Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 53. SOCIAL SERVICES AND INSTITUTIONS

CHAPTER 20. DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

Part 1. Treatment

Definitions

53-20-102. Definitions. As used in this part, the following definitions apply:

(1) (a) "Available" means:

(i) that services of an identified provider or providers have been found to be necessary and appropriate for the habilitation of a specific person by the person's individual treatment planning team;

(ii) that funding for the services has been identified and committed for the person's immediate use; and

(iii) that all providers have offered the necessary services for the person's immediate use.

(b) A service is not available simply because similar services are offered by one or more providers in one or more locations to other individuals or because the person has been placed on a waiting list for services or funding.

(2) "Board" or "mental disabilities board of visitors" means the mental disabilities board of visitors created by 2-15-211.

(3) "Case manager" means a person who is responsible for service coordination, planning, and crisis intervention for persons who are eligible for community-based developmental disabilities services from the department of public health and human services.

(4) "Census" means the number of residents occupying beds in a residential facility on a particular date.

(5) "Community treatment plan" means a comprehensive, individualized plan of care that addresses the habilitation needs of and the risks posed by the behaviors of a respondent who is found to be seriously developmentally disabled.

(6) "Community-based facilities" or "community-based services" means those facilities and services that are available for the evaluation, treatment, and habilitation of persons with developmental disabilities in a community setting.

(7) "Court" means a district court of the state of Montana.

(8) "Developmental disabilities professional" means a licensed psychologist, a licensed psychiatrist, or a person with a master's degree in psychology, who:

(a) has training and experience in psychometric testing and evaluation;

(b) has experience in the field of developmental disabilities; and

(c) is certified, as provided in 53-20-106, by the department of public health and human services.

(9) "Developmental disability" means a disability that:

(a) is attributable to intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or any other neurologically disabling condition closely related to intellectual disability;

(b) requires treatment similar to that required by intellectually disabled individuals;

(c) originated before the individual attained age 18;

(d) has continued or can be expected to continue indefinitely; and

(e) results in the person having a substantial disability.

(10) "Habilitation" means the process by which a person who has a developmental disability is assisted in acquiring and maintaining those life skills that enable the person to cope more effectively with personal needs and the demands of the environment and in raising the level of the person's physical, mental, and social efficiency. Habilitation includes but is not limited to formal, structured education and treatment.

(11) "Individual treatment planning team" means the interdisciplinary team of persons involved in and responsible for the habilitation of a resident. The resident is a member of the team.

(12) "Next of kin" includes but is not limited to the spouse, parents, adult children, and adult brothers and sisters of a person.

(13) "Qualified intellectual disability professional" means a professional program staff person for the residential facility who the department of public health and human services determines meets the professional requirements necessary for federal certification of the facility.

(14) "Resident" means a person committed to a residential facility.

(15) "Residential facility" or "facility" means:

(a) the Montana developmental center; or

(b) a private, community-based facility approved by the department of public health and human services as a facility able to meet the needs of individuals committed to a residential facility pursuant to this chapter or placed in a residential facility pursuant to Title 46, chapter 14.

(16) "Residential facility screening team" means a team of persons, appointed as provided in 53-20-133, that is responsible for screening a respondent to determine if the commitment of the respondent to a residential facility or the imposition of a community treatment plan is appropriate.

(17) "Respondent" means a person alleged in a petition filed pursuant to this part to be seriously developmentally disabled and for whom the petition requests commitment to a residential facility or imposition of a community treatment plan.

(18) "Responsible person" means a person willing and able to assume responsibility for a person who is seriously developmentally disabled or alleged to be seriously developmentally disabled.

(19) "Seriously developmentally disabled" means a person who:

(a) has a developmental disability;

(b) is impaired in cognitive functioning; and

(c) cannot be safely and effectively habilitated through voluntary use of community-based services because of behaviors that pose an imminent risk of serious harm to self or others.

History: En. 38-1202 by Sec. 2, Ch. 468, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 37, L. 1977; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 568, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 38-1202(part); amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 132, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 137, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 569, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 151, L. 1985; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 262, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 381, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 255, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 467, Ch. 546, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 67, Ch. 472, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 575, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 27, L. 2005; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 122, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 252, L. 2007; amd. Sec. 10, Ch. 68, L. 2013; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 444, L. 2015.