53-21-112. Voluntary admission of minors. - Montana Statutes

     53-21-112. Voluntary admission of minors. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a parent or guardian of a minor may consent to mental health services to be rendered to the minor by:
     (a) a facility;
     (b) a person licensed in this state to practice medicine; or
     (c) a mental health professional licensed in this state.
     (2) A minor who is at least 16 years of age may, without the consent of a parent or guardian, consent to receive mental health services from those facilities or persons listed in subsection (1).
     (3) Except as provided by this section, the provisions of 53-21-111 apply to the voluntary admission of a minor to a mental health facility but not to the state hospital.
     (4) Except as provided by this subsection, voluntary admission of a minor to a mental health facility for an inpatient course of treatment is for the same period of time as that for an adult. A minor voluntarily admitted with consent of the minor's parent or guardian has the right to be released within 5 days of a request by the parent or guardian as provided in 53-21-111(3). A minor who has been admitted without consent by a parent or guardian, pursuant to subsection (2), may also make a request and also has the right to be released within 5 days as provided in 53-21-111(3). Unless there has been a periodic review and a voluntary readmission consented to by the parent or guardian in the case of a minor patient or consented to by the minor alone in the case of a minor patient who is at least 16 years of age, voluntary admission terminates at the expiration of 1 year. At the minor's request or at any time that the minor is faced with potential legal proceedings, the court shall order the office of state public defender, provided for in 47-1-201, to assign counsel for the minor.

     History: En. 38-1303 by Sec. 3, Ch. 466, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 546, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 38-1303(7) thru (9); amd. Sec. 14, Ch. 38, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 547, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 363, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 12, Ch. 14, Sp. L. June 1986; amd. Sec. 16, Ch. 490, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 57, Ch. 449, L. 2005.