(a)(1)  Upon the application of the director of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals or his or her designee, or of any relative, next of kin, or legally designated guardian of a person alleged to be developmentally disabled, and in need of immediate care and treatment, the superintendent or other official in charge of any facility may receive the person; provided the application is accompanied by the certificate of one examining physician; provided further, that the person alleged to be developmentally disabled does not object to admission, or that parents, guardian, spouse, or next of kin do not object if under eighteen (18); and provided further, that the need for residential care shall be confirmed by the facility by a team examination within twenty (20) days of admission.

(2)  If objection is raised, by the person, or by the parent, guardian, spouse, or next of kin, then the matter shall be heard as provided in § 40.1-22-10, so far as possible.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-9

  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Client: means any developmentally disabled adult who is in potential need of, or is receiving, services aimed at alleviating his or her condition of functional dependence. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-3
  • Department: means the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-3
  • Director: means the director of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals or his or her designees. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-3
  • Facility: means any public or private facility, inpatient rehabilitation center, hospital, institution, or other domiciliary facility, the office of developmental disabilities or any part thereof, equipped to habilitate, on a residential basis, persons who are developmentally disabled and in need of residential care. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-3
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Notice: means written notice in as simple and non-technical language as practicable as required by the department, or the court of competent jurisdiction. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-3
  • Parent: means the natural, adoptive, foster parent or caretaker of the child. See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-3
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
  • Team: means an interdisciplinary team which includes such professional personnel designated by the director and which shall consist of no less than three (3) persons selected by order of the director, no less than one of whom shall be a licensed physician, no less than one of whom shall be a member of the social work profession, and no less than one of whom shall be a qualified intellectual disability professional (QIDP). See Rhode Island General Laws 40.1-22-3

(b)  If upon examination at the facility by a team the need of the client for residential care and treatment is not confirmed, the client shall be discharged.

(c)  If upon examination by a team at the facility the need of the client for residential care and treatment is confirmed and the client agrees to remain in the facility as a voluntary client, then he or she shall be considered a voluntary client as of the date of his or her so agreeing.

(d)  If upon examination at the facility the need of the client for residential care and treatment is confirmed and the client, if over eighteen (18), declines or refuses to remain in the facility as a voluntary client, then the certificate of a team supporting the application shall be filed with the facility. The team may be on the staff of any facility as herein defined, but persons on this team shall have no interest, directly or indirectly, in the assets or estate of the person who is mentally retarded, nor shall they be related to the person by blood or marriage. The examination and certification shall be made no later than ten (10) days from the date of the confirmation of the client’s need for hospitalization, care, and treatment at the facility.

(e)  From the time of his or her admission under the previous subsection, the retention of the person for residential care and treatment shall be subject to the provisions for notice, hearing, review, and judicial approval of continued retention or transfer and continued retention as provided in this chapter. For the purposes of subsections (d) and (e) of this section, the date of admission of the client shall be deemed to be the date of the second examination and certification.

(f)  Failure to obtain the second certificate as required within the period specified shall result in the discharge of client no later than twenty (20) days after his or her original admission to the facility under the provisions of this chapter.

History of Section.
P.L. 1970, ch. 324, § 1; P.L. 1971, ch. 266, § 1; P.L. 1978, ch. 195, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 23-43.1-9; P.L. 1979, ch. 39, § 1; P.L. 1995, ch. 122, § 2; P.L. 1997, ch. 326, § 139; P.L. 1999, ch. 83, § 111; P.L. 1999, ch. 130, § 111.