Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5002 – Determination of mental condition and of procedural compliance as …
No person shall be involuntarily admitted to or confined as an involuntary patient at a designated psychiatric treatment or hospital, and no designated psychiatric treatment facility or hospital shall involuntarily admit or confine as an involuntary patient any person, unless such person is determined to be a person with a mental condition and found to be dangerous to self or dangerous to others in accordance with the procedures prescribed by this chapter, and unless the procedural requirements of this chapter are complied with. A person may not be admitted to or confined as an involuntary patient at a designated psychiatric treatment facility or hospital unless it is determined that such placement is the least restrictive intervention reasonably available and the person has declined voluntary treatment. No person shall be deemed “involuntarily committed” for any legal purpose until the court deems the person an “involuntarily committed” person at the conclusion of a probable cause hearing held pursuant to this chapter.
60 Del. Laws, c. 95, § ?1; 78 Del. Laws, c. 179, §§ ?173, 174; 79 Del. Laws, c. 442, § ?1;
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5002
- Court: means the Superior Court or the Family Court of the State, both of which courts shall have jurisdiction and responsibility for the implementation of this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Dangerous to others: means that by reason of mental condition there is a substantial likelihood that the person will inflict serious bodily harm upon another person within the immediate future. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Dangerous to self: means that by reason of mental condition there is a substantial likelihood that the person will imminently sustain serious bodily harm to oneself. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Hospital: means the Delaware Psychiatric Center and any hospital in this State which is certified by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services as being an appropriate facility for the diagnosis, care and treatment of persons with mental conditions 18 years of age or older. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Involuntary patient: means a person admitted pursuant to emergency detention, provisional admission, a complaint for involuntary civil commitment, a probable cause hearing or an involuntary inpatient commitment hearing to the custody of a designated psychiatric treatment facility or hospital for observation, diagnosis, care and treatment. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Mental condition: means a current, substantial disturbance of thought, mood, perception or orientation which significantly impairs judgment, capacity to control behavior, or capacity to recognize reality. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5001
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Voluntary treatment: means a person voluntarily taking medications as prescribed and following the recommendations of the attending physician or the Division for the management of tuberculosis. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 520