Title 19 — Health
55 chapters · 745 sections in this title.
19 V.I.C. § 1000 Short title, policy, and purpose
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(a) This chapter may be cited as The Virgin Islands Behavioral Health Act. (b) This chapter is responsible for the direction of behavioral health programs in public and private facilities and for the promotion and guidance of behavioral health, both mental health and substance us…
19 V.I.C. § 1001 Definitions
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(1) For purposes of this chapter and related chapters, unless the context otherwise indicates:(1) “9-8-8” means the universal telephone number for the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline system within the United States operating through the National Suici…
19 V.I.C. § 1002 Establishment of a Behavioral Health Treatment Facility
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(a) The Governor of the Virgin Islands shall establish at least one public Behavioral Health Treatment Facility in the Virgin Islands; comprising of residential treatment, transitional care, detox and day treatment services. The behavioral health treatment facility must house tho…
19 V.I.C. § 1003 Persons who may be admitted into the Behavioral Health Treatment Facility
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(a) All residents of the Virgin Islands may be admitted into the Behavioral Health Treatment Facility as a patient, including but not limited to:(a) Persons who have been adjudged by the Superior Court and ordered to be conveyed to the behavioral health treatment facility and who…
19 V.I.C. § 1004 Standards for public and private treatment facilities, enforcement procedures, penalties
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(a) The Director shall use standards established by the Joint Commission on Accreditation for approved treatment facilities that must be met for a treatment facility to be approved as a public or private treatment facility and establish the fees to be charged by the Division of B…
19 V.I.C. § 1005 Regulations
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(a) The Commissioner shall adopt regulations for acceptance of persons into the treatment program, considering available treatment resources and facilities, for the purpose of early and effective treatment of behavioral health challenges, mental health disorders, substance use di…
19 V.I.C. § 1006 Patients’ rights
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(a) Every patient in a behavioral health facility or residential care facility is entitled to exercise all civil rights, including, but not limited to, the right to civil service status, the right to vote, rights relating to the granting, renewal, forfeiture or denial of a licens…
19 V.I.C. § 1007 Funding sources
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(a) The Commissioner may receive and use for the purposes of community behavioral health services, for purposes of facilities for the persons with intellectual disabilities and for other purposes of this chapter, money appropriated by the Government of the Virgin Islands, grants …
19 V.I.C. § 1008 Transfer to other facilities
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The Commissioner may transfer, or authorize the transfer of, a patient from one hospital or facility to another within the Territory if the Commissioner determines that it would be consistent with the medical or psychiatric needs of the patient. Before a patient is transferred, t…
19 V.I.C. § 1009 Hospitalization outside of the Territory
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If a person ordered to be hospitalized under this chapter needs to receive hospital care or treatment by any agency or facility in the United States, the court, upon receipt of a confirmation from the agency or facility, showing what facilities are available and that the person i…
19 V.I.C. § 1010 Expense of transportation
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(a) The expense of conveying all indigent patients to a behavioral health hospital must be borne by the Government of the Virgin Islands and must be paid upon sworn account of the officer or person performing the service. (b) Any patient who is non-indigent and can pay for his su…
19 V.I.C. § 1011 Discharge
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(a) The Administrator of a behavioral health treatment facility or qualified designee or medical director of a public or private hospital, as often as practicable, but no less than every 30 days, shall examine or cause to be examined every patient to determine that patient’s stat…
19 V.I.C. § 1012 Confidentiality of records of persons
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The registration and other records of treatment facilities must remain confidential and are privileged to the patient except for purposes of research into the causes and treatment of behavioral, mental, and substance use disorder. Information under this subsection must not be pub…
19 V.I.C. § 1013 Prohibited acts; penalty
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(a) A person is guilty of causing unwarranted hospitalization as defined in section 1001(46) if the person willfully causes the unwarranted hospitalization of any person under this chapter. (b) A person is guilty of causing a denial of rights if the person willfully causes the de…
19 V.I.C. § 1014 Duties regarding behavioral health services
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(a) The Commissioner is responsible for providing all-inclusive services for people who suffer from behavioral health challenges or behavioral health disorders who otherwise cannot be served by the community service networks. The Department may develop contracts to deliver safety…
19 V.I.C. § 1015 Division of Behavioral Health, Mental Health, or Substance-Use Disorders; Director; bureaus; bureau Chiefs
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The Division of Behavioral Health is established within the Department. The Division is under the supervision of the Commissioner and headed by a Director. The Director must be a licensed medical practitioner in the field of behavioral health or mental health or a qualified profe…
19 V.I.C. § 1016 Powers of the Director
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(1) The Director with the advice and consent of the Commissioner shall:(1) Plan, establish and maintain treatment, education, training and prevention programs as necessary or desirable in relation to Behavioral Health, Mental Health, and Substance Use Disorder;(2) Administer or s…
