This bill amends the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Code and the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Act to introduce new definitions for "harm to self" and "harm to others." The new definition of "harm to self" specifies that it includes situations where an individual is likely to attempt suicide or cause serious bodily harm to themselves, as well as instances where their behavior indicates a lack of capacity to meet basic needs, potentially leading to severe consequences without treatment. Similarly, "harm to others" is defined as actions where an individual has recently inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily harm on another person or has created a substantial risk of such harm, with a likelihood of repeating this conduct in the near future.

The bill also removes previous definitions of "likelihood of serious harm to oneself" and "likelihood of serious harm to others," replacing them with the newly defined terms. These changes aim to clarify the criteria for assessing risks associated with individuals in mental health contexts, thereby enhancing the framework for treatment and intervention under the relevant laws.

Statutes affected:
introduced version: 30-1-8, 30-6A-4, 30-31-20, 30-31-21, 30-31-22, 30-31-23, 30-52-1, 31-9-1.2, 31-9-1.3, 31-9-1.4, 31-9-1.5, 31-9-1.6, 31-9-2, 31-18-15, 31-26-3, 32A-2-2, 32A-2-3, 32A-2-4.1, 32A-2-8, 32A-2-11, 32A-2-12, 32A-2-13, 32A-2-14, 32A-2-17, 32A-2-18, 32A-2-19, 32A-2-20, 32A-2-22, 32A-2-23, 32A-2-23.1, 32A-2-24, 32A-2-26, 33-2-34, 43-1B-4, 32A-2-32.1
JU substitute: 43-1-3, 43-1B-2