Tennessee Code 33-1-201 – Responsibilities of department – State policy toward mental health and developmental disabilities
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-1-201
- Department: means the department of mental health and substance abuse services when the statute at issue deals with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance and means the department of intellectual and developmental disabilities when the statute at issue deals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- Mental illness: means a psychiatric disorder, alcohol dependence, or drug dependence, but does not include intellectual disability or other developmental disabilities. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
- Serious emotional disturbance: means a condition in a child who currently or at any time during the past year has had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet psychiatric diagnostic criteria that results in functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits the child's role or functioning in family, school, or community activities and includes any mental disorder, regardless of whether it is of biological etiology. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
The department serves as the state‘s mental health and developmental disabilities authority and is responsible for system planning, setting policy and quality standards, system monitoring and evaluation, disseminating public information and advocacy for persons of all ages who have mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disabilities. It is the policy of the state to plan on the basis of and to promote the use of private and public service providers, without regard for funding source, to achieve outcomes and accomplishments that create opportunities for service recipients and potential service recipients to have the greatest possible control of their lives in the least restrictive environment that is appropriate for each person. The department shall plan for and promote the availability of a comprehensive array of high quality prevention, early intervention, treatment, and habilitation services and supports based on the needs and choices of service recipients and families served. The department shall include service recipients and members of service recipients’ families in planning, developing, and monitoring the service systems.