South Carolina § 44-17-870 Reconfinement of involuntarily committed patient who has left treatment facility without proper authorization.

South Carolina Statutes

§ 44-17-870 — Reconfinement of involuntarily committed patient who has left treatment facility without proper authorization.

South Carolina § 44-17-870

Title 44HEALTH

Ch. 17CARE AND COMMITMENT OF MENTALLY ILL PERSONS

This text of South Carolina § 44-17-870 (Reconfinement of involuntarily committed patient who has left treatment facility without proper authorization.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering South Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

S.C. Code Ann. § 44-17-870 (2026).

Text

If a patient involuntarily committed to a facility under the jurisdiction of the Office of Mental Health is absent without proper authorization, a state or local law enforcement officer or employee of the office appointed pursuant to Section 44-11-70, upon the request of the facility superintendent or director or a designee and without the necessity of a warrant or a court order, may take the patient into custody and return the patient to a facility designated by the office. No person may be reconfined pursuant to this section after being continuously absent from the jurisdiction of the office for at least one year unless criminal charges are still pending against the patient or unless he was committed to a facility of the office pursuant to Chapter 24, Title 17.

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If a patient involuntarily committed to a facility under the jurisdiction of the Office of Mental Health is absent without proper authorization, a state or local law enforcement officer or employee of the office appointed pursuant to Section 44-11-70, upon the request of the facility superintendent or director or a designee and without the necessity of a warrant or a court order, may take the patient into custody and return the patient to a facility designated by the office. No person may be reconfined pursuant to this section after being continuously absent from the jurisdiction of the office for at least one year unless criminal charges are still pending against the patient or unless he was committed to a facility of the office pursuant to Chapter 24, Title 17.

Legislative History

HISTORY: 1962 Code SECTION 32-990; 1952 (47) 2042; 1954 (48) 1732; 1974 (58) 2642; 1977 Act No. 99 SECTION 19; 1980 Act No. 459, SECTION 1; 1992 Act No. 296, SECTION 5. Code Commissioner's Note At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18.