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Question

Specifically how do I get a judge to mandate my brother to go to rehab for his drug addiction, knowing he receives medicaid for his drug induce disability?

Submitted: 495 days and 2 hours ago.
Category: Legal
Value: $15
Status: CLOSED
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chicago, Illinois

Already Tried:
to get my brother in rehab

Accepted Answer

Hello and thanks so much for choosing this forum to pose your important legal question. I will do my best to give you some honest and accurate guidance as I answer your question.

  1. You are facing one of the most painful family situations, and I would like to first of all commend you for your concern about your brother's welfare. I hope that everything works out for you, and I send my best wishes for your brother's recovery.
  2. Other than for him voluntarily agreeing to enter treatment, there are essentially two avenues whereby he could be involuntarily sent to treatment. The first would be through a court ordering it as part of a criminal case. That is obviously out of your hands and would rest with the prosecutor, defense counsel, and the judge.
  3. The other mechanism, and this would be applicable to your situation, would be through involuntary commitment. This is not an easy task, and it requires proving incompetence by clear and convincing evidence -- a higher standard than the preponderance of the evidence standard generally employed in civil cases. Also, the patient is afforded a number of legal rights which have to be upheld. It is a harsh reality, but the bottom line is that setting aside the criminal ramifications, an adult is free to drive or drug themselves unless they present a documented danger to themselves or others.
  4. At this point I will just mention that you would be very prudent to retain counsel to assist you, if that is at all feasible. One good place to call and inquire about hiring an attorney, as well as asking about the availability of any free legal services, would be through the Illinois State Bar Association. The statutorily mandated procedure is rather complicated and is best handled by an experienced attorney.
  5. Another preliminary matter to just mention is that your brother's status as a recipient of Medicaid is not germane to the legal procedures to be followed. Federal and state law both address this issue and prohibit discrimination based on receiving such benefits.
  6. As to your request for the specifics of the process, the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code, codified at 405 ILCS 5/1-100 et seq., governs this situation. The following lists the required steps and procedures which must be followed:
  7. Authorized involuntary treatment may be administered to an adult recipient of services without the informed consent of the recipient under the following standards:

    (1) Any person 18 years of age or older, including any guardian, may petition the circuit court for an order authorizing the administration of authorized involuntary treatment to a recipient of services. The petition shall state that the petitioner has made a good faith attempt to determine whether the recipient has executed a power of attorney for health care under the Powers of Attorney for Health Care Law or a declaration for mental health treatment under the Mental Health Treatment Preference Declaration Act and to obtain copies of these instruments if they exist. If either of the above-named instruments is available to the petitioner, the instrument or a copy of the instrument shall be attached to the petition as an exhibit. The petitioner shall deliver a copy of the petition, and notice of the time and place of the hearing, to the respondent, his or her attorney, any known agent or attorney-in-fact, if any, and the guardian, if any, no later than 3 days prior to the date of the hearing. Service of the petition and notice of the time and place of the hearing may be made by transmitting them via facsimile machine to the respondent or other party. Upon receipt of the petition and notice, the party served, or the person delivering the petition and notice to the party served, shall acknowledge service. If the party sending the petition and notice does not receive acknowledgement of service within 24 hours, service must be made by personal service.

    The petition may include a request that the court authorize such testing and procedures as may be essential for the safe and effective administration of the authorized involuntary treatment sought to be administered, but only where the petition sets forth the specific testing and procedures sought to be administered.

    If a hearing is requested to be held immediately following the hearing on a petition for involuntary admission, then the notice requirement shall be the same as that for the hearing on the petition for involuntary admission, and the petition filed pursuant to this Section shall be filed with the petition for involuntary admission.

    (2) The court shall hold a hearing within 7 days of the filing of the petition. The People, the petitioner, or the respondent shall be entitled to a continuance of up to 7 days as of right. An additional continuance of not more than 7 days may be granted to any party (i) upon a showing that the continuance is needed in order to adequately prepare for or present evidence in a hearing under this Section or (ii) under exceptional circumstances. The court may grant an additional continuance not to exceed 21 days when, in its discretion, the court determines that such a continuance is necessary in order to provide the recipient with an examination pursuant to Section 3-803 or 3-804 of this Act, to provide the recipient with a trial by jury as provided in Section 3-802 of this Act, or to arrange for the substitution of counsel as provided for by the Illinois Supreme Court Rules. The hearing shall be separate from a judicial proceeding held to determine whether a person is subject to involuntary admission but may be heard immediately preceding or following such a judicial proceeding and may be heard by the same trier of fact or law as in that judicial proceeding.

