2018 Revised Code of Washington
Title 71 - MENTAL ILLNESS
71.05 Mental illness.
71.05.020 Definitions.

RCW 71.05.020 Definitions.

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Admission" or "admit" means a decision by a physician, physician assistant, or psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner that a person should be examined or treated as a patient in a hospital;

(2) "Alcoholism" means a disease, characterized by a dependency on alcoholic beverages, loss of control over the amount and circumstances of use, symptoms of tolerance, physiological or psychological withdrawal, or both, if use is reduced or discontinued, and impairment of health or disruption of social or economic functioning;

(3) "Antipsychotic medications" means that class of drugs primarily used to treat serious manifestations of mental illness associated with thought disorders, which includes, but is not limited to atypical antipsychotic medications;

(4) "Approved substance use disorder treatment program" means a program for persons with a substance use disorder provided by a treatment program certified by the department as meeting standards adopted under chapter 71.24 RCW;

(5) "Attending staff" means any person on the staff of a public or private agency having responsibility for the care and treatment of a patient;

(6) "Authority" means the Washington state health care authority;

(7) "Chemical dependency" means:

(a) Alcoholism;

(b) Drug addiction; or

(c) Dependence on alcohol and one or more psychoactive chemicals, as the context requires;

(8) "Chemical dependency professional" means a person certified as a chemical dependency professional by the department under chapter 18.205 RCW;

(9) "Commitment" means the determination by a court that a person should be detained for a period of either evaluation or treatment, or both, in an inpatient or a less restrictive setting;

(10) "Conditional release" means a revocable modification of a commitment, which may be revoked upon violation of any of its terms;

(11) "Crisis stabilization unit" means a short-term facility or a portion of a facility licensed or certified by the department under RCW 71.24.035, such as an evaluation and treatment facility or a hospital, which has been designed to assess, diagnose, and treat individuals experiencing an acute crisis without the use of long-term hospitalization;

(12) "Custody" means involuntary detention under the provisions of this chapter or chapter 10.77 RCW, uninterrupted by any period of unconditional release from commitment from a facility providing involuntary care and treatment;

(13) "Department" means the department of health;

(14) "Designated crisis responder" means a mental health professional appointed by the county, an entity appointed by the county, or the behavioral health organization to perform the duties specified in this chapter;

(15) "Detention" or "detain" means the lawful confinement of a person, under the provisions of this chapter;

(16) "Developmental disabilities professional" means a person who has specialized training and three years of experience in directly treating or working with persons with developmental disabilities and is a psychiatrist, physician assistant working with a supervising psychiatrist, psychologist, psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner, or social worker, and such other developmental disabilities professionals as may be defined by rules adopted by the secretary of the department of social and health services;

(17) "Developmental disability" means that condition defined in RCW 71A.10.020(5);

(18) "Director" means the director of the authority;

(19) "Discharge" means the termination of hospital medical authority. The commitment may remain in place, be terminated, or be amended by court order;

(20) "Drug addiction" means a disease, characterized by a dependency on psychoactive chemicals, loss of control over the amount and circumstances of use, symptoms of tolerance, physiological or psychological withdrawal, or both, if use is reduced or discontinued, and impairment of health or disruption of social or economic functioning;

(21) "Evaluation and treatment facility" means any facility which can provide directly, or by direct arrangement with other public or private agencies, emergency evaluation and treatment, outpatient care, and timely and appropriate inpatient care to persons suffering from a mental disorder, and which is licensed or certified as such by the department. The authority may certify single beds as temporary evaluation and treatment beds under RCW 71.05.745. A physically separate and separately operated portion of a state hospital may be designated as an evaluation and treatment facility. A facility which is part of, or operated by, the department of social and health services or any federal agency will not require certification. No correctional institution or facility, or jail, shall be an evaluation and treatment facility within the meaning of this chapter;

(22) "Gravely disabled" means a condition in which a person, as a result of a mental disorder, or as a result of the use of alcohol or other psychoactive chemicals: (a) Is in danger of serious physical harm resulting from a failure to provide for his or her essential human needs of health or safety; or (b) manifests severe deterioration in routine functioning evidenced by repeated and escalating loss of cognitive or volitional control over his or her actions and is not receiving such care as is essential for his or her health or safety;

(23) "Habilitative services" means those services provided by program personnel to assist persons in acquiring and maintaining life skills and in raising their levels of physical, mental, social, and vocational functioning. Habilitative services include education, training for employment, and therapy. The habilitative process shall be undertaken with recognition of the risk to the public safety presented by the person being assisted as manifested by prior charged criminal conduct;