19 V.I.C. § 1017 Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee
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(a) An Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee is established and composed of the Commissioners of Health, Education, Human Services, Police, Director of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Chair of the Virgin Islands Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation, the Director, and oth…
19 V.I.C. § 1018 Behavioral Health Council of the Virgin Islands
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(a) To promote high-quality adult behavioral health services, this section establishes the Behavioral Health Council of the Virgin Islands (“the Council”) to provide an effective, independent consumer voice in an advisory capacity in the development of public policy and resource …
19 V.I.C. § 1019 Community Service Networks
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(a) The Commissioner of Health or the Commissioner’s designee shall establish and oversee Community Service Networks. A Community Service Network must be established on each of the three islands with the collective responsibility to coordinate and ensure continuity of care within…
19 V.I.C. § 1020 Crisis Intervention Program
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(a) The Director with the approval of the Commissioner shall establish Crisis Intervention and Prevention Services. This is a community-based program shall provide counseling, consultation, evaluation, treatment and referral, education, and training services, delivered by a crisi…
19 V.I.C. § 1020a 9-8-8 Trust Fund
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(a) The 9-8-8 Trust Fund is established as a separate and distinct non-lapsing fund in the Treasury of the Government of the Virgin Islands. The funds must be used to maintain a territory-wide 9-8-8 suicide prevention and mental health crisis system pursuant to the National Suici…
19 V.I.C. § 1021 Crisis Intervention Team established
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(a) The Department’s Behavioral Health Division shall establish and operate one CIT in each district, to provide crisis intervention on a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week basis to persons who suffer from behavioral health challenges or mental health disorders and to provide crisis intervent…
19 V.I.C. § 1022 Behavioral health training; purpose, training for law enforcement and education personnel
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(a) The purpose of this section is to provide for training of law enforcement officers, who are most often the first responders in a behavioral health emergency, to recognize the signs and symptoms of behavioral health challenges or mental health disorders and to respond more eff…
19 V.I.C. § 1023 Protective custody
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(a) When a law enforcement officer or crisis intervention personnel has probable cause to believe that a person may be suffering from behavioral health challenge, mental health disorder, or substance use disorder and that due to that condition the person presents a threat of harm…
19 V.I.C. § 1024a Emergency commitment
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(a) A treating medical practitioner, behavioral health professional, spouse, guardian, or relative of the person to be committed, or any other responsible person with personal knowledge of the person sought to be committed, may make a written application/petition under oath for e…
19 V.I.C. § 1024b Petition not required for treatment not to exceed five days
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(a) No petition of commitment is necessary if the person is treated and released within five days by the medical practitioner or the hospital or facility. The medical practitioner shall still treat the person, and if the medical practitioner determines that person is no longer a …
19 V.I.C. § 1024c Detention pending judicial determination
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(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subchapter, a person, with respect to whom a Certification of Commitment for the issuance of an order for hospitalization has been filed, shall not be released, or discharged during the pendency of the proceedings, unless:(1) The c…
19 V.I.C. § 1025 Voluntary treatment of person suffering from behavioral health challenges, mental health disorders or substance use disorders
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(a) Any persons suffering behavioral health challenges, mental health disorders or substance use disorders may voluntarily seek treatment at an approved public treatment facility or hospital. If the person is a minor or a person declared to be incompetent, the facility must notif…
19 V.I.C. § 1026 Involuntary commitment of persons diagnosed with behavioral health challenges, mental health disorders, substance use disorder, or dual diagnose into a behavioral health treatment facility or hospital
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(a) A person may be committed to the custody of the Department of Health by the Superior Court for observation, diagnosis, care, and treatment upon the petition of a spouse or guardian, a relative, the certifying or treating medical practitioner, behavioral health professional, c…
19 V.I.C. § 1027 Involuntary treatment with medication
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(a) A person may be ordered and administered treatment or medication only in conformance with this section. For the purposes of this section, involuntary treatment is limited to medication for the treatment of persons who suffer from behavioral health challenges or disorders and …
19 V.I.C. § 1028 Determination of mental competency to stand trial: post-release proceedings; hearing; admissibility of findings; discharge
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(a) At any time after the start of a prosecution for a criminal offense and prior to the sentencing of the defendant, or at any time after the commencement of probation or supervised release and prior to the completion of the sentence, the defendant, his attorney, or the Attorney…
19 V.I.C. § 1029 Insanity as a Defense
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(a) Upon the filing of a notice, as provided in Virgin Islands Rules of Criminal Procedure, that the defendant intends to rely on the defense of insanity, the court sua sponte, or upon motion of the Attorney General, shall order that a psychiatric or psychological examination of …
