Or. Admin. R. 309-033-0290 - [Effective until 4/11/2023] Assignment and Placement of Persons Committed to the Division
(1) Assignment
authority. The Authority, pursuant to ORS
426.060,
delegates the responsibility for the assignment and placement of a person under
civil commitment to the director of the county of commitment:
(a) The director, in consultation with the
appropriate administrator, may assign or transfer a person under civil
commitment to any facility or program approved by the Authority which, in the
opinion of the director, will appropriately meet the mental health needs of the
person under civil commitment and is consistent with applicable
rules;
(b) The director may
discharge the person under civil commitment from the civil commitment by
notifying, in writing, the court having jurisdiction, if the director
determines the person no longer is a person with mental illness defined by ORS
426.005, except for when held
upon an order from a court having criminal jurisdiction or when voluntary
status is in the best interest of the person, pursuant to ORS
426.300.
(2) Assignment outside the county of
residence. The director of the county of commitment may assign the person under
civil commitment to a facility in a county other than the county of residence
only with the approval of the director of the county of residence and the
director of the county of placement:
(a) When
the director of the county of commitment assigns a person under civil
commitment under this section, the director of the county of commitment shall
transfer the responsibility for assignment and placement to the director of the
county of placement;
(b) The
Authority shall assign a person under civil commitment under this section when
the director of the county of commitment, the director of the county of
residence and the director of the county of placement determine that they
cannot agree on the assignment of the person and request the Authority to make
the assignment:
(A) The Authority approval
shall determine fiscal responsibility for the services to be delivered to the
person under civil commitment and shall look to existing applicable laws,
contracts and interagency agreements;
(B) The Authority's decision shall be
final.
(c) When placement
is determined, the director of the county of placement shall accept the
responsibility for further assignment and placement;
(d) The director of the county of commitment
shall petition the court in the county where the person was committed to
transfer jurisdiction to the court in the county where the person is to reside,
pursuant to ORS
426.275.
(3) Assignment to a state hospital. The
director of the county of commitment shall only assign and place a person under
civil commitment in a state hospital with the consent of the
superintendent.
(4) Assignment
procedure. The director of the county of commitment shall make the assignment
in writing immediately upon the civil commitment of a person by the court or at
the time the person under civil commitments transferred to another placement
during the commitment period. The director shall:
(a) Retain an original assignment order on
file, in paper or electronic, in safe keeping for seven years;
(b) Deliver a signed original copy, paper or
electronic, of the assignment order to the person prior to placement;
(c) Enter into the Division's current
computer data systems a copy of director's written assignment order, and
information about the person under civil commitment including:
(A) Name and any known aliases;
(B) Date of birth;
(C) Address of current residence;
(D) Address where assigned for treatment if
different from residence;
(E) Name
and telephone number of the administrator of the hospital, facility or program
responsible for the person's treatment; and
(F) Any other data as requested by the
Division.
(d) Should the
Division's current computer data systems be unavailable to upload and
communicate the written assignment order, within three business days the
director shall submit a copy of the assignment order to the Division by email
at civil.commitment@odhsoha.oregon.gov.
(5) Appeal of assignment procedure. At any
time during the period of commitment, a person under civil commitment may
appeal to the Authority for a change in assignment made by a director:
(a) How to make an appeal. The person under
civil commitment shall make the appeal in writing and shall include the
following information in the appeal:
(A) A
statement that the person under civil commitment appeals the current
assignment;
(B) The reason(s) the
person under civil commitment believes the current assignment is inappropriate;
and
(C) The proposed alternate
placement and the reasons the person under civil commitment is requesting the
alternate placement.
(b)
Appeal of an assignment to a community hospital or to the community. The
Authority shall decide on an appealed assignment for persons currently assigned
to community hospitals or community placements. The Authority shall determine
the assignment for the person under civil commitment and notify the person
under civil commitment of the assignment, in writing or verbally, within five
business days of the receipt of the written appeal. The Authority's
determination shall be final:
(A) In
determining an appealed assignment, the Authority:
(i) Shall review the written
appeal;
(ii) Shall contact the
director making the assignment, and consider the director's reason(s) for
making the assignment;
(iii) Shall
consider the opinion of the person's treating physician if the person is placed
at a community hospital;
(iv) May
require the director to submit a written statement which gives the reason(s)
for the assignment;
(v) May
consider the consultation or opinion of any person that the Authority believes
has knowledge relevant to the case; and
(vi) Shall consider whether the person has
been accepted at the person's preferred community placement.
(B) The Authority shall consider
the following criteria in making a determination of an appealed assignment:
(i) The best interests of the person under
civil commitment;
(ii) The safety
of the person and the community; and
(iii) The availability of the least
restrictive, most integrated setting depending on available
resources.
(c)
Appeal of an assignment to a state hospital. The Authority shall make a
determination of an appealed assignment for persons currently assigned to a
state hospital. The Authority shall determine the assignment for the person
under civil commitment and notify the person under civil commitment of the
assignment, in writing or verbally, within five business days of the receipt of
the written appeal. The Authority's determination shall be final:
(A) In making a determination of an appealed
assignment, the Authority shall consider the opinion of the superintendent or
designee, and:
(i) Shall review the written
appeal;
(ii) Shall contact the
director making the assignment, and consider the director's reason(s) for
making the assignment;
(iii) Shall
consider the opinion of the person's treating physician if the person is placed
at a community hospital;
(iv) May
require the director to submit a written statement which gives the reason(s)
for the assignment;
(v) May
consider the consultation or opinion of any person that the Authority believes
has knowledge relevant to the case; and
(vi) Shall consider whether the person has
been accepted at the person's preferred community placement.
