§ 27-65-101 — Legislative declaration

(1) The general assembly declares that
the purposes of this article 65 are:

(a) To secure for each person with a mental health disorder such care and
treatment suited to the person's needs and to ensure that the care and treatment
are skillfully and humanely administered with full respect for the person's dignity
and personal integrity;

(b) To deprive a person of the person's liberty for purposes of care or
treatment only when less restrictive alternatives are unavailable and only when the
person's safety or the safety of others is endangered;

(c) To provide the fullest possible measure of privacy, dignity, and other
rights to persons undergoing care and treatment for a mental health disorder;

(d) To encourage the use of voluntary, rather than coercive, measures to
provide care and treatment for mental health disorders and to provide the care and
treatment in the least restrictive setting;

(e) To provide appropriate information to family members concerning the
location and fact of admission of a person with a mental health disorder to inpatient
or residential care and treatment;

(f) To encourage the appropriate participation of family members in the care
and treatment of a person with a mental health disorder and, when appropriate, to
provide information to family members in order to facilitate that participation; and

(g) To facilitate the recovery and resiliency of each person who receives care
and treatment pursuant to this article 65.

(2) To carry out these purposes, the provisions of this article 65 must be
liberally construed.

Legislative History

Source: L. 2022: Entire article amended with relocations, (HB 22-1256), ch. 451, p. 3170, � 1, effective August 10.