Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment of Minors Act; mandatory outpatient treatment; etc. (SB1122)

Introduced By

Sen. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth)

Description

Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment of Minors Act; outpatient treatment; etc.  Provides that a person who meets the criteria for involuntary commitment under the Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment of Minors Act may be ordered to mandatory outpatient treatment if less restrictive alternatives to involuntary inpatient treatment are appropriate and are available and the minor and his parents have the capacity to understand the stipulations of the minor's treatment and to comply with such outpatient treatment and that they have agreed to abide by the treatment plan. The bill also sets forth how such mandatory outpatient treatment will be monitored and how a minor's noncompliance with such treatment will be addressed. The bill also clarifies that the commitment criteria for minors, and not the criteria for adults, apply when the emergency admission of a minor is sought under the procedures for the emergency admission of an adult set forth in Article 4 ( 37.2-808 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 37.2. The bill also provides that a minor who has been properly detained by a juvenile and domestic relations court may petition for voluntary admission and treatment of mental illness. Currently, such detained minors may not voluntarily seek admission. The bill further requires that if a minor is in a detention home or shelter care facility when admitted to a mental health facility, the director of the detention home or shelter care facility or his designee shall provide, if available, certain information relating to the minor to the mental health facility and to the juvenile and domestic relations district court for the jurisdiction in which the facility is located if such court is different than the court that placed the minor in detention or shelter care. The bill also clarifies under what circumstances the qualified evaluator who examined the minor must attend the minor's hearing and under what circumstances the evaluator's report is admissible. Amends § 16.1-336 (“Definitions.”), § 16.1-339.1 (“Minors in detention homes or shelter care facilities.”), § 16.1-342 (“Involuntary commitment; clinical evaluation.”), § 16.1-344 (“Involuntary commitment; hearing.”), § 16.1-345 (“Involuntary commitment; criteria.”), § 16.1-345.1 (“Use of electronic communication.”), § 37.2-808 (“Emergency custody; issuance and execution of order.”), § 37.2-809 (“Involuntary temporary detention; issuance and execution of order.”), of the Code of Virginia. View Full Text »

Outcome

No Richmond Sunlight visitors voted on this bill while voting was open.