(24) "Hearing" means any proceeding conducted in open court. For purposes of this chapter, at any hearing the petitioner, the respondent, the witnesses, and the presiding judicial officer may be present and participate either in person or by video, as determined by the court. The term "video" as used herein shall include any functional equivalent. At any hearing conducted by video, the technology used must permit the judicial officer, counsel, all parties, and the witnesses to be able to see, hear, and speak, when authorized, during the hearing; to allow attorneys to use exhibits or other materials during the hearing; and to allow respondent's counsel to be in the same location as the respondent unless otherwise requested by the respondent or the respondent's counsel. Witnesses in a proceeding may also appear in court through other means, including telephonically, pursuant to the requirements of superior court civil rule 43. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the court, upon its own motion or upon a motion for good cause by any party, may require all parties and witnesses to participate in the hearing in person rather than by video. In ruling on any such motion, the court may allow in-person or video testimony; and the court may consider, among other things, whether the respondent's alleged mental illness affects the respondent's ability to perceive or participate in the proceeding by video;

(25) "History of one or more violent acts" refers to the period of time ten years prior to the filing of a petition under this chapter, excluding any time spent, but not any violent acts committed, in a mental health facility, a long-term alcoholism or drug treatment facility, or in confinement as a result of a criminal conviction;

(26) "Imminent" means the state or condition of being likely to occur at any moment or near at hand, rather than distant or remote;

(27) "Individualized service plan" means a plan prepared by a developmental disabilities professional with other professionals as a team, for a person with developmental disabilities, which shall state:

(a) The nature of the person's specific problems, prior charged criminal behavior, and habilitation needs;

(b) The conditions and strategies necessary to achieve the purposes of habilitation;

(c) The intermediate and long-range goals of the habilitation program, with a projected timetable for the attainment;

(d) The rationale for using this plan of habilitation to achieve those intermediate and long-range goals;

(e) The staff responsible for carrying out the plan;

(f) Where relevant in light of past criminal behavior and due consideration for public safety, the criteria for proposed movement to less-restrictive settings, criteria for proposed eventual discharge or release, and a projected possible date for discharge or release; and

(g) The type of residence immediately anticipated for the person and possible future types of residences;

(28) "Information related to mental health services" means all information and records compiled, obtained, or maintained in the course of providing services to either voluntary or involuntary recipients of services by a mental health service provider. This may include documents of legal proceedings under this chapter or chapter 71.34 or 10.77 RCW, or somatic health care information;

(29) "Intoxicated person" means a person whose mental or physical functioning is substantially impaired as a result of the use of alcohol or other psychoactive chemicals;

(30) "In need of assisted outpatient behavioral health treatment" means that a person, as a result of a mental disorder or substance use disorder: (a) Has been committed by a court to detention for involuntary behavioral health treatment during the preceding thirty-six months; (b) is unlikely to voluntarily participate in outpatient treatment without an order for less restrictive alternative treatment, based on a history of nonadherence with treatment or in view of the person's current behavior; (c) is likely to benefit from less restrictive alternative treatment; and (d) requires less restrictive alternative treatment to prevent a relapse, decompensation, or deterioration that is likely to result in the person presenting a likelihood of serious harm or the person becoming gravely disabled within a reasonably short period of time;

(31) "Judicial commitment" means a commitment by a court pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(32) "Legal counsel" means attorneys and staff employed by county prosecutor offices or the state attorney general acting in their capacity as legal representatives of public mental health and substance use disorder service providers under RCW 71.05.130;

(33) "Less restrictive alternative treatment" means a program of individualized treatment in a less restrictive setting than inpatient treatment that includes the services described in RCW 71.05.585;

(34) "Licensed physician" means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathic medicine and surgery in the state of Washington;

(35) "Likelihood of serious harm" means:

(a) A substantial risk that: (i) Physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon his or her own person, as evidenced by threats or attempts to commit suicide or inflict physical harm on oneself; (ii) physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon another, as evidenced by behavior which has caused such harm or which places another person or persons in reasonable fear of sustaining such harm; or (iii) physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon the property of others, as evidenced by behavior which has caused substantial loss or damage to the property of others; or

(b) The person has threatened the physical safety of another and has a history of one or more violent acts;

(36) "Medical clearance" means a physician or other health care provider has determined that a person is medically stable and ready for referral to the designated crisis responder;

(37) "Mental disorder" means any organic, mental, or emotional impairment which has substantial adverse effects on a person's cognitive or volitional functions;

