(A) A person admitted or committed to the services of the department remains a client and is eligible for services until discharged. When the department determines that a client admitted to services is no longer in need of them, the director or his designee may discharge him. When the only basis of the department’s provision of services to a client is that he is a person with intellectual disability or a related disability and it is determined that he is no longer in that condition, the director or his designee shall discharge him as soon as practical. A client of the department who is receiving residential services may be released to his spouse, parent, guardian, or relative or another suitable person for a time and under conditions the director or his designee may prescribe.

(B) When a client voluntarily admitted requests discharge or the person upon whose application the client was admitted to the department’s services requests discharge in writing, the client may be detained by the department for no more than ninety-six hours. However, if the condition of the person is considered by the director or his designee to be such that he cannot be discharged with safety to himself or with safety to the general public, the director or his designee may postpone the requested discharge for not more than fifteen days and cause to be filed an application for judicial admission. For the purpose of this section, the Probate Court or Family Court of the county in which the facility where the person with intellectual disability or a related disability resides is located is the venue for judicial admission. Pending a final determination on the application, the court shall order the person with intellectual disability or a related disability placed in protective custody in either a facility of the department or in some other suitable place designated by the court.

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 44-20-460

  • Client: is a person who is determined by the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs to have intellectual disability, a related disability, head injury, or spinal cord injury and is receiving services or is an infant at risk of having a developmental disability and is receiving services. See South Carolina Code 44-20-30
  • Department: means the South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. See South Carolina Code 44-20-30
  • Director: means the South Carolina Director of the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, the chief executive director appointed by the commission. See South Carolina Code 44-20-30
  • 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.
  • Intellectual disability: means significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period. See South Carolina Code 44-20-30
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • Related disability: is a severe, chronic condition found to be closely related to intellectual disability or to require treatment similar to that required for persons with intellectual disability and must meet the following conditions:

    (a) It is attributable to cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or any other condition other than mental illness found to be closely related to intellectual disability because this condition results in impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior similar to that of persons with intellectual disability and requires treatment or services similar to those required for these persons. See South Carolina Code 44-20-30
  • Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
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