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20-47-204. Voluntary admissions.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-204. Voluntary admissions.
The following shall apply to voluntary admissions of persons with a mental illness, disease, or disorder:
(1)(A) Any person who believes himself or herself to have a mental illness, disease, or disorder may apply to the administrator or his or her designee of a hospital or to the administrator or his or her designee of a receiving facility or program to which admission is requested.
(B) If the administrator or his or her designee of the hospital or the administrator or his or her designee of a receiving facility or program shall be satisfied after examination of the applicant that he or she is in need of mental health treatment and will be benefitted thereby, he or she may receive and care for the applicant in the hospital or receiving facility or program for such a period of time as he or she shall deem necessary for the recovery and improvement of the person, provided that the person agrees at all times to remain in the hospital or receiving facility or program;
(2) If at any time the person who has voluntarily admitted himself or herself to the hospital or receiving facility or program makes a request to leave, and the administrator or his or her designee determines that the person meets the criteria for involuntary admission as defined in § 20-47-207, then the person shall be considered to be held by detention and the involuntary admission procedures set forth herein shall apply;
(3)(A) Any person requesting to leave under subdivision (2) of this section, within one (1) hour of his or her request to any hospital or receiving facility or program employee, in an administrative or treatment capacity, shall be provided with a written statement advising him or her of all rights delineated in §§ 20-47-211 and 20-47-212. The person
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-204
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
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Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:20-47-204
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.20.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: 44a413df5b93c88cb222daf52d0ad360d61df257c81180ac23f680c52c035831
Source location: content.xml paragraph 26749
Stored source content
20-47-204. Voluntary admissions.
The following shall apply to voluntary admissions of persons with a mental illness, disease, or disorder:
(1)(A) Any person who believes himself or herself to have a mental illness, disease, or disorder may apply to the administrator or his or her designee of a hospital or to the administrator or his or her designee of a receiving facility or program to which admission is requested.
(B) If the administrator or his or her designee of the hospital or the administrator or his or her designee of a receiving facility or program shall be satisfied after examination of the applicant that he or she is in need of mental health treatment and will be benefitted thereby, he or she may receive and care for the applicant in the hospital or receiving facility or program for such a period of time as he or she shall deem necessary for the recovery and improvement of the person, provided that the person agrees at all times to remain in the hospital or receiving facility or program;
(2) If at any time the person who has voluntarily admitted himself or herself to the hospital or receiving facility or program makes a request to leave, and the administrator or his or her designee determines that the person meets the criteria for involuntary admission as defined in § 20-47-207, then the person shall be considered to be held by detention and the involuntary admission procedures set forth herein shall apply;
(3)(A) Any person requesting to leave under subdivision (2) of this section, within one (1) hour of his or her request to any hospital or receiving facility or program employee, in an administrative or treatment capacity, shall be provided with a written statement advising him or her of all rights delineated in §§ 20-47-211 and 20-47-212. The person shall further be provided with an acknowledgment confirming that he or she has been advised of the aforesaid rights.
(B)(i) If the person refused to sign the acknowledgment, this refusal shall be noted in the person's chart and shall be attested to by two (2) eyewitnesses on a separate document.
(ii) An original of said attestation shall be furnished to the court.
(C) For the purposes of computing the initial period of evaluation and treatment referred to in § 20-47-213, detention begins upon the signing of the acknowledgment by the person or, in the event that the person refuses to sign the acknowledgment, upon the attestation of the refusal by two (2) eyewitnesses; and
(4)(A) A person voluntarily admitted who absents himself or herself from a hospital or receiving facility or program, as defined in this subchapter, may be placed on elopement status and a pick-up order issued if, in the opinion of the treatment staff, the person meets the criteria for involuntary admission as defined in § 20-47-207.
(B) It shall be the responsibility of the sheriff of the county or a law enforcement officer of the city of the first class in which the individual is physically present to transport the individual.
(C) Upon return to the hospital or receiving facility or program, the individual shall be held under detention as defined in § 20-47-202(6).
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Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-207. Involuntary admission — Original petition.
(a) Written Petition — Venue. Any person having reason to believe that a person meets the criteria for involuntary admission as defined in subsection (c) of this section may file a verified petition with the circuit clerk of the county in which the person alleged to have mental illness resides or is detained.
