The Commissioner is hereby directed to promote research into the causes of mental illness, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse throughout the Commonwealth. The Commissioner shall encourage the directors of the state facilities and their staffs in the investigation of all subjects relating to mental illness, developmental disabilities, and substance abuse. In these research programs, the Commissioner shall make use, insofar as practicable, of the services and facilities of medical schools and the hospitals allied with them.

Ask a legal question, get an answer ASAP!
Click here to chat with a lawyer about your rights.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 37.2-306

  • Abuse: means any act or failure to act by an employee or other person responsible for the care of an individual in a facility or program operated, licensed, or funded by the Department, excluding those operated by the Department of Corrections, that was performed or was failed to be performed knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally, and that caused or might have caused physical or psychological harm, injury, or death to an individual receiving care or treatment for mental illness, developmental disabilities, or substance abuse. See Virginia Code 37.2-100
  • Mental illness: means a disorder of thought, mood, emotion, perception, or orientation that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to address basic life necessities and requires care and treatment for the health, safety, or recovery of the individual or for the safety of others. See Virginia Code 37.2-100
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • Substance abuse: means the use of drugs, enumerated in the Virginia Drug Control Act (§ Virginia Code 37.2-100

Code 1950, §§ 37-14, 37-38.1; 1950, p. 900; 1958, c. 610; 1968, c. 477, § 37.1-24; 1972, c. 639; 1976, c. 671; 1980, c. 582; 2005, c. 716; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2017, c. 458.