The Vermont Statutes Online
The Statutes below include the actions of the 2024 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 18 : Health
Chapter 183 : Care and Treatment
(Cite as: 18 V.S.A. § 7703)-
§ 7703. Treatment
(a) Outpatient treatment or partial hospitalization shall be preferred to inpatient treatment. Emergency involuntary treatment shall be undertaken only when clearly necessary. Involuntary treatment shall be utilized only if voluntary treatment is not possible.
(b) The Department shall establish minimum standards for adequate treatment as provided in this section, including requirements that, when possible, psychiatric unit staff be used as the primary source to implement emergency involuntary procedures such as seclusion and restraint. The Department shall oversee and collect information and report on data regarding the use of emergency involuntary procedures for patients admitted to a psychiatric unit, a secure residential recovery facility, or a psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth, regardless of whether the patient is under the care and custody of the Commissioner. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968; amended 1977, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2011, No. 79 (Adj. Sess.), § 25, eff. April 4, 2012; 2021, No. 30, § 3; 2023, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 16, eff. July 1, 2024.)
