Section 27-65-101 - Legislative declaration(1) The general assembly declares that the purposes of this article 65 are: (a) To secure for each person with a mental health disorder such care and treatment suited to the person's needs and to ensure that the care and treatment are skillfully and humanely administered with full respect for the person's dignity and personal integrity;(b) To deprive a person of the person's liberty for purposes of care or treatment only when less restrictive alternatives are unavailable and only when the person's safety or the safety of others is endangered;(c) To provide the fullest possible measure of privacy, dignity, and other rights to persons undergoing care and treatment for a mental health disorder;(d) To encourage the use of voluntary, rather than coercive, measures to provide care and treatment for mental health disorders and to provide the care and treatment in the least restrictive setting;(e) To provide appropriate information to family members concerning the location and fact of admission of a person with a mental health disorder to inpatient or residential care and treatment;(f) To encourage the appropriate participation of family members in the care and treatment of a person with a mental health disorder and, when appropriate, to provide information to family members in order to facilitate that participation; and(g) To facilitate the recovery and resiliency of each person who receives care and treatment pursuant to this article 65.(2) To carry out these purposes, the provisions of this article 65 must be liberally construed.Amended by 2022 Ch. 451, § 1, eff. 8/10/2022.Amended by 2017 Ch. 263, § 232, eff. 5/25/2017.L. 2010: Entire article added with relocations, (SB 10 -175), ch. 188, p. 675, § 2, effective April 29. L. 2017: (1) amended, (SB 17-242), ch. 263, p. 1338, § 232, effective May 25.This section is similar to former § 27-65-101 as it existed prior to 2022.
2022 Ch. 451, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3). For the legislative declaration in SB 17-242, see section 1 of chapter 263, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.