(a)  An alcoholic may apply for voluntary treatment directly to an approved public treatment facility. If the proposed patient is a minor or an incompetent person, he or she, a parent, a legal guardian, or other legal representative may make the application.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 23-1.10-9

  • Alcoholic: means a person who habitually lacks self-control as to the use of alcoholic beverages, or uses alcoholic beverages to the extent that his or her health is substantially impaired or endangered or his or her social or economic function is substantially disrupted;

    (2)  "Approved private treatment facility" means a private agency meeting the standards prescribed in § 23-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-1.10-2

  • Approved public treatment facility: means a treatment agency operating under the direction and control of the department or providing treatment under this chapter through a contract with the department under § 23-1. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-1.10-2
  • Department: means department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals;

    (5)  "Director" means the director of the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals;

    (6)  "Incapacitated by alcohol" means a person, who as a result of the use of alcohol is intoxicated to such an extent that he or she is unconscious or has his or her judgment otherwise so impaired that he or she is incapable of realizing and making a rational decision with respect to his or her need for treatment;

    (7)  "Incompetent person" means a person who has been adjudged incompetent by the probate court of the city and town in which the person resides, or any other court of competent jurisdiction;

    (8)  "Intoxicated person" means a person whose mental or physical functioning is substantially impaired as a result of the use of alcohol;

    (9)  "Treatment" means the broad range of emergency, outpatient, intermediate, and inpatient services and care, including diagnostic evaluation, medical, psychiatric, psychological, and social service care, vocational rehabilitation and career counseling, which may be extended to alcoholics and intoxicated persons. See Rhode Island General Laws 23-1.10-2

  • 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.
  • person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6

(b)  Subject to rules adopted by the director, the administrator in charge of an approved public treatment facility may determine who shall be admitted for treatment; provided, however, that a person so admitted may be held by the department for at least thirty (30) days. That person shall be released at the end of thirty (30) days upon written request to the administrator in charge of the treatment facility. If a person is refused admission to an approved public treatment facility, the administrator, subject to rules adopted by the director, shall refer the person to another approved public treatment facility for treatment if possible and appropriate.

(c)  If a patient receiving inpatient care leaves an approved public treatment facility, he or she shall be encouraged to consent to appropriate outpatient or intermediate treatment. If it appears to the administrator in charge of the treatment facility that the patient is an alcoholic who requires help, the department shall arrange for assistance in obtaining supportive services and residential facilities.

(d)  If a patient leaves an approved public treatment facility, with or against the advice of the administrator in charge of the facility, the department will attempt to make reasonable provisions for his or her transportation to another facility or to his or her home. If he or she has no home, he or she shall be referred or advised to make contact with the appropriate state or federal agency for assistance in obtaining shelter. If he or she is a minor or an incompetent person, the request for discharge from an inpatient facility shall be made by a parent, legal guardian, or other legal representative or by the minor or incompetent if he or she was the original applicant.

History of Section.
P.L. 1972, ch. 130, § 1; P.L. 1984, ch. 122, § 1; G.L. 1956, § 40.1-4-9; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 14, § 4.