TITLE 40.1

Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

CHAPTER 40.1-5.4

Division of Mental Health

SECTION 40.1-5.4-4



   § 40.1-5.4-4  Powers and duties of director

of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals. –

The director of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals

shall, subject to available appropriations, have the following powers and

duties:



   (1) To be responsible for planning and developing a complete,

comprehensive, and integrated statewide system of mental health services;

provided that the department's highest priorities shall be to provide services

to residents with serious mental illness, early and ongoing treatment and

support for serious mental illness and research into the causes and treatment

of serious mental illness, in the development of the system, the department

shall consult with all facilities and agencies, both public and private,

concerned with the mental health of the residents of Rhode Island;



   (2) To implement the system in cooperation with providers of

mental health services;



   (3) To coordinate the efforts of the department of behavioral

healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals with those of other state

departments and agencies, municipal governments, as well as the federal

government and private agencies concerned with, and providing services for,

persons with serious mental illness;



   (4) To be responsible for the administration of

state-operated facilities established for the diagnosis, care, and

rehabilitation of adults with serious mental illness and to ensure that there

are adequate state facilities to provide these services;



   (5) To have general supervision of all private facilities as

that term is defined in § 40.1-5-2(3) and to exercise the powers and

duties provided for in § 40.1-5-1 et seq.;



   (6) To establish standards in conformance with generally

accepted professional practice and to provide technical assistance to all

state-supported diagnostic facilities, rehabilitation centers, community

residences, community mental health centers, and other facilities for the

persons with serious mental illness licensed by the department pursuant to

§ 40.1-24-1 et seq.;



   (7) To monitor and inspect to ensure compliance with the

standards; provided, however, that none of the foregoing shall be applicable to

any of the facilities wholly within the control of any other department of

state government;



   (8) To stimulate research by public and private agencies,

institutions of higher learning, and hospitals, in the interest of the

elimination and amelioration of serious mental illness, and care and treatment

of persons with serious mental illness;



   (9) To provide funding to the various community agencies and

private nonprofit agencies, in amounts that will enable adults with serious

mental illness to receive services appropriate to their individual's needs;



   (10) To take, hold, and administer in trust for the state any

grant, devise, gift, or bequest made either to the state or to the department

for the use of persons under its care or for the expenditure upon any work that

the department is authorized to undertake;



   (11) To establish and maintain a comprehensive program of

community mental health services, utilizing the community mental health centers

and other community mental health agencies and to establish standards for the

development of these community programs;



   (12) To exercise the powers and duties relating to community

mental health centers in accordance with § 40.1-8.5-1 et seq.;



   (13) To exercise the powers and duties relating to the

licensing of community mental health facilities in accordance with §

40.1-24-1 et seq.;



   (14) To consult with and assist the governor's council on

behavioral health in accordance with the requirements of chapter 29 of title

40.1;



   (15) To exercise the powers and duties relating to care and

treatment of forensic patients in accordance with § 40.1-5.3-1 et seq.;



   (16) To cooperate with the department of corrections, the

courts, and local and state law enforcement authorities to ensure adequate,

fair, and humane treatment of persons with serious mental illness involved in

the criminal justice system.



   (17) To initiate transition planning:



   (i) In cooperation with the department of children, youth and

families and local school departments, for any person who receives services

through the department of children, youth, and families, is seriously

emotionally disturbed or developmentally delayed pursuant to §

42-72-5(24)(v), and whose care may or shall be administered by the department

of behavioral healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals after the

age of twenty-one (21) years, the transition planning shall commence at least

twelve (12) months prior to the child's twenty-first birthday and shall result

in a collaborative plan submitted to the family court by both behavioral

healthcare, developmental disabilities and hospitals and the department of

children, youth, and families and shall require the approval of the court prior

to the dismissal of the abuse, neglect, dependency, or miscellaneous petition;



   (ii) In cooperation with the individual, the parents/legal

guardians and school districts for any other person whose care may or shall be

administered by the department of behavioral healthcare, developmental

disabilities and hospitals after the age of twenty-one (21) years, the

transition planning shall commence at least twelve (12) months prior to the

child's twenty-first birthday and shall specifically identify housing options,

supportive services, health care, and workforce training or opportunities.



   (18) To act in the capacity of "state mental health

authority" as that term has meaning for a coordination of state mental health

planning and policy, and as it also relates to requirements set forth in

pertinent federal mental health laws and regulations.



   (19) To propose, review, and/or approve, as appropriate,

proposals, policies, or plans involving insurance or managed care systems for

mental health services in Rhode Island or those aimed at improving the overall

mental health of Rhode Island residents when the proposals, policies or plans

relate to the publicly administered integrated state mental health service

system.



History of Section.

(P.L. 1994, ch. 247, § 1; P.L. 2015, ch. 118, § 2; P.L. 2015, ch.

130, § 2.)