The Florida Senate

“Administrator” means the chief administrative officer of a receiving or treatment facility or his or her designee.

“Clinical psychologist” means a psychologist as defined in s. 490.003(7) with 3 years of postdoctoral experience in the practice of clinical psychology, inclusive of the experience required for licensure, or a psychologist employed by a facility operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs that qualifies as a receiving or treatment facility under this part.

“Clinical record” means all parts of the record required to be maintained and includes all medical records, progress notes, charts, and admission and discharge data, and all other information recorded by a facility which pertains to the patient’s hospitalization or treatment.

“Clinical social worker” means a person licensed as a clinical social worker under chapter 491.

“Community facility” means any community service provider contracting with the department to furnish substance abuse or mental health services under part IV of this chapter.

“Community mental health center or clinic” means a publicly funded, not-for-profit center which contracts with the department for the provision of inpatient, outpatient, day treatment, or emergency services.

“Court,” unless otherwise specified, means the circuit court.

“Department” means the Department of Children and Family Services.

“Express and informed consent” means consent voluntarily given in writing, by a competent person, after sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable the person to make a knowing and willful decision without any element of force, fraud, deceit, duress, or other form of constraint or coercion.

“Facility” means any hospital, community facility, public or private facility, or receiving or treatment facility providing for the evaluation, diagnosis, care, treatment, training, or hospitalization of persons who appear to have a mental illness or have been diagnosed as having a mental illness. “Facility” does not include any program or entity licensed pursuant to chapter 400 or chapter 429.

“Guardian” means the natural guardian of a minor, or a person appointed by a court to act on behalf of a ward’s person if the ward is a minor or has been adjudicated incapacitated.

“Guardian advocate” means a person appointed by a court to make decisions regarding mental health treatment on behalf of a patient who has been found incompetent to consent to treatment pursuant to this part. The guardian advocate may be granted specific additional powers by written order of the court, as provided in this part.

“Hospital” means a facility as defined in s. 395.002 and licensed under chapter 395 and part II of chapter 408.

“Incapacitated” means that a person has been adjudicated incapacitated pursuant to part V of chapter 744 and a guardian of the person has been appointed.

“Incompetent to consent to treatment” means that a person’s judgment is so affected by his or her mental illness that the person lacks the capacity to make a well-reasoned, willful, and knowing decision concerning his or her medical or mental health treatment.

“Law enforcement officer” means a law enforcement officer as defined in s. 943.10.

“Mental health overlay program” means a mobile service which provides an independent examination for voluntary admissions and a range of supplemental onsite services to persons with a mental illness in a residential setting such as a nursing home, assisted living facility, adult family-care home, or nonresidential setting such as an adult day care center. Independent examinations provided pursuant to this part through a mental health overlay program must only be provided under contract with the department for this service or be attached to a public receiving facility that is also a community mental health center.

“Mental illness” means an impairment of the mental or emotional processes that exercise conscious control of one’s actions or of the ability to perceive or understand reality, which impairment substantially interferes with a person’s ability to meet the ordinary demands of living, regardless of etiology. For the purposes of this part, the term does not include retardation or developmental disability as defined in chapter 393, intoxication, or conditions manifested only by antisocial behavior or substance abuse impairment.

“Mobile crisis response service” means a nonresidential crisis service attached to a public receiving facility and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, through which immediate intensive assessments and interventions, including screening for admission into a receiving facility, take place for the purpose of identifying appropriate treatment services.

“Patient” means any person who is held or accepted for mental health treatment.

“Physician” means a medical practitioner licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who has experience in the diagnosis and treatment of mental and nervous disorders or a physician employed by a facility operated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs which qualifies as a receiving or treatment facility under this part.

“Private facility” means any hospital or facility operated by a for-profit or not-for-profit corporation or association that provides mental health services and is not a public facility.

“Psychiatric nurse” means a registered nurse licensed under part I of chapter 464 who has a master’s degree or a doctorate in psychiatric nursing and 2 years of post-master’s clinical experience under the supervision of a physician.

“Psychiatrist” means a medical practitioner licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 who has primarily diagnosed and treated mental and nervous disorders for a period of not less than 3 years, inclusive of psychiatric residency.

“Public facility” means any facility that has contracted with the department to provide mental health services to all persons, regardless of their ability to pay, and is receiving state funds for such purpose.

“Receiving facility” means any public or private facility designated by the department to receive and hold involuntary patients under emergency conditions or for psychiatric evaluation and to provide short-term treatment. The term does not include a county jail.

“Representative” means a person selected to receive notice of proceedings during the time a patient is held in or admitted to a receiving or treatment facility.

“Seclusion” means the physical segregation of a person in any fashion or involuntary isolation of a person in a room or area from which the person is prevented from leaving. The prevention may be by physical barrier or by a staff member who is acting in a manner, or who is physically situated, so as to prevent the person from leaving the room or area. For purposes of this chapter, the term does not mean isolation due to a person’s medical condition or symptoms.

“Secretary” means the Secretary of Children and Family Services.

“Transfer evaluation” means the process, as approved by the appropriate district office of the department, whereby a person who is being considered for placement in a state treatment facility is first evaluated for appropriateness of admission to the facility by a community-based public receiving facility or by a community mental health center or clinic if the public receiving facility is not a community mental health center or clinic.

“Treatment facility” means any state-owned, state-operated, or state-supported hospital, center, or clinic designated by the department for extended treatment and hospitalization, beyond that provided for by a receiving facility, of persons who have a mental illness, including facilities of the United States Government, and any private facility designated by the department when rendering such services to a person pursuant to the provisions of this part. Patients treated in facilities of the United States Government shall be solely those whose care is the responsibility of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Service provider” means any public or private receiving facility, an entity under contract with the Department of Children and Family Services to provide mental health services, a clinical psychologist, a clinical social worker, a marriage and family therapist, a mental health counselor, a physician, a psychiatric nurse as defined in subsection (23), or a community mental health center or clinic as defined in this part.

“Involuntary examination” means an examination performed under s. 394.463 to determine if an individual qualifies for involuntary inpatient treatment under s. 394.467(1) or involuntary outpatient treatment under s. 394.4655(1).

“Involuntary placement” means either involuntary outpatient treatment pursuant to s. 394.4655 or involuntary inpatient treatment pursuant to s. 394.467.

“Marriage and family therapist” means a person licensed as a marriage and family therapist under chapter 491.

“Mental health counselor” means a person licensed as a mental health counselor under chapter 491.

“Electronic means” means a form of telecommunication that requires all parties to maintain visual as well as audio communication.