2006 Code of Virginia § 37.2-100 - Definitions

37.2-100. Definitions.

As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:

"Abuse" means any act or failure to act by an employee or other personresponsible for the care of an individual in a facility or program operated,licensed, or funded by the Department, excluding those operated by theDepartment of Corrections, that was performed or was failed to be performedknowingly, recklessly, or intentionally, and that caused or might have causedphysical or psychological harm, injury, or death to a person receiving careor treatment for mental illness, mental retardation, or substance abuse.Examples of abuse include acts such as:

1. Rape, sexual assault, or other criminal sexual behavior;

2. Assault or battery;

3. Use of language that demeans, threatens, intimidates, or humiliates theperson;

4. Misuse or misappropriation of the person's assets, goods, or property;

5. Use of excessive force when placing a person in physical or mechanicalrestraint;

6. Use of physical or mechanical restraints on a person that is not incompliance with federal and state laws, regulations, and policies,professionally accepted standards of practice, or the person's individualizedservices plan; and

7. Use of more restrictive or intensive services or denial of services topunish the person or that is not consistent with his individualized servicesplan.

"Administrative policy community services board" or "administrative policyboard" means the public body organized in accordance with the provisions ofChapter 5 that is appointed by and accountable to the governing body of eachcity and county that established it to set policy for and administer theprovision of mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse services.The "administrative policy community services board" or "administrativepolicy board" denotes the board, the members of which are appointed pursuantto 37.2-501 with the powers and duties enumerated in subsection A of 37.2-504 and 37.2-505. Mental health, mental retardation, and substanceabuse services are provided through local government staff or throughcontracts with other organizations and providers.

"Behavioral health authority" or "authority" means a public body and abody corporate and politic organized in accordance with the provisions ofChapter 6 that is appointed by and accountable to the governing body of thecity or county that established it for the provision of mental health, mentalretardation, and substance abuse services. "Behavioral health authority" or"authority" also includes the organization that provides such servicesthrough its own staff or through contracts with other organizations andproviders.

"Board" means the State Mental Health, Mental Retardation and SubstanceAbuse Services Board.

"Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Mental Health, Mental Retardationand Substance Abuse Services.

"Community services board" means the public body established pursuant to 37.2-501 that provides mental health, mental retardation, and substance abuseservices within each city and county that established it; the term"community services board" shall include administrative policy communityservices boards, operating community services boards, and local governmentdepartments with policy-advisory community services boards.

"Consumer" means a current direct recipient of public or private mentalhealth, mental retardation, or substance abuse treatment or habilitationservices.

"Department" means the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation andSubstance Abuse Services.

"Facility" means a state or licensed hospital, training center, psychiatrichospital, or other type of residential or outpatient mental health or mentalretardation facility. When modified by the word "state," "facility" meansa state hospital or training center operated by the Department, including thebuildings and land associated with it.

"Family member" means an immediate family member of a consumer or theprincipal caregiver of a consumer. A principal caregiver is a person who actsin the place of an immediate family member, including other relatives andfoster care providers, but does not have a proprietary interest in the careof the consumer.

"Hospital", when not modified by the words "state" or "licensed," meansa state hospital or licensed hospital that provides care and treatment forpersons with mental illness.

"Licensed hospital" means a hospital or institution, including apsychiatric unit of a general hospital, that is licensed pursuant to theprovisions of this title.

"Mental illness" means a disorder of thought, mood, emotion, perception, ororientation that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity torecognize reality, or ability to address basic life necessities and requirescare and treatment for the health, safety, or recovery of the individual orfor the safety of others.

"Mental retardation" means a disability, originating before the age of 18years, characterized concurrently by (i) significantly subaverageintellectual functioning as demonstrated by performance on a standardizedmeasure of intellectual functioning, administered in conformity with acceptedprofessional practice, that is at least two standard deviations below themean and (ii) significant limitations in adaptive behavior as expressed inconceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills.

"Neglect" means failure by an individual or a program or facility operated,licensed, or funded by the Department, excluding those operated by theDepartment of Corrections, responsible for providing services to do so,including nourishment, treatment, care, goods, or services necessary to thehealth, safety, or welfare of a person receiving care or treatment for mentalillness, mental retardation, or substance abuse.

"Operating community services board" or "operating board" means thepublic body organized in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 that isappointed by and accountable to the governing body of each city and countythat established it for the direct provision of mental health, mentalretardation, and substance abuse services. The "operating community servicesboard" or "operating board" denotes the board, the members of which areappointed pursuant to 37.2-501 with the powers and duties enumerated insubsection A of 37.2-504 and 37.2-505. "Operating community servicesboard" or "operating board" also includes the organization that providessuch services, through its own staff or through contracts with otherorganizations and providers.

"Performance contract" means the annual agreement negotiated and enteredinto by a community services board or behavioral health authority with theDepartment through which it provides state and federal funds appropriated formental health, mental retardation, and substance abuse services to thatcommunity services board or behavioral health authority.

"Policy-advisory community services board" or "policy-advisory board"means the public body organized in accordance with the provisions of Chapter5 that is appointed by and accountable to the governing body of each city orcounty that established it to provide advice on policy matters to the localgovernment department that provides mental health, mental retardation, andsubstance abuse services pursuant to subsection A of 37.2-504 and 37.2-505. The "policy-advisory community services board" or"policy-advisory board" denotes the board, the members of which areappointed pursuant to 37.2-501 with the powers and duties enumerated insubsection B of 37.2-504.

"Service area" means the city or county or combination of cities andcounties or counties or cities that is served by a community services boardor behavioral health authority or the cities and counties that are served bya state facility.

"Special justice" means a person appointed by a chief judge of a judicialcircuit for the purpose of performing the duties of a judge pursuant to 37.2-803.

"State hospital" means a hospital, psychiatric institute, or otherinstitution operated by the Department that provides care and treatment forpersons with mental illness.

"Substance abuse" means the use of drugs, enumerated in the Virginia DrugControl Act ( 54.1-3400 et seq.), without a compelling medical reason oralcohol that (i) results in psychological or physiological dependence ordanger to self or others as a function of continued and compulsive use or(ii) results in mental, emotional, or physical impairment that causessocially dysfunctional or socially disordering behavior and (iii), because ofsuch substance abuse, requires care and treatment for the health of theindividual. This care and treatment may include counseling, rehabilitation,or medical or psychiatric care.

"Training center" means a facility operated by the Department for thetreatment, training, or habilitation of persons with mental retardation.

(Code 1950, 37-1.1, 37-34.2:1, 37-254.1; 1950, pp. 899, 935; 1954, c. 668;1958, c. 556; 1960, c. 133; 1964, cc. 483, 640; 1968, c. 477, 37.1-1; 1972,cc. 635, 639; 1973, c. 465; 1974, c. 301; 1976, cc. 671, 767, 37.1-203;1979, c. 54; 1980, c. 582; 1982, c. 50; 1983, c. 538; 1984, c. 209; 1987, c.413; 1994, c. 939; 1995, c. 693, 15.1-1677; 1996, c. 861; 1997, c. 587, 37.1-243; 1998, cc. 680, 724, 37.1-194.1; 1999, c. 969; 2005, c. 716.)