Title: 
Headings:  LEGISLATIVE GUIDE TO INVOLUNTARY HOSPITALIZATION OF PERSONS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
LEGISLATIVE
 
GUIDE
 
TO
 
INVOLUNTARY
HOSPITALIZATION
 
OF
 
PERSONS
 
WITH
 
MENTAL
 
ILLNESS
 

I.
 
Overview.
 

II.
 
Introduction.
 

III.
 
Historical
 
Background.
 

IV.
 
Constitutional
 
Due
 
Process
 
Limitations.
   


 
General
 
Principles.
 

V.
 
Iowa
 
Statutory
 
Provisions.
 


  
Application.
   

B.
  
Order
 
for
 
Evaluation
 
and
 
Treatment.
   

C.
 
Hospitalization.
 

D.
  
Placement
 
Order
 
and
 
Hearing.
  

F.
  
Termination
 
of
 
Commitment.
 

VI.
 
Summary.
 


Content: In
 
December
 
of
 
1999,
 
the
 
Surgeon
 
General
 
of
 
the
 
United
 
States
 
issued
 
his
 
first
 
report
 
on
 
mental
 
illness. The
 
report
 
stressed
 
the
 
fundamental
 
importance
 
of
 
mental
 
health
 
to
 
overall
 
health
 
and
 
well-being
 
and
 
further
 
recognized
 
that
 
mental
 
disorders
 
affect
 
nearly
 
one
 
in
 
five
 
Americans
 
in
 
any
 
given
 
year. The
 
report
 
characterized
 
these
 
mental
 
disorders
 
as
 
real
 
illnesses
 
that
 
can
 
be
 
just
 
as
 
serious
 
and
 
disabling
 
as
 
certain
 
physical
 
diseases. The
 
report
 
further
 
concluded
 
that
 
approximately
 
10
 
percent
 
of
 
children
 
and
 
adults
 
receive
 
mental
 
health
 
services
 
from
 
mental
 
health
 
specialists
 
or
 
general
 
medical
 
providers
 
in
 
a
 
given
 
year,
 
and
 
one
 
in
 
six
 
adults
 
obtains
 
mental
 
health
 
services
 
either
 
from
 
health
 
care
 
providers,
 
the
 
clergy,
 
social
 
service
 
agencies,
 
or
 
schools
 
in
 
a
 
given
 
year.3
  
The
 
Surgeon
 
General's
 
findings
 
underscore
 
the
 
widespread
 
incidence
 
of
 
mental
 
illness
 
and
 
the
 
great
 
need
 
for
 
mental
 
health
 
services. Mental
 
Health
 
Services
 
in
 
Iowa. The
 
state
 
of
 
Iowa
 
operates
 
four
 
mental
 
health
 
institutes,
 
including
 
facilities
 
in
 
Cherokee,
 
Clarinda,
 
Independence,
 
and
 
Mount
 
Pleasant. At
 
the
 
local
 
level,
 
mental
 
health
 
services
 
are
 
provided
 
by
 
community
 
mental
 
health
 
centers,
 
hospitals,
 
and
 
various
 
private
 
providers
 
and
 
practitioners. Recipients
 
of
 
publicly
 
funded
 
mental
 
health
 
services
 
in
 
Iowa
 
include
 
persons
 
with
 
primary
 
or
 
secondary
 
diagnoses
 
of
 
mental
 
retardation,
 
chronic
 
mental
 
illness,
 
and
 
developmental
 
disability. Public
 
funding
 
for
 
mental
 
health
 
services
 
in
 
Iowa
 
is
 
provided
 
by
 
state,
 
federal,
 
and
 
county
 
governments,
 
and
 
a
 
patient's
 
county
 
of
 
legal
 
settlement
 
is
 
liable
 
for
 
the
 
costs
 
associated
 
with
 
the
 
custody,
 
care,
 
and
 
commitment
 
of
 
a
 
patient
 
at
 
a
 
state
 
hospital. The
 
state
 
pays
 
for
 
mental
 
health
 
services
 

 
The
 
terms
 
"involuntary
 
hospitalization"
 
and
 
"civil
 
commitment"
 
are
 
often
 
used
 
interchangeably.