SF 643

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to civil commitment; expanding early 
  1.3             intervention services; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.4             2004, section 253B.065, subdivision 5. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 253B.065, 
  1.7   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.8      Subd. 5.  [EARLY INTERVENTION CRITERIA.] (a) A court shall 
  1.9   order early intervention treatment of a proposed patient who 
  1.10  meets the criteria under paragraph (b) or (c).  The early 
  1.11  intervention treatment must be less intrusive than long-term 
  1.12  inpatient commitment and must be the least restrictive treatment 
  1.13  program available that can meet the patient's treatment needs. 
  1.14     (b) The court shall order early intervention treatment if 
  1.15  the court finds all of the elements of the following factors by 
  1.16  clear and convincing evidence: 
  1.17     (1) the proposed patient is mentally ill; 
  1.18     (2) the proposed patient refuses to accept appropriate 
  1.19  mental health treatment; and 
  1.20     (3) the proposed patient's mental illness is manifested by 
  1.21  instances of grossly disturbed behavior or faulty perceptions 
  1.22  and either: 
  1.23     (i) the grossly disturbed behavior or faulty perceptions 
  1.24  significantly interfere with the proposed patient's ability to 
  1.25  care for self and the proposed patient, when competent, would 
  2.1   have chosen substantially similar treatment under the same 
  2.2   circumstances; or 
  2.3      (ii) due to the mental illness, the proposed patient 
  2.4   received court-ordered inpatient treatment under section 253B.09 
  2.5   at least two times in the previous three years; the patient is 
  2.6   exhibiting symptoms or behavior substantially similar to those 
  2.7   that precipitated one or more of the court-ordered treatments; 
  2.8   and the patient is reasonably expected to physically or mentally 
  2.9   deteriorate to the point of meeting the criteria for commitment 
  2.10  under section 253B.09 unless treated. 
  2.11     For purposes of this paragraph, a proposed patient who was 
  2.12  released under section 253B.095 and whose release was not 
  2.13  revoked is not considered to have received court-ordered 
  2.14  inpatient treatment under section 253B.09.  
  2.15     (c) The court may order early intervention treatment if the 
  2.16  court finds that a pregnant woman is a chemically dependent 
  2.17  person.  A chemically dependent person for purposes of this 
  2.18  section is a woman who has been engaging during pregnancy in 
  2.19  excessive use, for a nonmedical purpose, of controlled 
  2.20  substances or their derivatives or noncontrolled substances, 
  2.21  which will pose a substantial risk of damage to a fetus' brain 
  2.22  development or physical development. 
  2.23     (d) For purposes of paragraph paragraphs (b) and (c), none 
  2.24  of the following constitute a refusal to accept appropriate 
  2.25  mental health treatment: 
  2.26     (1) a willingness to take medication but a reasonable 
  2.27  disagreement about type or dosage; 
  2.28     (2) a good-faith effort to follow a reasonable alternative 
  2.29  treatment plan, including treatment as specified in a valid 
  2.30  advance directive under chapter 145C or section 253B.03, 
  2.31  subdivision 6d; 
  2.32     (3) an inability to obtain access to appropriate treatment 
  2.33  because of inadequate health care coverage or an insurer's 
  2.34  refusal or delay in providing coverage for the treatment; or 
  2.35     (4) an inability to obtain access to needed mental health 
  2.36  services because the provider will only accept patients who are 
  3.1   under a court order or because the provider gives persons under 
  3.2   a court order a priority over voluntary patients in obtaining 
  3.3   treatment and services.