(38) "Mental health professional" means a psychiatrist, psychologist, physician assistant working with a supervising psychiatrist, psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner, psychiatric nurse, or social worker, and such other mental health professionals as may be defined by rules adopted by the secretary pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(39) "Mental health service provider" means a public or private agency that provides mental health services to persons with mental disorders or substance use disorders as defined under this section and receives funding from public sources. This includes, but is not limited to, hospitals licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW, evaluation and treatment facilities as defined in this section, community mental health service delivery systems or behavioral health programs as defined in RCW 71.24.025, facilities conducting competency evaluations and restoration under chapter 10.77 RCW, approved substance use disorder treatment programs as defined in this section, secure detoxification facilities as defined in this section, and correctional facilities operated by state and local governments;

(40) "Peace officer" means a law enforcement official of a public agency or governmental unit, and includes persons specifically given peace officer powers by any state law, local ordinance, or judicial order of appointment;

(41) "Physician assistant" means a person licensed as a physician assistant under chapter 18.57A or 18.71A RCW;

(42) "Private agency" means any person, partnership, corporation, or association that is not a public agency, whether or not financed in whole or in part by public funds, which constitutes an evaluation and treatment facility or private institution, or hospital, or approved substance use disorder treatment program, which is conducted for, or includes a department or ward conducted for, the care and treatment of persons with mental illness, substance use disorders, or both mental illness and substance use disorders;

(43) "Professional person" means a mental health professional, chemical dependency professional, or designated crisis responder and shall also mean a physician, physician assistant, psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner, registered nurse, and such others as may be defined by rules adopted by the secretary pursuant to the provisions of this chapter;

(44) "Psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner" means a person who is licensed as an advanced registered nurse practitioner pursuant to chapter 18.79 RCW; and who is board certified in advanced practice psychiatric and mental health nursing;

(45) "Psychiatrist" means a person having a license as a physician and surgeon in this state who has in addition completed three years of graduate training in psychiatry in a program approved by the American medical association or the American osteopathic association and is certified or eligible to be certified by the American board of psychiatry and neurology;

(46) "Psychologist" means a person who has been licensed as a psychologist pursuant to chapter 18.83 RCW;

(47) "Public agency" means any evaluation and treatment facility or institution, secure detoxification facility, approved substance use disorder treatment program, or hospital which is conducted for, or includes a department or ward conducted for, the care and treatment of persons with mental illness, substance use disorders, or both mental illness and substance use disorders, if the agency is operated directly by federal, state, county, or municipal government, or a combination of such governments;

(48) "Release" means legal termination of the commitment under the provisions of this chapter;

(49) "Resource management services" has the meaning given in chapter 71.24 RCW;

(50) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department of health, or his or her designee;

(51) "Secure detoxification facility" means a facility operated by either a public or private agency or by the program of an agency that:

(a) Provides for intoxicated persons:

(i) Evaluation and assessment, provided by certified chemical dependency professionals;

(ii) Acute or subacute detoxification services; and

(iii) Discharge assistance provided by certified chemical dependency professionals, including facilitating transitions to appropriate voluntary or involuntary inpatient services or to less restrictive alternatives as appropriate for the individual;

(b) Includes security measures sufficient to protect the patients, staff, and community; and

(c) Is licensed or certified as such by the department of health;

(52) "Serious violent offense" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 9.94A.030;

(53) "Social worker" means a person with a master's or further advanced degree from a social work educational program accredited and approved as provided in RCW 18.320.010;

(54) "Substance use disorder" means a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms indicating that an individual continues using the substance despite significant substance-related problems. The diagnosis of a substance use disorder is based on a pathological pattern of behaviors related to the use of the substances;

(55) "Therapeutic court personnel" means the staff of a mental health court or other therapeutic court which has jurisdiction over defendants who are dually diagnosed with mental disorders, including court personnel, probation officers, a court monitor, prosecuting attorney, or defense counsel acting within the scope of therapeutic court duties;

(56) "Treatment records" include registration and all other records concerning persons who are receiving or who at any time have received services for mental illness, which are maintained by the department of social and health services, the department, the authority, behavioral health organizations and their staffs, and by treatment facilities. Treatment records include mental health information contained in a medical bill including but not limited to mental health drugs, a mental health diagnosis, provider name, and dates of service stemming from a medical service. Treatment records do not include notes or records maintained for personal use by a person providing treatment services for the department of social and health services, the department, the authority, behavioral health organizations, or a treatment facility if the notes or records are not available to others;

(57) "Triage facility" means a short-term facility or a portion of a facility licensed or certified by the department under RCW 71.24.035, which is designed as a facility to assess and stabilize an individual or determine the need for involuntary commitment of an individual, and must meet department residential treatment facility standards. A triage facility may be structured as a voluntary or involuntary placement facility;

(58) "Violent act" means behavior that resulted in homicide, attempted suicide, nonfatal injuries, or substantial damage to property.

