SB 239

Current law establishes a procedure for emergency detention of an individual

who is believed to be mentally ill, drug dependent, or developmentally disabled and

who demonstrates a substantial probability of physical harm to himself or herself or

others or impairment or injury to himself or herself due to impaired judgment, or

inability to satisfy certain basic needs due to mental illness. Currently, in Milwaukee

County, the treatment director of a facility has 24 hours from the time the individual

is delivered to the facility to determine whether or not the individual must be

detained for purposes of emergency detention. Once the treatment director makes

a determination that an individual is being detained, the individual may not be

detained for longer than 72 hours without a court hearing. The 24-hour period in

which the treatment director must make the determination may be extended by any

period that the determination is delayed that is directly attributable to evaluation

or stabilizing treatment of nonpsychiatric medical conditions. Currently, in counties

other than Milwaukee County, there is no 24-hour period for determination by a

treatment director, and the 72-hour period during which the individual may be held

without a hearing begins when the individual is taken into custody by law

enforcement or another authorized person and continues upon transfer of the

individual to the treatment facility. This bill excludes from the 72-hour time limit

that an individual may be detained without a hearing for the purposes of emergency

detention any period during which the individual's behavior is not observable that

is directly attributable to evaluation or stabilizing treatment of a nonpsychiatric

medical condition.