore, or improve the level of social functioning and well-being of individuals with a…

§ 7253. Clinical resource management and oversight The Commissioner of Mental Health, in consultation with health care providers as defined in section 9432 of this title, including designated hospitals, designated agencies, individuals with mental conditions or psychiatric disabi…

§ 7254. Integration of the treatment for mental health, substance abuse, and physical health (a) The Director of Health Care Reform and the Commissioners of Mental Health, of Health, and of Vermont Health Access and the Green Mountain Care Board or designees shall ensure that the…

§ 7255. System of care The Commissioner of Mental Health shall coordinate a geographically diverse system and continuum of mental health care throughout the State that shall include at least the following: (1) comprehensive and coordinated community services, including prevention…

§ 7256. Reporting requirements Notwithstanding 2 V.S.A. § 20(d), the Department of Mental Health shall report annually on or before January 15 to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and the House Committee on Health Care regarding the extent to which individuals with a men…

§ 7257. Reportable adverse events (a) An acute inpatient hospital, an intensive residential recovery facility, a designated agency, a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth, a forensic facility, or a secure residential recovery facility shall report to the Departmen…

§ 7257a. Mental Health Crisis Response Commission (a) There is created the Mental Health Crisis Response Commission within the Office of the Attorney General for the following purposes: (1) to conduct reviews of law enforcement interactions with persons acting in a manner that cr…

§ 7257b. Emergency Service Provider Wellness Commission (a) As used in this section: (1) “Chief executive of an emergency service provider organization” means a person in charge of an organization that employs or supervises emergency service providers in their official capacity. …

§ 7257c. Confidentiality; peer support for emergency service providers (a) As used in this section: (1)(A) “Emergency service peer support specialist” means an individual who: (i) has been designated by an employer to serve as a member of an employer-based peer support program or…

§ 7258. Review of adverse community events The Department of Mental Health shall establish a system that ensures the comprehensive review of a death or serious bodily injury occurring outside an acute inpatient hospital when the individual causing or victimized by the death or se…

§ 7259. Mental Health Care Ombudsman (a) The Department of Mental Health shall establish the Office of the Mental Health Care Ombudsman within the agency designated by the Governor as the protection and advocacy system for the State pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 10801 et seq. The agenc…

§ 7260. Mental health response service guidelines (a) The Department shall develop guidelines for use by municipalities, including use by emergency medical technicians and public safety personnel, such as law enforcement officers as defined by 20 V.S.A. § 2351a and firefighters a…

§ 7261. Psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth (a) A person or governmental entity shall not establish, maintain, or operate a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth without first obtaining a license from the Department of Health in accordance with thi…

§ 7301. Creation The State Board of Mental Health is created. It shall consist of seven persons, two of whom are physicians and one an attorney. A member may not be a trustee, officer, or employee of any institution for mental patients. Biennially, the Governor shall appoint, wit…

§ 7302. Subcommittee on institutions The Board may delegate to a subcommittee on institutions, composed of two doctors and a lawyer, its functions under sections 7305, 7306, and 7308-7313 of this title, and the action of a majority of the subcommittee shall be that of the Board. …

§ 7304. Persons not hospitalized The Board shall have general jurisdiction of persons with an intellectual disability or mental illness who have been discharged from a hospital by authority of the Board. It shall also have jurisdiction of persons with a mental illness or intellec…

§ 7305. Powers of Board The Board may administer oaths, summon witnesses before it in a case under investigation, and discharge by its order, in writing, any person confined as a patient in a hospital whom it finds on investigation to be wrongfully hospitalized or in a condition …

§ 7309. Referrals from Governor The Governor may refer the case of a patient in a hospital to the Board for its investigation. The Board shall investigate the case and by its order grant such relief as each case requires. If the Board is without power to grant the necessary relie…

§ 7310. Petition for inquiry The attorney or guardian of a patient or any other interested party may apply to the Board to inquire into the treatment and hospitalization of a patient, and the Board shall take appropriate action upon the application. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Ses…

§ 7311. Investigation If, in the judgment of the Board, an investigation is necessary, it shall appoint a time and place for hearing and give the patient’s attorney, guardian, spouse, parent, adult child, or interested party, if any, in that order, and the head of the hospital re…

§ 7312. Penalty; failure to obey summons A person legally summoned as a witness before the Board on behalf of the State, or summoned by other parties with a tender of his or her fees, which shall be the same as those allowed witnesses in a Criminal Division of the Superior Court,…

§ 7313. Board shall visit institution The Board shall ascertain by examination and inquiry whether the laws relating to individuals in custody or control are properly observed and may use all necessary means to collect all desired information. It shall carefully inspect every par…

§ 7314. Reciprocal agreements The Board may enter into reciprocal agreements with corresponding state agencies of other states regarding the interstate transportation or transfer of persons with a psychiatric or intellectual disability and arrange with the proper officials in thi…

§ 7315. Definition As used in this chapter, the term “hospital” shall include a secure residential recovery facility as defined in subsection 7620(e) of this title. (Added 2011, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. May 17, 2012.)

§ 7401. Powers and duties Except insofar as this part of this title specifically confers certain powers, duties, and functions upon others, the Commissioner shall be charged with its administration. The Commissioner may: (1) With the approval of the Governor, organize the Agency,…

§ 7402. Records and reports The Commissioner shall keep records of all commitments and admissions to a hospital and shall secure compliance with the laws relating thereto. The Commissioner shall report biennially to the Governor and the General Assembly on the condition of hospit…