Arizona Laws 36-518. Application for voluntary admission; admission to agency; minors; transportation
A. Pursuant to rules of the administration, any person who is eighteen years of age or older and who manifests the capacity to give and gives informed consent may be hospitalized for evaluation, care and treatment by voluntarily applying in writing on a prescribed form. The agency to which the person applies may accept and admit the person if the medical director of the agency or the admitting officer believes that the person needs evaluation or will benefit from care and treatment of a mental disorder or other personality disorder or emotional condition in the agency. Informed consent may be given by the person’s guardian pursuant to Section 14-5312.01 or agent appointed pursuant to chapter 32, article 6 of this title if that agent was granted the authority to do this by the mental health care power of attorney. If an agent gives informed consent, an evaluation shall be conducted pursuant to section 36-3284.
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 36-518
- Administration: means the Arizona health care cost containment system administration. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Admitting officer: means a psychiatrist or other physician or psychiatric and mental health nurse practitioner with experience in performing psychiatric examinations who has been designated as an admitting officer of the evaluation agency by the person in charge of the evaluation agency. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Adult: means a person who has attained eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Court: means the superior court in the county in this state in which the patient resides or was found before screening or emergency admission under this title. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Department: means the department of health services. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- Director: means the director of the administration. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Evaluation: means :
(a) A professional multidisciplinary analysis that may include firsthand observations or remote observations by interactive audiovisual media and that is based on data describing the person's identity, biography and medical, psychological and social conditions carried out by a group of persons consisting of at least the following:
(i) Two licensed physicians who are qualified psychiatrists, if possible, or at least experienced in psychiatric matters, who shall examine and report their findings independently. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Informed consent: means a voluntary decision following presentation of all facts necessary to form the basis of an intelligent consent by the patient or guardian with no minimizing of known dangers of any procedures. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Mental disorder: means a substantial disorder of the person's emotional processes, thought, cognition or memory. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Minor: means a person under eighteen years of age. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
- Prescribed form: means a form established by a court or the rules of the administration in accordance with the laws of this state. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- Screening agency: means a health care agency that is licensed by the department and that provides those services required of the agency by this chapter. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- State hospital: means the Arizona state hospital. See Arizona Laws 36-501
- Writing: includes printing. See Arizona Laws 1-215
B. Notwithstanding subsection C of this section, and except in the case of an emergency admission, a minor who is in the custody of the juvenile court, who is a ward of the juvenile court as a dependent child or who is adjudicated delinquent or incorrigible shall not be admitted for evaluation or treatment unless approved by the court on application filed by an entity as provided in section 8-272 or 8-273.
C. A minor may be admitted to a mental health agency as defined in section 8-201 by the written application of the parent, guardian or custodian of the minor, or a person designated by the court if the parent, guardian or custodian is without monetary resources to file an application or could not be located after reasonable efforts and the minor is under the supervision of an adult probation department after the following has occurred:
1. A psychiatric investigation by the medical director of the mental health agency that carefully probes the child’s social, psychological and developmental background.
2. An interview with the child by the medical director of the mental health agency.
3. The medical director has explained to the child and the child’s parent, guardian or custodian or to the person designated by the court pursuant to this subsection the program of evaluation or treatment contemplated and its probable length.
4. The medical director has explored and considered available alternatives to inpatient treatment or evaluation.
5. The medical director of a mental health agency has determined whether the child needs an inpatient evaluation or will benefit from care and treatment of a mental disorder or other personality disorder or emotional condition in the agency and whether the evaluation or treatment goals can be accomplished in a less restrictive setting. A record of the reasons for this determination shall be made.
D. If the child’s situation does not satisfy the requirements of subsection C of this section, the application by the parent, guardian or custodian shall be refused.
E. All emergency admissions for mental health evaluation or treatment of children shall be made pursuant to the standards and procedures in article 4 of this chapter.
F. If a parent, guardian or custodian is unavailable after a reasonable effort has been made to locate the parent, guardian or custodian, the court shall appoint a guardian for the child pursuant to Title 14, Chapter 5.
G. The board of supervisors of the county of residence of a person who has submitted an application for admission to the state hospital pursuant to subsection A of this section shall provide transportation to the state hospital for the person if it appears that the person is eligible for voluntary admission to the state hospital after consultation between the state hospital and the evaluation or screening agency. The county is responsible for that expense to the extent the expense is not covered by any third-party payor.