County counsel: Chapter 51 commitments face facility shortages and high out-of-county costs

Heather, identified in the meeting as the presenter on Chapter 51, walked the board through the legal standards for involuntary civil commitment under the State Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health Act (Chapter 51). She summarized the five statutory "dangerousness" standards (harm to self, harm to others, impaired judgment, inability to care for self, and the rarely-used prior-commitment standard), the three ways to initiate commitment (emergency detention by law enforcement, treatment director's hold, or rare three-party petition), and the court timelines (probable cause hearing within 72 hours; final hearing within 14 days).