Oregon Statutes 427.235 – Notice to court of need for commitment; investigation; report and recommendation
(1) Any two persons may notify the court having probate jurisdiction for the county or the circuit court, if it is not the probate court but its jurisdiction has been extended to include commitment of a person with an intellectual disability under ORS § 3.275, that a person within the county has an intellectual disability and is in need of commitment for residential care, treatment and training. Such notice shall be in writing and sworn to before an officer qualified to administer an oath and shall set forth the facts sufficient to show the need for investigation. The circuit court shall forward notice to the community developmental disabilities program director in the county if it finds the notice sufficient to show the need for investigation. The director or the designee of the director shall immediately investigate to determine whether the person has an intellectual disability and is in need of commitment for residential care, treatment and training.
Terms Used In Oregon Statutes 427.235
- Community developmental disabilities program director: means the director of a community developmental disabilities program described in ORS § 430. See Oregon Statutes 427.005
- 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.
- Incapacitated: means a person is unable, without assistance, to properly manage or take care of personal affairs, including but not limited to financial and medical decision-making, or is incapable, without assistance, of self-care. See Oregon Statutes 427.005
- Intellectual disability: means an intelligence quotient of 70 or below as measured by a qualified professional and existing concurrently with significant impairment in adaptive behavior, that is manifested before the individual is 18 years of age. See Oregon Statutes 427.005
- 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.
- Naturopathic physician: has the meaning given the term in ORS § 685. See Oregon Statutes 427.005
- Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
- Person: includes individuals, corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies and joint stock companies. See Oregon Statutes 174.100
- Physician: means a person licensed by the Oregon Medical Board to practice medicine and surgery. See Oregon Statutes 427.005
- Probate: Proving a will
- Treatment: means the provision of specific physical, mental, social interventions and therapies that halt, control or reverse processes that cause, aggravate or complicate malfunctions or dysfunctions. See Oregon Statutes 427.005
(2) Any person who acts in good faith shall not be held civilly liable for making of the notification under subsection (1) of this section.
(3) Any investigation conducted by the community developmental disabilities program director or the designee of the director under subsection (1) of this section shall commence with an interview or examination of the person alleged to have an intellectual disability, where possible, in the home of the person or other place familiar to the person. Further investigation if warranted shall include a diagnostic evaluation as described in ORS § 427.105 and may also include interviews with the person’s relatives, neighbors, teachers and physician or naturopathic physician. The investigation shall also determine if any alternatives to commitment are available. The investigator shall also determine and recommend to the court whether the person is incapacitated and in need of a guardian or conservator.
(4) The investigation report shall be submitted to the court within 30 days of receipt of notice from the court. A copy of the investigation report and diagnostic evaluation, if any, shall also be made available to the Department of Human Services and to the person alleged to have an intellectual disability and, if the person is incapacitated, to the guardian of the person as soon as possible after its completion but in any case prior to a hearing held under ORS § 427.245.
(5) Any person conducting an evaluation or investigation under this section shall in no way be held civilly liable for conducting the investigation or performing the diagnostic evaluation.
(6) If requested by a person conducting an investigation under this section, a physician or naturopathic physician who has examined the person alleged to have an intellectual disability may, with patient authorization or in response to a court order, provide any relevant information the physician or naturopathic physician has regarding the person alleged to have an intellectual disability. [1979 c.683 § 17; 2003 c.89 § 4; 2009 c.595 § 442; 2011 c.658 § 13; 2013 c.36 § 8; 2017 c.356 § 50; 2023 c.339 § 4]
[1959 c.331 § 3; 1965 c.339 § 17; 1969 c.391 § 10; 1973 c.277 § 4; repealed by 1979 c.683 § 37]