Title 40.1
Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

Chapter 5
Mental Health Law

§ 40.1-5-11. Discharge — Recertification.

(a) The official in charge of any facility, or his or her designated agent, on having his or her reasons noted on the patient’s records, shall discharge any patient certified or admitted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, when:

(1) Suitable alternatives to certification or admission are available;

(2) The patient is, in the judgment of the official, recovered;

(3) The patient is not recovered, but discharge, in the judgment of the official, will not create a likelihood of serious harm by reason of psychiatric disability.

(b) When a patient discharge is requested and if the discharge is denied, the reasons therefor shall be stated, in writing, and noted in the patient’s record and a copy thereof shall be given to the person applying for the release.

(c) At the expiration of the six-month (6) period set forth in § 40.1-5-8(j), or any subsequent six-month (6) period following recertification pursuant to this section, the patient shall be unconditionally released unless a recertification petition is filed within no less than seven (7) and no more than thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled expiration date of a six-month (6) period. A hearing must be held pursuant to the petition and a decision rendered before the expiration of the six-month (6) period. A recertification hearing shall follow all of the procedures set forth in § 40.1-5-8 and recertification may be ordered only if the petitioner proves by clear and convincing evidence that the conduct and responses of the patient during the course of the previous six-month (6) period indicate that the patient is presently in need of care and treatment in a facility; is one whose continued unsupervised presence in the community would create a likelihood of serious harm by reason of psychiatric disability; and that all alternatives to recertification have been investigated and deemed unsuitable.