[ 2018 c 305 § 1; 2018 c 291 § 1; 2018 c 201 § 3001; 2017 3rd sp.s. c 14 § 14. Prior: 2016 sp.s. c 29 § 204; 2016 c 155 § 1; prior: 2015 c 269 § 14; (2015 c 269 § 13 expired April 1, 2016); 2015 c 250 § 2; (2015 c 250 § 1 expired April 1, 2016); prior: 2014 c 225 § 79; prior: 2011 c 148 § 1; 2011 c 89 § 14; prior: 2009 c 320 § 1; 2009 c 217 § 20; 2008 c 156 § 1; prior: 2007 c 375 § 6; 2007 c 191 § 2; 2005 c 504 § 104; 2000 c 94 § 1; 1999 c 13 § 5; 1998 c 297 § 3; 1997 c 112 § 3; prior: 1989 c 420 § 13; 1989 c 205 § 8; 1989 c 120 § 2; 1979 ex.s. c 215 § 5; 1973 1st ex.s. c 142 § 7.]

NOTES:

Reviser's note: This section was amended by 2018 c 201 § 3001, 2018 c 291 § 1, and by 2018 c 305 § 1, each without reference to the other. All amendments are incorporated in the publication of this section under RCW 1.12.025(2). For rule of construction, see RCW 1.12.025(1).

Effective date—2018 c 291 §§ 1-4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15: "Sections 1 through 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, and 15 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect April 1, 2018." [ 2018 c 291 § 18.]

Findings—Intent—Effective date—2018 c 201: See notes following RCW 41.05.018.

Effective date—2017 3rd sp.s. c 14 §§ 9, 12, 14, 15, and 17-21: See note following RCW 71.05.590.

Effective dates—2016 sp.s. c 29: See note following RCW 71.05.760.

Short title—Right of action—2016 sp.s. c 29: See notes following RCW 71.05.010.

Effective date—2015 c 269 §§ 10 and 14: See note following RCW 71.24.300.

Expiration dates—2015 c 269 §§ 9, 13, and 15: See note following RCW 71.24.300.

Effective date—2015 c 269 §§ 1-9 and 11-13: See note following RCW 71.05.010.

Effective date—2015 c 250 §§ 2, 15, and 19: "Sections 2, 15, and 19 of this act take effect April 1, 2016." [ 2015 c 250 § 23.]

Expiration date—2015 c 250 §§ 1, 14, and 18: "Sections 1, 14, and 18 of this act expire April 1, 2016." [ 2015 c 250 § 22.]

Effective date—2014 c 225: See note following RCW 71.24.016.

Certification of triage facilities—2011 c 148: "Facilities operating as triage facilities as defined in RCW 71.05.020, whether or not they are certified by the department of social and health services, as of April 22, 2011, are not required to relicense or recertify under any new rules governing licensure or certification of triage facilities. The department of social and health services shall work with the Washington association of counties and the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs in creating rules that establish standards for certification of triage facilities. The department of health rules must not require triage facilities to provide twenty-four hour nursing." [ 2011 c 148 § 6.]

Effective date—2011 c 148: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately [April 22, 2011]." [ 2011 c 148 § 7.]

Effective date—2011 c 89: See note following RCW 18.320.005.

Findings—2011 c 89: See RCW 18.320.005.

Conflict with federal requirements—2009 c 320: "If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. Rules adopted under this act must meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state." [ 2009 c 320 § 6.]

Findings—Purpose—Construction—Severability—2007 c 375: See notes following RCW 10.31.110.

Alphabetization—Correction of references—2005 c 504: "(1) The code reviser shall alphabetize and renumber the definitions, and correct any internal references affected by this act.

(2) The code reviser shall replace all references to "county designated mental health professional" with "designated mental health professional" in the Revised Code of Washington." [ 2005 c 504 § 811.]

Findings—Intent—Severability—Application—Construction—Captions, part headings, subheadings not law—Adoption of rules—Effective dates—2005 c 504: See notes following RCW 71.05.027.

Purpose—Construction—1999 c 13: See note following RCW 10.77.010.

Effective dates—Severability—Intent—1998 c 297: See notes following RCW 71.05.010.