Section 10101.1 - Mental health treatment(a) The following shall apply to consent for voluntary inpatient and outpatient mental health treatment:
(1) A parent or legal guardian of a minor less than eighteen years of age may consent to voluntary inpatient mental health treatment under Article II of the act of July 9, 1976 ( P.L. 817, No.143), known as the "Mental Health Procedures Act," if inpatient mental health treatment is determined to be necessary by a physician, licensed clinical psychologist or other mental health professional or outpatient mental health treatment on behalf of the minor, and the minor's consent shall not be necessary. An initial determination that inpatient mental health treatment of a minor is necessary under this paragraph shall be independent of the requirements of section 205 of the "Mental Health Procedures Act."(2) A minor who is fourteen years of age or older may consent on the minor's own behalf to voluntary inpatient mental health treatment as provided under Article II of the "Mental Health Procedures Act" or outpatient mental health treatment, and the minor's parent's or legal guardian's consent shall not be necessary.(3) A minor or another parent or legal guardian may not abrogate consent provided by a parent or legal guardian on the minor's behalf to voluntary inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment under paragraph (1) , nor may a parent or legal guardian abrogate consent given by the minor on the minor's own behalf.(4) A parent or legal guardian who has provided consent to voluntary inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment under paragraph (1) may revoke that consent, which revocation shall be effective unless the minor who is fourteen to eighteen years of age has provided consent for continued voluntary inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment.(5) A minor who is fourteen to eighteen years of age who has provided consent to voluntary inpatient or outpatient mental health treatment may revoke that consent, which revocation shall be effective unless the parent or legal guardian to the minor has provided for continued treatment under paragraph (1).(6) At the time of admission, the director of the admitting facility or a designee of the director shall provide the minor with an explanation of the nature of the mental health treatment in which the minor may be involved together with a statement of the minor's rights, including the right to object to treatment by filing a petition with the court. If the minor wishes to exercise this right AT ANY TIME , the director of the facility or a designee of the director shall provide a form for the minor to provide notice of the request for modification or withdrawal from treatment. The director of the facility or a designee of the director shall file the signed petition with the court.(7) When a petition is filed on behalf of a minor fourteen years of age or older and under eighteen years of age who has been confined for inpatient treatment on the consent of a parent or legal guardian and who objects to continued inpatient treatment by requesting a withdrawal from or modification of treatment , the court shall promptly appoint an attorney for the minor and schedule a hearing to be held within seventy-two hours following the filing of the petition, unless continued upon the request of the attorney for the minor, by a judge or mental health review officer who shall determine whether or not the voluntary mental health treatment is in the best interest of the minor. For inpatient treatment to continue against the minor's wishes, the court must find all of the following by clear and convincing evidence:(i) that the minor has a diagnosed mental disorder;(ii) that the disorder is treatable;(iii) that the disorder can be treated in the particular facility where the treatment is taking place; and(iv) that the proposed inpatient treatment setting represents the least restrictive alternative that is medically appropriate.(8) A minor ordered to undergo treatment due to a determination under paragraph (7) shall remain and receive inpatient treatment at the treatment setting designated by the court for a period of up to twenty days. The minor shall be discharged whenever the attending physician determines that the minor no longer is in need of treatment, consent to treatment has been revoked under paragraph (4) or at the end of the time period of the order, whichever occurs first. If the attending physician determines continued inpatient treatment will be necessary at the end of the time period of the order and the minor does not consent to continued inpatient treatment prior to the end of the time period of the order, the court shall conduct a review hearing in accordance with this subsection to determine whether to: (i) release the minor; or(ii) make a subsequent order for inpatient mental health treatment for a period not to exceed sixty days subject to discharge of the minor whenever the attending physician determines that the minor no longer is in need of treatment, or if consent has been revoked under paragraph (4).(9) The procedure for a sixty-day period of treatment under paragraph (8)(ii) shall be repeated until the court determines to release the minor or the minor is discharged in accordance with paragraph (8).(10) Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a nonconsenting parent who has legal custody rights of a minor child to object to the consent given by the other parent to inpatient treatment under paragraph (1) by filing a petition in a court of common pleas in the county where the minor resides. The court shall hold a hearing on the objection within seventy-two hours of the filing of the petition.(b) As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection: "Facility" means any mental health establishment, hospital, clinic, institution, center, day-care center, base service unit, community mental health center, or part thereof, that provides for the diagnosis, treatment, care or rehabilitation of persons with mental illness.
"Inpatient treatment" means all mental health treatment that requires full-time or part-time residence in a facility that provides mental health treatment.
"Mental health treatment" means a course of treatment, including evaluation, diagnosis, therapy and rehabilitation, designed and administered to alleviate an individual's pain and distress and to maximize the probability of recovery from mental illness. The term also includes care and other services which supplement treatment and aid or promote recovery.
Amended by P.L. TBD 2020 No. 65, § 1, eff. 9/21/2020.1970, Feb. 13, P.L. 19, No. 10, § 1.1, added 2004, Nov. 23, P.L. 1149, No. 147, §1, effective 1/24/2005.