Title 40.1
Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals

Chapter 5.4
Division of Mental Health

§ 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(6) 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 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 this title;

(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(b)(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.