Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 53 > Chapter 21 - Mentally Ill

• Abuse: means any willful, negligent, or reckless mental, physical, sexual, or verbal mistreatment or maltreatment or misappropriation of personal property of any person receiving treatment in a mental health facility that insults the psychosocial, physical, or sexual integrity of any person receiving treatment in a mental health facility. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Adult: means an individual who is 18 years of age or older. See Montana Code 53-21-1401
• Agent: means a person designated in a directive to make health care decisions for the principal granting power. See Montana Code 53-21-1302
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Baseline: Projection of the receipts, outlays, and other budget amounts that would ensue in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
• Behavioral health inpatient facility: means a facility or a distinct part of a facility of 16 beds or less licensed by the department that is capable of providing secure, inpatient psychiatric services, including services to persons with mental illness and co-occurring chemical dependency. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
• Commitment: means an order by a court requiring an individual to receive treatment for a mental disorder. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Committee on committees: Committees formed in each party conference and responsible for nominating the party's Senators to committee membership and committee leadership positions. Nominations are subject to approval by the full party conference and to a formal vote of the Senate.
• Community mental health center: means a licensed mental health center that provides comprehensive public mental health services in a multicounty region under contract with the department, counties, or one or more service area authorities. See Montana Code 53-21-1001
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Court: means any district court of the state of Montana. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Crisis: means a serious, unexpected situation resulting from an individual's apparent mental illness in which the individual's symptoms are of sufficient severity, as determined by a mental health practitioner, to require immediate care to avoid:

  (a)jeopardy to the life or health of the individual; or

  (b)death or bodily harm to the individual or to others. See Montana Code 53-21-1401

• Crisis stabilization: means development and implementation of a short-term intervention to respond to a crisis in order to:

  (a)reduce the severity of an individual's symptoms of mental illness; and

  (b)attempt to prevent the individual from receiving services in a more restrictive environment. See Montana Code 53-21-1401

• Department: means the department of public health and human services provided for in 2-15-2201. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Directive: means a mental health care advance directive or any part of a mental health care advance directive. See Montana Code 53-21-1302
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Emergency situation: means :

  (a)a situation in which any person is in imminent danger of death or bodily harm from the activity of a person who appears to be suffering from a mental disorder and appears to require commitment; or

  (b)a situation in which any person who appears to be suffering from a mental disorder and appears to require commitment is substantially unable to provide for the person's own basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, health, or safety. See Montana Code 53-21-102

• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• facility: means the state hospital, the Montana mental health nursing care center, or a hospital, a behavioral health inpatient facility, a mental health center, a residential treatment facility, or a residential treatment center licensed or certified by the department that provides treatment to children or adults with a mental disorder. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• form: means one of the types of local government enumerated in 7-3-102 and the type of government described in 7-3-111. See Montana Code 7-3-122
• Friend of respondent: means any person willing and able to assist a person suffering from a mental disorder and requiring commitment or a person alleged to be suffering from a mental disorder and requiring commitment in dealing with legal proceedings, including consultation with legal counsel and others. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Governing body: means the commission or the town meeting legislative body established in the alternative form of a local government under Title 7, chapter 3, parts 1 through 7. See Montana Code 7-3-122
• 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.
• Health care provider: means a person who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the laws of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. See Montana Code 53-21-1302
• Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
• Incapacitated: means that a person is determined by the supervising health care provider or a court to lack the ability to give or withhold consent for medical care. See Montana Code 53-21-1302
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensed mental health center: means an entity licensed by the department of public health and human services to provide mental health services and has the same meaning as mental health center as defined in 50-5-101. See Montana Code 53-21-1001
• Majority party: means the party with the most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
• mental disabilities board of visitors: means the mental disabilities board of visitors created by 2-15-211. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Mental disorder: means any organic, mental, or emotional impairment that has substantial adverse effects on an individual's cognitive or volitional functions. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Mental health professional: means :

  (a)a certified professional person;

  (b)a physician licensed under Title 37, chapter 3;

  (c)a clinical professional counselor licensed under Title 37, chapter 39;

  (d)a psychologist licensed under Title 37, chapter 17;

  (e)a clinical social worker licensed under Title 37, chapter 39;

  (f)an advanced practice registered nurse, as provided for in 37-8-202, with a clinical specialty in psychiatric mental health nursing;

  (g)a physician assistant licensed under Title 37, chapter 20, with a clinical specialty in psychiatric mental health; or

  (h)a marriage and family therapist licensed under Title 37, chapter 39. See Montana Code 53-21-102

• Minority party: means the party with the second most members in a house of the legislature, subject to subsection (2). See Montana Code 1-1-208
• Neglect: means failure to provide for the biological and psychosocial needs of any person receiving treatment in a mental health facility, failure to report abuse, or failure to exercise supervisory responsibilities to protect patients from abuse and neglect. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Next of kin: includes but is not limited to the spouse, parents, adult children, and adult brothers and sisters of a person. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Patient: means a person committed by the court for treatment for any period of time or who is voluntarily admitted for treatment for any period of time. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Peace officer: means any sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, police officer, or other peace officer. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Plan of government: has the meaning provided in 7-1-4121. See Montana Code 7-3-122
• 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}
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Presumptive eligibility: means a period of up to 72 hours after an individual is found to be in crisis and during which the individual is presumed to be eligible for crisis stabilization services that will be reimbursed by the department. See Montana Code 53-21-1401
• Principal: means a person who executes a directive, whether or not that directive designates an agent to make health care decisions. See Montana Code 53-21-1302
• Printing: means the act of reproducing a design on a surface by any process. See Montana Code 1-1-203
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• Professional person: means :

  (a)a medical doctor;

  (b)an advanced practice registered nurse, as provided for in 37-8-202, with a clinical specialty in psychiatric mental health nursing;

  (c)a licensed psychologist;

  (d)a physician assistant licensed under Title 37, chapter 20, with a clinical specialty in psychiatric mental health; or

  (e)a person who has been certified, as provided for in 53-21-106, by the department. See Montana Code 53-21-102

• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Reasonable medical certainty: means reasonable certainty as judged by the standards of a professional person. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Records administrator: means the individual responsible for keeping the public records of the local government and generally means the county, city, or town clerk unless the alternative form or governing body specifies a different individual. See Montana Code 7-3-122
• Respondent: means a person alleged in a petition filed pursuant to this part to be suffering from a mental disorder and requiring commitment. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Service area: means a region of the state as defined by the department by rule within which mental health services are administered. See Montana Code 53-21-1001
• Service area authority: means an entity, as provided for in 53-21-1006, that has incorporated to collaborate with the department for the planning and oversight of mental health services within a service area. See Montana Code 53-21-1001
• services: means the services allowed under 53-21-1403. See Montana Code 53-21-1401
• Several: means two or more. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Sex: means the organization of the body parts and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• State hospital: means the Montana state hospital. See Montana Code 53-21-102
• Supervising health care provider: means the primary physician or, if there is no primary physician or the primary physician is not reasonably available, the health care provider who undertakes primary responsibility for a principal's health care. See Montana Code 53-21-1302
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203