(B) The Authority shall consider
the following criteria in determining an appealed assignment:
(i) The best interests of the person under
civil commitment;
(ii) The
assignment shall assure the safety of the person and the community;
and
(iii) The availability of the
least restrictive, most integrated setting depending on available
resources.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 413.042 & 426.060
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 426.005 - 426.395
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
(1) Assignment authority. The Division, pursuant to ORS 426.060, delegates the responsibility for the assignment and placement of committed persons to the director of the county of commitment:
(a) The director may assign or transfer a committed person to any facility or program approved by the Division which, in the opinion of the director, will appropriately meet the mental health needs of the committed person;
(b) The director may discharge the committed person from commitment by notifying, in writing, the court having jurisdiction, if the director determines the person no longer is a mentally ill person as defined by ORS 426.005.
(2) Assignment outside the county of residence. The director of the county of commitment may assign the committed person to a facility in a county other than the county of residence only with the approval of the director of the county of residence and the director of the county of placement:
(a) When the director of the county of commitment assigns a committed person under this section, the director of the county of commitment shall transfer the responsibility for assignment and placement to the director of the county of placement;
(b) The Assistant Administrator shall assign a committed person under this section when the director of the county of commitment, the director of the county of residence and the director of the county of placement determine that they cannot agree on the assignment of the person and request the Division to make the assignment:
(A) The Assistant Administrator shall determine fiscal responsibility for the services to be delivered to the committed person and shall look to existing applicable laws, contracts and interagency agreements;
(B) The decision of the Assistant Administrator shall be final.
(c) When placement is determined, the director of the county of placement shall accept the responsibility for further assignment and placement;
(d) The director of the county of commitment shall petition the court in the county where the person was committed to transfer jurisdiction to the court in the county where the person is to reside, pursuant to ORS 426.275.
(3) Assignment to a state hospital. The director of the county of commitment shall only assign and place a committed person in a state hospital with the consent of the superintendent.
(4) Assignment procedure. The director of the county of commitment shall make the assignment in writing immediately upon commitment of a person by the court or at the time the placement of a committed person is changed during the commitment period. The director shall:
(a) Retain an original assignment order on file in safe keeping for seven years;
(b) Deliver a signed original copy of the assignment order to the person prior to placement;
(c) Enter into the Division's current computer data system information about the committed person including:
(A) Name and any known aliases;
(B) Date of birth;
(C) Address of current residence;
(D) Address where assigned for treatment if different from residence;
(E) Name and telephone number of the administrator of the hospital, facility or program responsible for the person's treatment; and
(F) Any other data as requested by the Division.
(d) Out of county assignments shall include a statement that assignment and placement responsibility is transferred to the director of the county of placement.
(5) Appeal of assignment procedure. At any time during the period of commitment, a committed person may appeal to the Assistant Administrator for Mental Health for a change in assignment made by a director.
(a) How to make an appeal. The committed person shall make the appeal in writing and shall include the following information in the appeal:
(A) A statement that the committed person appeals the current assignment;
(B) The reason(s) the committed person believes the current assignment is inappropriate; and
(C) The proposed alternate placement and the reasons the committed person is requesting the alternate placement.
(b) Appeal of an assignment to a community hospital or to the community. The Assistant Administrator shall make a determination of an appealed assignment for persons currently assigned to community hospitals or community placements. The Assistant Administrator shall determine the assignment for the committed person, and notify the committed person of the assignment, in writing or verbally, within five business days of the receipt of the written appeal. The Assistant Administrator's determination shall be final:
(A) In making a determination of an appealed assignment the Assistant Administrator:
(i) Shall review the written appeal;
(ii) Shall contact the director making the assignment, and consider the director's reason(s) for making the assignment;
(iii) Shall consider the opinion of the person's treating physician if the person is placed at a community hospital;
(iv) May require the director to submit a written statement which gives the reason(s) for the assignment; and
(v) May consider the consultation or opinion of any person that the Assistant Administrator believes has knowledge relevant to the case.
(B) The Assistant Administrator shall use the following criteria when making a determination of an appealed assignment:
(i) The assignment shall be in the best interests of the committed person;
(ii) The assignment shall assure the safety of the person and the community; and
(iii) The assignment shall be in the least restrictive environment that the resources of the person or Division will allow.
(c) Appeal of an assignment to a state hospital. The Administrator shall make a determination of an appealed assignment for persons currently assigned to a state hospital or where the appeal requests assignment to a state hospital. The Administrator shall determine the assignment for the committed person, and notify the committed person of the assignment, in writing or verbally, within five business days of the receipt of the written appeal. The Administrator's determination shall be final:
(A) In making a determination of an appealed assignment the Administrator shall consider the opinion of the superintendent, or designee, of the state hospital affected by the appeal, and the report of the Assistant Administrator. In making the report to the Administrator, the Assistant Administrator:
(i) Shall review the written appeal;
(ii) Shall contact the director making the assignment, and consider the director's reason(s) for making the assignment;
(iii) Shall consider the opinion of the person's treating physician if the person is placed at a community hospital;
(iv) May require the director to submit a written statement which gives the reason(s) for the assignment;
(v) May consider the consultation or opinion of any person that the Assistant Administrator believes has knowledge relevant to the case;
(vi) Shall make a recommendation about the proposed assignment; and
(vii) Shall submit the report within three business days after the Division receives the appeal.
(B) The Administrator shall use the following criteria when making a determination of an appealed assignment:
(i) The assignment shall be in the best interests of the committed person;
(ii) The assignment shall assure the safety of the person and the community; and
(iii) The assignment shall be in the least restrictive environment that the resources of the person or Division will allow.
Notes
Stat. Auth.: ORS 413.042, 426.060
Stats. Implemented: ORS 426.005 - 426.395