    (3) Unless otherwise provided herein, the procedures set forth in Article VIII of Chapter 3 of this Act, including the provisions regarding appointment of counsel, shall govern hearings held under this subsection (a-5).

    (4) Authorized involuntary treatment shall not be administered to the recipient unless it has been determined by clear and convincing evidence that all of the following factors are present:

    (A) That the recipient has a serious mental illness or developmental disability.

    (B) That because of said mental illness or developmental disability, the recipient currently exhibits any one of the following: (i) deterioration of his or her ability to function, as compared to the recipient's ability to function prior to the current onset of symptoms of the mental illness or disability for which treatment is presently sought, (ii) suffering, or (iii) threatening behavior.

    (C) That the illness or disability has existed for a period marked by the continuing presence of the symptoms set forth in item (B) of this subdivision (4) or the repeated episodic occurrence of these symptoms.

    (D) That the benefits of the treatment outweigh the harm.

    (E) That the recipient lacks the capacity to make a reasoned decision about the treatment.

    (F) That other less restrictive services have been explored and found inappropriate.

    (G) If the petition seeks authorization for testing and other procedures, that such testing and procedures are essential for the safe and effective administration of the treatment.

    (5) In no event shall an order issued under this Section be effective for more than 90 days. A second 90-day period of involuntary treatment may be authorized pursuant to a hearing that complies with the standards and procedures of this subsection (a-5). Thereafter, additional 180-day periods of involuntary treatment may be authorized pursuant to the standards and procedures of this Section without limit. If a new petition to authorize the administration of authorized involuntary treatment is filed at least 15 days prior to the expiration of the prior order, and if any continuance of the hearing is agreed to by the recipient, the administration of the treatment may continue in accordance with the prior order pending the completion of a hearing under this Section.

    (6) An order issued under this subsection (a-5) shall designate the persons authorized to administer the authorized involuntary treatment under the standards and procedures of this subsection (a-5). Those persons shall have complete discretion not to administer any treatment authorized under this Section. The order shall also specify the medications and the anticipated range of dosages that have been authorized and may include a list of any alternative medications and range of dosages deemed necessary.

    (b) A guardian may be authorized to consent to the administration of authorized involuntary treatment to an objecting recipient only under the standards and procedures of subsection (a-5).

    (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, a guardian may consent to the administration of authorized involuntary treatment to a non-objecting recipient under Article XIa of the Probate Act of 1975.

    (d) Nothing in this Section shall prevent the administration of authorized involuntary treatment to recipients in an emergency under Section 2-107 of this Act.

    (e) Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this Section, authorized involuntary treatment may be administered pursuant to a power of attorney for health care under the Powers of Attorney for Health Care Law or a declaration for mental health treatment under the Mental Health Treatment Preference Declaration Act.

    (405 ILCS 5/2-107.2) (from Ch. 91 1/2, par. 2-107.2) Sec. 2-107.2. Review; notice.

    (a) Whenever any recipient, who is receiving treatment in a residential mental health facility, has been receiving authorized involuntary treatment in that facility continuously or on a regular basis for a period of 3 months, and, if the treatment is continued while the recipient is a resident in that facility, every 6 months thereafter, for so long as the treatment shall continue, the facility director shall convene a treatment review panel to review the treatment.

    (b) At least 7 days prior to the date of the meeting, the recipient, his or her guardian, if any, and the person designated under subsection (b) of Section 2-200 shall be given written notification of the time and place of the treatment review meeting. The notice shall also advise the recipient of his or her right to designate some person to attend the meeting and assist the recipient.

    (c) If, during the course of the review, the recipient or guardian, if any, advises the committee that he no longer agrees to continue receiving the treatment, the treatment must be discontinued except that the treatment may be administered under either Section 2-107 or 2-107.1. If the recipient and guardian, if any, continues to agree to the treatment, the treatment shall be continued if the committee determines that the recipient is receiving appropriate treatment and that the benefit to the recipient outweighs any risk of harm to the recipient.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you. If we can be of any further assistance please free to use our service again. Best wishes for a successful outcome.

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The information provided is general in nature only and should not be construed as legal advice. By using this forum, you acknowledge that no attorney-client relationship has been created between you and Benjamin M. Burt, Jr., Esq. You should always consult with a lawyer in your state.

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Expert: Benjamin M. Burt, Jr., Esq.
Pos. Feedback: 99.4 %
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Answered: 7/16/2008

Lawyer (JD)

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