(1) When a patient who has been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility or forensic psychiatric facility and who has been charged with or convicted of a violent crime as defined in KRS § 439.3401 is discharged or transferred from the facility, the administrator shall notify the law enforcement agency in the county to which the person is to be released, the prosecutor in the county where the violent crime was committed, and the Department of Corrections.
(2) If a patient who has been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility or forensic psychiatric facility and who has been charged with or convicted of a violent crime as defined in KRS § 439.3401 escapes from the facility, the administrator shall notify the law enforcement agency in the county in which the facility is located, the prosecutor in the county where the violent crime was committed, and the Department of Corrections.

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 202A.410

  • Cabinet: means the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. See Kentucky Statutes 202A.011
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Forensic psychiatric facility: means a mental institution or facility, or part thereof, designated by the secretary for the purpose and function of providing inpatient evaluation, care, and treatment for mentally ill persons or individuals with an intellectual disability, who have been charged with or convicted of a felony. See Kentucky Statutes 202A.011
  • Psychiatric facility: means a crisis stabilization unit or any facility licensed by the cabinet and which provides inpatient, outpatient, psychosocial rehabilitation, emergency, and consultation and education services for the diagnosis and treatment of persons who have a mental illness. See Kentucky Statutes 202A.011
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

(3) The administrator of a psychiatric facility or forensic psychiatric facility, or the administrator’s designee, who acts in good faith in making the notifications required in this section or is unable to provide the release information required, is immune from any civil liability.
(4) The Department of Corrections shall notify, or contract with a private entity to notify, victims of crime, judges, and witnesses involved in the hearing that resulted in the involuntary commitment who have made a notification request of the discharge or escape of a patient from a psychiatric facility or forensic psychiatric facility.
(5) The Department of Corrections and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall each promulgate administrative regulations under KRS Chapter 13A to carry out the duties set forth in this statute.
Effective: July 12, 2012
History: Amended 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 156, sec. 23, effective July 12, 2012. — Amended
2005 Ky. Acts ch. 99, sec. 215, effective June 20, 2005. — Created 1998 Ky. Acts ch.
606, sec. 80, effective July 15, 1998.