(b) Contents of Petition. The petition for involuntary admission shall:
(1) State whether the person is believed to be of danger to himself or herself or others as defined in subsection (c) of this section;
(2) Describe the conduct, clinical signs, and symptoms upon which the petition is based. The description shall be limited to facts within the petitioner's personal knowledge;
(3) Contain the names and addresses of any witnesses having knowledge relevant to the allegations contained in the petition; and
(4) Contain a specific prayer for involuntary admission of the person to a hospital or to a receiving facility or program for treatment pursuant to § 20-47-218(c).
(c)Involuntary Admission Criteria.
(1) A person shall be eligible for involuntary admission if he or she is in such a mental condition as a result of mental illness, disease, or disorder that he or she poses a clear and present danger to himself or herself or others.
(2) As used in this subsection, “a clear and present danger to himself or herself” is established by demonstrating that:
(A) The person has inflicted serious bodily injury on himself or herself or has attempted suicide or serious self-injury, and there is a reasonable probability that the conduct will be repeated if admission is not ordered;
(B) The person has threatened to inflict serious bodily injury on himself or herself, and there is a reasonable probability
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-207
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-207. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-211. Notification of rights.
Along with the copy of the petition and the copy of the order directing appearance for an initial evaluation or an order of detention, the person sought to be involuntarily admitted shall be served with a copy of the following statement of rights:
(1) That he or she has the right to effective assistance of counsel, including the right to a court-appointed attorney;
(2) That he or she and his or her attorney have a right to be present at all significant stages of the proceedings and at all hearings except that no attorney shall be entitled to be present upon examination of the person by the physician or any member of the treatment staff pursuant to an evaluation, whether initially or subsequently;
(3) That he or she has the right to present evidence in his or her own behalf;
(4) That he or she has the right to cross-examine witnesses who testify against him or her;
(5) That he or she has a right to remain silent; and
(6) That he or she has a right to view and copy all petitions, reports, and documents contained in the court file.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-211
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-211. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-212. Appointment of counsel.
(a) If it appears to the court that the person sought to be involuntarily admitted is in need of counsel, counsel shall be appointed immediately upon filing of the original petition.
(b)(1) Whenever legal counsel is appointed by the court, the court shall determine the amount of the fee, if any, to be paid the attorney so appointed and issue an order for payment.
(2) The amount allowed shall not exceed one hundred fifty dollars ($150) based upon the time and effort of the attorney in the investigation, preparation, and representation of the client at the court hearings.
(3) The court shall have the authority to appoint counsel on a pro bono basis.
(c) The quorum courts of each county shall appropriate funds for the purpose of payment of the attorney's fees provided for by this subchapter, and, upon presentment of a claim accompanied by an order of the circuit court fixing the fee, the fee shall be approved by the county court and paid in the same manner as other claims against the county are paid.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-212
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-212. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-47-213. Evaluation — When performed and by whom — Transportation to place of evaluation.
(a) If the person is transported to a hospital or receiving facility or program or to the office of a licensed physician of the State of Arkansas or of the United States Government, either salaried or self-employed, for purposes of initial evaluation and treatment, then the hospital or receiving facility or program or physician may detain the person for initial evaluation and treatment, provided:
(1) The person is immediately advised of his or her rights as provided in § 20-47-211;
(2) The person is determined by the treatment staff of the hospital or receiving facility or program or by the physician to be of danger to himself or herself or others as defined in § 20-47-207; and
(3) A hearing pursuant to § 20-47-209(a)(1) is held within the specified time period.
(b)(1) If a physician is not immediately available for the initial evaluation, the initial evaluation may be performed by an administrator's designee, working under medical supervision and direction. In such cases, a supervising physician shall be consulted by telephone before any decision is made concerning the initial evaluation and treatment.
(2) Every person admitted to a hospital or a receiving facility or program under this provision shall be seen and evaluated personally by a physician within twenty-four (24) hours of detention.
(c) In all cases, the evaluations required by the court for involuntary admission pursuant to § 20-47-214 shall be performed only by a physician licensed to practice in the State of Arkansas.
(d) If it is determined at the initial hearing that the person should be evaluated to determine the need for mental health services on an involuntary basis, a law enforcement officer or
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-47-213
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-47-213. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.