Section 27-65-109 - [Effective Until 7/1/2024] Certification for short-term treatment - procedure(1)[Formerly 27-65-107 (1)] If a person detained pursuant to section 27-65-106 has received an evaluation, the person may be certified for not more than three months for short-term treatment under the following conditions:(a) The professional staff of the agency or facility providing seventy-two-hour treatment and evaluation has analyzed the person's condition and has found the person has a mental health disorder and, as a result of the mental health disorder, is a danger to others or to the person's self or is gravely disabled;(b) The person has been advised of the availability of, but has not accepted, voluntary treatment; but, if reasonable grounds exist to believe that the person will not remain in a voluntary treatment program, the person's acceptance of voluntary treatment does not preclude certification; and(c) The facility that will provide short-term treatment has been designated or approved by the commissioner to provide such treatment.(2)[Formerly 27-65-107 (2)] The notice of certification must be signed by a professional person on the staff of the evaluation facility who participated in the evaluation and must: (a) State facts sufficient to establish reasonable grounds to believe that the person has a mental health disorder and, as a result of the mental health disorder, is a danger to others or to the person's self or is gravely disabled; (b) Be filed with the court within forty-eight hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court holidays, of the date of certification; and(c) Be filed with the court in the county in which the respondent resided or was physically present immediately prior to being taken into custody.(3)[Formerly 27-65-107 (3)] Within twenty-four hours after certification, copies of the certification must be personally delivered to the respondent, and a copy must be kept by the evaluation facility as part of the respondent's record. The respondent must also be asked to designate one other person whom the respondent wishes informed regarding certification. If the respondent is incapable of making such a designation at the time the certification is delivered, the respondent must be asked to designate such person as soon as the respondent is capable. In addition to the copy of the certification, the respondent must be given a written notice that a hearing upon the respondent's certification for short-term treatment may be had before the court or a jury upon written request directed to the court pursuant to subsection (6) of this section.(4)[Formerly 27-65-107 (4)] Upon certification of the respondent, the facility designated for short-term treatment has custody of the respondent.(5)[Formerly 27-65-107 (5)] Whenever a certification is filed with the court by A professional person, the court shall immediately appoint an attorney to represent the respondent. The respondent has the right to an attorney for all proceedings conducted pursuant to this section, including any appeals. The attorney representing the respondent must be provided with a copy of the certification immediately upon the attorney's appointment. The respondent may only waive counsel when the respondent makes a knowing and intelligent waiver in front of the court.(6)[Formerly 27-65-107 (6)] The respondent for short-term treatment or the respondent's attorney may at any time file a written request that the certification for short-term treatment or the treatment be reviewed by the court or that the treatment be on an outpatient basis. If review is requested, the court shall hear the matter within ten days after the request, and the court shall give notice to the respondent and the respondent's attorney and the certifying and treating professional person of the time and place thereof. The hearing must be held in accordance with section 27-65-113. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court may enter or confirm the certification for short-term treatment, discharge the respondent, or enter any other appropriate order, subject to available appropriations.(7)[Formerly 27-65-107 (7)] Records and papers in proceedings under this section must be maintained separately by the clerks of the several courts. Upon the release of any respondent in accordance with section 27-65-112, the facility shall notify the clerk of the court within five days after the release, and the clerk shall forthwith seal the record in the case and omit the name of the respondent from the index of cases in the court until and unless the respondent becomes subject to an order of long-term care and treatment pursuant to section 27-65-110 or until and unless the court orders them opened for good cause shown. In the event a petition is filed pursuant to section 27-65-110, the certification record may be opened and become a part of the record in the long-term care and treatment case and the name of the respondent indexed.(8)[Formerly 27-65-107 (8)] Whenever it appears to the court, by reason of a report by the treating professional person or any other report satisfactory to the court, that a respondent detained for evaluation and treatment or certified for treatment should be transferred to another facility for treatment and the safety of the respondent or the public requires that the respondent be transported by A secure transportation provider, or a law enforcement agency, the court may issue an order directing the law enforcement agency where the respondent resides to deliver the respondent to the designated facility.(9) A respondent certified for short-term treatment may be discharged upon the signature of the treating medical professional and the medical director of the facility. A respondent certified for short-term treatment on an outpatient basis may be discharged upon the signature of the approved professional person overseeing the respondent's treatment, and the professional person shall notify the BHA prior to the discharge. A facility or program shall make the respondent's discharge instructions available to the respondent, the respondent's attorney, and the respondent's legal guardian, if applicable, within seven days after discharge, if requested. a facility or program that is transferring a respondent to a different treatment facility or to an outpatient provider shall provide all treatment records to the facility or provider accepting the respondent at least twenty-four hours prior to the transfer. (10)[Formerly 27-65-108] If the professional person in charge of the evaluation and treatment believes that a period longer than three months is necessary for treatment of the respondent, the professional person shall file with the court an extended certification. Extended certification for treatment is not for a period of more than three months. The respondent is entitled to a hearing on the extended certification under the same conditions as an original certification. The attorney initially representing the respondent shall continue to represent the respondent, unless the court appoints another attorney.Amended by 2022 Ch. 451, § 1, eff. 8/10/2022.Amended by 2022 Ch. 222, § 117, eff. 7/1/2022.Amended by 2017 Ch. 263, § 238, eff. 5/25/2017.L. 2010: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 10 -175), ch. 188, p. 688, § 2, effective April 29. L. 2017: IP(1), (1)(a), (4), and (5) amended, (SB 17-242), ch. 263, p. 1344, § 238, effective May 25.This section is similar to former § 27-10-109 as it existed prior to 2010.
2022 Ch. 451, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments. For the legislative declaration in SB 17-242, see section 1 of chapter 263, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.