2022 Georgia Code
Title 37 - Mental Health
Chapter 3 - Examination, Treatment, etc., for Mental Illness
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 37-3-1. Definitions

As used in this chapter, the term:

(.1) “Available outpatient treatment” means outpatient treatment, either public or private, available in the patient’s community, including but not limited to supervision and support of the patient by family, friends, or other responsible persons in that community. Outpatient treatment at state expense shall be available only within the limits of state funds specifically appropriated therefor.

1. “Chief medical officer” means the physician with overall responsibility for patient treatment at any facility receiving patients under this chapter or a physician appointed in writing as the designee of such chief medical officer.
2. “Clinical record” means a written record pertaining to an individual patient and shall include all medical records, progress notes, charts, admission and discharge data, and all other information which is recorded by a facility or other entities responsible for a patient’s care and treatment under this chapter and which pertains to the patient’s hospitalization and treatment. Such other information as may be required by rules and regulations of the board shall also be included.
3. “Community mental health center” means an organized program for the care and treatment of the mentally ill operated by a community service board or other appropriate public provider.
4. “Court” means:
   1. In the case of an individual who is 17 years of age or older, the probate court of the county of residence of the patient or the county in which such patient is found. Notwithstanding Code Section 15-9-13, in any case in which the judge of such court is unable to hear a case brought under this chapter within the time required for such hearing or is unavailable to issue the order specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 37-3-41, such judge shall appoint a person to serve and exercise all the jurisdiction of the probate court in such case. Any person so appointed shall be a member of the State Bar of Georgia and shall be otherwise qualified for his duties by training and experience. Such appointment may be made on a case-by-case basis or by making a standing appointment of one or more persons. Any person receiving such standing appointment shall serve at the pleasure of the judge making the appointment or his successor in office to hear such cases if and when necessary. The compensation of a person so appointed shall be as agreed upon by the judge who makes the appointment and the person appointed with the approval of the governing authority of the county for which such person is appointed and shall be paid from the county funds of said county. All fees collected for the services of such appointed person shall be paid into the general funds of the county served; or
   2. In the case of an individual who is under the age of 17 years, the juvenile court of the county of residence of the patient or the county in which such patient is found.
5. “Emergency receiving facility” means a facility designated by the department to receive patients under emergency conditions as provided in Part 1 of Article 3 of this chapter.
6. “Evaluating facility” means a facility designated by the department to receive patients for psychiatric evaluation as provided in Part 2 of Article 3 of this chapter.
7. “Facility” means any state owned or state operated hospital, community mental health center, or other facility utilized for the diagnosis, care, treatment, or hospitalization of persons who are mentally ill; any facility operated or utilized for such purpose by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or other federal agency; and any other hospital or facility within the State of Georgia approved for such purpose by the department.
8. “Full and fair hearing” or “hearing” means a proceeding before a hearing examiner under Code Section 37-3-83 or Code Section 37-3-93 or before a court as defined in paragraph (4) of this Code section. The hearing may be held in a regular courtroom or in an informal setting, in the discretion of the hearing examiner or the court, but the hearing shall be recorded electronically or by a qualified court reporter. The patient shall be provided with effective assistance of counsel. If the patient cannot afford counsel, the court shall appoint counsel for him or the hearing examiner shall have the court appoint such counsel; provided, however, that the patient shall have the right to refuse in writing the appointment of counsel, in the discretion of the hearing examiner or the court. The patient shall have the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses and to offer evidence. The patient shall have the right to subpoena witnesses and to require testimony before the hearing examiner or in court in person or by deposition from any physician upon whose evaluation the decision of the hearing examiner or the court may rest. The patient shall have the right to obtain a continuance for any reasonable time for good cause shown. The hearing examiner and the court shall apply the rules of evidence applicable in civil cases. The burden of proof shall be upon the party seeking treatment of the patient. The standard of proof shall be by clear and convincing evidence. At the request of the patient, the public may be excluded from the hearing. The patient may waive his right to be present at the hearing, in the discretion of the hearing examiner or the court. The reason for the action of the court or hearing examiner in excluding the public or permitting the hearing to proceed in the patient’s absence shall be reflected in the record.
9. “Individualized service plan” means a proposal developed during a patient’s stay in a facility and which is specifically tailored to the individual patient’s treatment needs. Each plan shall clearly include the following:
   1. A statement of treatment goals or objectives, based upon and related to a proper evaluation, which can be reasonably achieved within a designated time interval;
   2. Treatment methods and procedures to be used to obtain these goals, which methods and procedures are related to these goals and which include a specific prognosis for achieving these goals;
   3. Identification of the types of professional personnel who will carry out the treatment and procedures, including appropriate medical or other professional involvement by a physician or other health professional properly qualified to fulfill legal requirements mandated under state and federal law;
   4. Documentation of patient involvement and, if applicable, the patient’s accordance with the service plan; and
   5. A statement attesting that the chief medical officer has made a reasonable effort to meet the plan’s individualized treatment goals in the least restrictive environment possible closest to the patient’s home community.
      1. 1. Who presents a substantial risk of imminent harm to that person or others, as manifested by either recent overt acts or recent expressed threats of violence which present a probability of physical injury to that person or other persons; or
         2. Who is so unable to care for that person’s own physical health and safety as to create an imminently life-endangering crisis; and
      2. Who is in need of involuntary inpatient treatment.