19 V.I.C. § 1030 Hospitalization of a convicted person suffering from behavioral disorder or mental disorder
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A defendant found guilty of an offense, or the defendant’s attorney or the Attorney General, not later than 10 days after the defendant is found guilty, and prior to the time the defendant is sentenced, may file a motion for a hearing on the present mental condition of the convic…
19 V.I.C. § 1031 Hearing
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The person whose mental condition is the subject of the hearing must be represented by counsel and, if the person is financially unable to obtain representation, the court shall appoint counsel for the person. The person must be afforded an opportunity to testify, to present evid…
19 V.I.C. § 1032 Determination and disposition
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(a) If, after the hearing, the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the convicted person is presently suffering from a behavioral disorder or mental health disorder and that the person in lieu of being sentenced to imprisonment, should be committed to an approved t…
19 V.I.C. § 1033 Discharge
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When the administrator of the facility in which the convicted person is hospitalized determines that the convicted person has been stabilized and is compliant with the treatment for their behavioral disorder or mental health disorder to such an extent that the person is no longer…
19 V.I.C. § 1034 Hospitalization of a person due for release from incarceration, but suffering from behavioral health challenges or mental health disorders
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(a) The director of the Bureau of Corrections shall notify the Division of Behavioral Health that the sentence of a person in the custody of the Bureau of Corrections is about to expire and the person is presently suffering from a behavioral health challenge or a mental health di…
19 V.I.C. § 1035 Psychiatric or psychological examination and report
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(a) The court may order the Department of Health, Division of Behavioral Health to conduct a psychiatric or psychological examination of a person. The cost of the report(s) must be paid as determined by the court. A psychiatric or psychological report ordered by the court must be…
19 V.I.C. § 1036 Return of Escaped Patients
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If any person confined in the behavioral health treatment hospital or institution escapes from the facility, law enforcement officers or officers within the Division of Behavioral Health shall apprehend and return the person to the Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities…
19 V.I.C. § 1037 Habeas corpus unimpaired
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Nothing contained in sections 1028, 1029, or 1034 precludes a person who is committed under any the sections from establishing by writ of habeas corpus the illegality of the person’s detention.
19 V.I.C. § 1038 Severability; inconsistency with other provisions
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If any provision of this subchapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the remaining provisions of this chapter.
19 V.I.C. § 1039 Discretionary authority of court; examination, report, and determination by court; termination of civil commitment
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(a) If the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands has reason to believe that an eligible person suffers from substance use disorder, the court may advise the person at the person’s first appearance that the prosecution of the criminal charge will be held in abeyance if the person e…
19 V.I.C. § 1040 Civil commitment not a conviction; use of test results
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The determination of substance use disorder, and the subsequent civil commitment under this subchapter may not be deemed a criminal conviction. The results of any tests or procedures conducted by the Commissioner of Health or the supervisory aftercare authority to determine addic…
19 V.I.C. § 1041 Compensation of physicians and counsel; source of funds
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Physicians appointed by the court to examine any person pursuant to this subchapter and counsel assigned by the court to represent any person in commitment proceedings under this subchapter are entitled to reasonable compensation, in an amount to be determined by the court, to be…
19 V.I.C. § 1043 Penalties; escape or rescue from custody
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Any person who escapes or attempts to escape while committed to institutional custody for examination or treatment under this subchapter, or any person who rescues or attempts to rescue or instigates, aids, or assists the escape or attempts to assist the escape of the person, is …
19 V.I.C. § 1044 False statements
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Any person who knowingly makes any false statement to the Attorney General in any petition of this subchapter is subject to the penalty prescribed in title 14 V.I.C. § 843.
19 V.I.C. § 1101 Definitions
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(a) As used in this subchapter, the following terms have the following meanings:(a) “Bodily injury” means any act, except one done in self-defense, that results in physical injury or sexual abuse.(b) “Community member” means a licensed health-care professional or behavioral healt…
19 V.I.C. § 1102 Petition for temporary extreme risk protection order
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(a) A family or household member of the respondent, a community member, licensed healthcare professional, behavioral health professional, or a law enforcement officer or agency may request a temporary extreme risk protection order without notice to the respondent by including in …
19 V.I.C. § 1103 Petition for an extreme risk protection order
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(a) A family or household member of the respondent, a community member, licensed healthcare professional, behavioral health professional, or a law enforcement officer, or agency may file a petition for an extreme risk protection order that sets forth detailed allegations based on…