Montana Code Annotated
Part 1. Treatment of the Seriously Mentally Ill
53-21-111. Voluntary admission -- content of admission form -- requirements for valid admission

53-21-111. Voluntary admission -- content of admission form -- requirements for valid admission. (1) (a) This part may not be construed to limit the right of a person to make voluntary application for admission at any time to a mental health facility or professional person.
(b) An application for admission to a mental health facility must be in writing on a form prescribed by the facility. The form must explain:
(i) the process for requesting release and that the request must be in writing;
(ii) that the individual applying for release may be held involuntarily for up to 5 days after requesting release; and
(iii) that the facility may request a court to involuntarily commit the applicant.
(c) A statement of the rights of the person voluntarily applying for admission, as set out in this part, must be furnished to the patient within 12 hours.
(2) An applicant who wishes to voluntarily apply for admission to the state hospital shall first obtain certification from a professional person that the applicant is suffering from a mental disorder. The professional person shall then obtain confirmation from the department or the department's designee that the facilities available to the mental health region in which the applicant resides are unable to provide adequate evaluation and treatment. The department shall adopt rules to establish a procedure whereby a professional person shall obtain the confirmation from the department or the department's designee as required in this section.
(3) An application for voluntary admission must give the facility the right to detain the applicant for no more than 5 days, excluding weekends and holidays, past the applicant's written request for release. A mental health facility may adopt rules providing for detention of the applicant for less than 5 days. The facility shall notify all applicants of the rules and post the rules as provided in 53-21-168.
(4) An individual applying for voluntary admission pursuant to this section may not be admitted unless:
(a) the admission is approved by a professional person;
(b) the individual applying for admission has been informed orally of the matters required by subsection (1)(b) to be stated in the written application for admission;
(c) a copy of the written application for admission has been given to the applicant; and
(d) the admission otherwise complies with the requirements of this section.
(5) A person voluntarily entering or remaining in a mental health facility shall enjoy all the rights secured to a person involuntarily committed to the facility.
History: En. 38-1303 by Sec. 3, Ch. 466, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 546, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 38-1303(1) thru (3), (6); amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 547, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 603, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 590, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 247, L. 1999.

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