   (9.1) “Inpatient” means a person who is mentally ill and:

   (9.2) “Inpatient treatment” or “hospitalization” means a program of treatment for mental illness within a hospital facility setting.

   (9.3) “Involuntary treatment” means inpatient or outpatient treatment which a patient is required to obtain pursuant to this chapter.

10. “Least restrictive alternative,” “least restrictive environment,” or “least restrictive appropriate care and treatment” means that which is the least restrictive available alternative, environment, or care and treatment, respectively, within the limits of state funds specifically appropriated therefor.
11. Reserved.
12. “Mentally ill person requiring involuntary treatment” means a mentally ill person who is an inpatient or an outpatient.

    (12.1) “Outpatient” means a person who is mentally ill and:

    (12.2) “Outpatient treatment” means a program of treatment for mental illness outside a hospital facility setting which includes, without being limited to, medication and prescription monitoring, individual or group therapy, day or partial programming activities, case management services, and other services to alleviate or treat the patient’s mental illness so as to maintain the patient’s semi-independent functioning and to prevent the patient’s becoming an inpatient.

    1. Who is capable of surviving safely in the community with available resources or supervision from family, friends, or others;
    2. Who, based on their psychiatric condition or history, is in need of treatment in order to prevent further disability or deterioration that would predictably result in dangerousness to self or others; and
    3. Whose current mental status or the nature of their illness limits or negates their  ability to make an informed decision to seek voluntarily or to comply with recommended treatment.
13. “Patient” means any mentally ill person who seeks treatment under this chapter or any person for whom such treatment is sought.
14. “Private facility” means any hospital facility that is a proprietary hospital or a hospital operated by a nonprofit corporation or association approved for the purposes of this chapter, as provided herein, or any hospital facility operated by a hospital authority created pursuant to the “Hospital Authorities Law,” Article 4 of Chapter 7 of Title 31.

    (14.1) “Psychologist” means a licensed psychologist who meets the criteria of training and experience as a health service provider psychologist as provided in Code Section 31-7-162.

15. “Representatives” means the persons appointed as provided in Code Section 37-3-147 to receive notice of the proceedings for voluntary or involuntary treatment.
16. “Superintendent” means the chief administrative officer who has overall management responsibility at any facility receiving patients under this chapter, other than a regional state hospital or state owned or operated community program, or an individual appointed as the designee of such superintendent.

    (16.1) “Traumatic brain injury” means a traumatic insult to the brain and its related parts resulting in organic damage thereto which may cause physical, intellectual, emotional, social, or vocational changes in a person. It shall also be recognized that a person having a traumatic brain injury may have organic damage or physical or social disorders, but for the purposes of this chapter, traumatic brain injury shall not be considered mental illness.

17. “Treatment” means care, diagnostic and therapeutic services, including the administration of drugs, and any other service for the treatment of an individual.
18. “Treatment facility” means a facility designated by the department to receive patients for psychiatric treatment as provided in Code Sections 37-3-80 through 37-3-84.

History. Ga. L. 1958, p. 697, § 1; Ga. L. 1960, p. 837, § 1; Code 1933, § 88-501, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, p. 499, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 505, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1789, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 723, §§ 1-3; Ga. L. 1982, p. 3, § 37; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1098, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1566, § 3; Ga. L. 1990, p. 45, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1059, § 8; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1902, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 17.1; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1324, §§ 1-9, 1-10; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 3-12/HB 228; Ga. L. 2010, p. 286, § 8/SB 244; Ga. L. 2022, p. 26, § 3-2/HB 1013.

The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, rewrote subparagraphs (12.1)(A) through (12.1)(C) which read: “(A) Who is not an inpatient but who, based on the person's treatment history or current mental status, will require outpatient treatment in order to avoid predictably and imminently becoming an inpatient;

“(B) Who because of the person's current mental status, mental history, or nature of the person's mental illness is unable voluntarily to seek or comply with outpatient treatment; and

“(C) Who is in need of involuntary treatment.”

Code Commission notes.

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2009, the paragraph (11) designation, which was inadvertently stricken by the 2009 amendment, was added.

Editor’s notes.

Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 18.1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “Nothing in this Act shall be construed to repeal any provision of Chapter 5 of Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the ‘Community Services Act for the Mentally Retarded.’ ”

Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 19, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall become effective on July 1, 1994; provided, however, that provisions relating to the establishment of regional and community service board boundaries and the appointments of regional boards and community service boards shall become effective on July 1, 1993, or upon whatever date is stipulated in the Act and provided, further, that the provisions authorizing a county board of health to agree to serve as the lead county board of health for only that county shall become effective upon the approval of this Act by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.” The Act was approved by the Governor on April 27, 1993.

Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, which amends this Code section, provides, in § 19.1, not codified by the General Assembly, that the amendment is repealed on June 30, 1999; however, Ga. L. 1998, p. 870, § 1, struck § 19.1 of Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, which would have repealed the 1993 amendment to this Code section.

Law reviews.

For comment, “1986 Amendments to Georgia’s Mental Health Statutes: The Latest Attempt to Provide a Solution to the Problem of the Chronically Mentally Ill,” see 36 Emory L.J. 1313 (1987).

For note, “The Parity Cure: Solving Unequal Treatment of Mental Illness Health Insurance Through Federal Legislation,” see 44 Ga. L. Rev. 511 (2010).