Florida Senate - 2017                                    SB 1580
       
       
        
       By Senator Gibson
       
       
       
       
       
       6-01010B-17                                           20171580__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to admission of children and
    3         adolescents to mental health facilities; amending ss.
    4         394.4599 and 394.4785, F.S.; requiring a receiving
    5         facility or a mental health treatment facility to
    6         refer the case of a minor admitted to such facility
    7         for a mental health assessment to the clerk of the
    8         court for the appointment of a public defender within
    9         a specified timeframe; granting the minor’s attorney
   10         access to relevant records; requiring a hearing
   11         involving a child under a specified age to be
   12         conducted in the physical presence of the child;
   13         providing penalties; providing an effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section
   18  394.4599, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   19         394.4599 Notice.—
   20         (2) INVOLUNTARY ADMISSION.—
   21         (c)1.a. A receiving facility shall give notice of the
   22  whereabouts of a minor who is being involuntarily held for
   23  examination pursuant to s. 394.463 to the minor’s parent,
   24  guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate, in person or by
   25  telephone or other form of electronic communication, immediately
   26  after the minor’s arrival at the facility. The facility may
   27  delay notification for no more than 24 hours after the minor’s
   28  arrival if the facility has submitted a report to the central
   29  abuse hotline, pursuant to s. 39.201, based upon knowledge or
   30  suspicion of abuse, abandonment, or neglect and if the facility
   31  deems a delay in notification to be in the minor’s best
   32  interest.
   33         b.If the minor is under the age of 18, the receiving
   34  facility shall refer the case to the clerk of the court for the
   35  appointment of a public defender within the first 24 hours after
   36  the minor’s arrival for potential initiation of a judicial
   37  review hearing. An attorney who represents the minor shall have
   38  access to all records relevant to the presentation of the
   39  minor’s case. All hearings involving children under the age of
   40  18 shall be conducted in the physical presence of the child and
   41  not by electronic or video means. A person who violates this
   42  sub-subparagraph commits a misdemeanor of the first degree,
   43  punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
   44         2. The receiving facility shall attempt to notify the
   45  minor’s parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate until
   46  the receiving facility receives confirmation from the parent,
   47  guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate, verbally, by
   48  telephone or other form of electronic communication, or by
   49  recorded message, that notification has been received. Attempts
   50  to notify the parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate
   51  must be repeated at least once every hour during the first 12
   52  hours after the minor’s arrival and once every 24 hours
   53  thereafter and must continue until such confirmation is
   54  received, unless the minor is released at the end of the 72-hour
   55  examination period, or until a petition for involuntary services
   56  is filed with the court pursuant to s. 394.463(2)(g). The
   57  receiving facility may seek assistance from a law enforcement
   58  agency to notify the minor’s parent, guardian, caregiver, or
   59  guardian advocate if the facility has not received within the
   60  first 24 hours after the minor’s arrival a confirmation by the
   61  parent, guardian, caregiver, or guardian advocate that
   62  notification has been received. The receiving facility must
   63  document notification attempts in the minor’s clinical record.
   64         Section 2. Section 394.4785, Florida Statutes, is amended
   65  to read:
   66         394.4785 Children and adolescents; admission and placement
   67  in mental health facilities.—
   68         (1) A child or adolescent as defined in s. 394.492 may not
   69  be admitted to a state-owned or state-operated mental health
   70  treatment facility. A child may be admitted pursuant to s.
   71  394.4625 or s. 394.467 to a crisis stabilization unit or a
   72  residential treatment center licensed under this chapter or a
   73  hospital licensed under chapter 395. The treatment center, unit,
   74  or hospital must provide the least restrictive available
   75  treatment that is appropriate to the individual needs of the
   76  child or adolescent and must adhere to the guiding principles,
   77  system of care, and service planning provisions contained in
   78  part III of this chapter.
   79         (2) A person under the age of 14 who is admitted to any
   80  hospital licensed pursuant to chapter 395 may not be admitted to
   81  a bed in a room or ward with an adult patient in a mental health
   82  unit or share common areas with an adult patient in a mental
   83  health unit. However, a person 14 years of age or older may be
   84  admitted to a bed in a room or ward in the mental health unit
   85  with an adult if the admitting physician documents in the case
   86  record that such placement is medically indicated or for reasons
   87  of safety. Such placement shall be reviewed by the attending
   88  physician or a designee or on-call physician each day and
   89  documented in the case record.
   90         (3)Within 24 hours after a person under the age of 18 is
   91  admitted to a crisis stabilization unit or a residential
   92  treatment center licensed under this chapter or a hospital
   93  licensed under chapter 395, the facility administrator must
   94  refer the case to the clerk of the court for the appointment of
   95  a public defender for potential initiation of a judicial review
   96  hearing. An attorney who represents the minor shall have access
   97  to all records relevant to the presentation of the minor’s case.
   98  All hearings involving children under the age of 18 shall be
   99  conducted in the physical presence of the child and not by
  100  electronic or video means. A person who violates this subsection
  101  commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as
  102  provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.
  103         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2017.