Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 2211 – Involuntary treatment
(a) A person in need of treatment shall be involuntarily admitted to a licensed residential treatment facility or outpatient treatment program upon a written request for involuntary treatment that provides a factual basis for the request by anyone with knowledge that an individual may be a person in need of treatment and the written certification by a physician that the individual is a person in need of treatment as provided for in this chapter. The request for involuntary treatment shall concisely provide the observations, circumstances and knowledge of the requestor regarding the requestor’s belief that a particular individual is in need of treatment. The request shall also contain the written certificate of a physician stating that the physician has reviewed the request and examined the patient and concluded that in the physician’s medical opinion the particular individual is a person in need of treatment and is either incapable of or unwilling to consent to treatment. If the individual is incapable of consenting to treatment, the certificate shall state with particularity the physician’s findings regarding why the individual is incapable of providing voluntary informed consent to treatment. The refusal to undergo treatment does not in itself constitute evidence of lack of judgment as to the need for treatment.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 2211
- Designated transport personnel: means such personnel as designated by the Director to transport persons with tuberculosis to and from treatment and/or detention facilities, and other sites as ordered by the Director. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 520
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Peace Officer: means any public officer authorized by law to make arrests in a criminal case. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) Any peace officer or designated transport personnel may lawfully transport an individual whom they reasonably believe is a person in need of treatment without the consent of said individual, to or from a hospital, physician’s office or licensed treatment facility for the purpose of carrying out this section.
(c) Upon admission of the person in need of treatment, the facility shall evaluate and treat the individual as medically necessary and appropriate for a period not to exceed 2 working days.
(d) The State Treasurer shall pay sheriffs and deputy sheriffs for service as peace officers under this section at the rate of the state’s mileage reimbursement amount for each mile necessarily traveled and a custody fee of $25 for the first peace officer and $15 for each additional peace officer, and shall pay medical doctors for services under this section $15 for each case, unless the medical doctor is reimbursed under another public or private plan.
(e) The administrator in charge of a licensed treatment facility shall refuse an application if the request for treatment or physician’s certificate fails to meet the requirements of this section.