Current through all regulations passed and filed through December 16, 2024
(A) Purpose and background
(1) The purpose of this rule shall be to
establish guidelines for competency assessment and restoration treatment of
serious youthful offenders (SYOs). Pursuant to section
2152.13
of the Revised
Code, effective January 1, 2002, SYOs are afforded all the rights a person who
is criminally prosecuted would have if the crime were committed by an adult.
This includes the right to be competent to stand trial and utilization of the
procedure outlined in Chapter 2945. of the Revised Code, related to competency
to stand trial.
(2)
Placement/treatment of young children on adult units raises fundamental
concerns about the safety and effectiveness of treatment, since ODMH only
operates adult inpatient facilities. Treatment of children/adolescents must
consider the child's developmental needs and mental status in order to be safe
and effective. This rule establishes separate and distinct procedures and
guidelines for competency assessment and restoration of children/adolescents.
This rule will provide procedures for handling potential referrals from the
juvenile courts in Ohio to ODMH facilities. Substantial precedent and common
sense support the separation of children from adults in inpatient settings.
Prior to the closure of ODMH children's hospitals, in
accordance with section
5119.03 of the Revised Code,
the department
operated separate institutions for children and
adults. ODMH private psychiatric hospital licensure rules require that children
and adult beds be separate, except for certain emergency admissions of brief
periods (forty-eight to seventy-two hours) for older adolescents, aged fifteen
through seventeen.
Under this rule, seventeen year olds may be admitted and
treated in an adult bed if the person is functioning as an adult in such areas
as employment, family, or marriage, or if the diagnosis or problem is such that
treatment is warranted in an adult bed.
National professional guidelines clearly recognize that
children and adolescents younger than fourteen should be admitted only to
programs that are designed for youth and physically distinct from adult
psychiatric inpatient programs. Adolescents sixteen and older may be admitted
to adult units for valid clinical reasons, but should be treated in a program
designed to meet their specific needs. Children and adolescent programs should
address the youth's developmental needs including those for education and
age-appropriate social interaction.
(B) Definitions
The following definition shall apply to this rule in addition
to or in place of those appearing in rule
5122-1-01 of the Administrative
Code:
"Serious youthful offender" and "SYO"
have the same meaning as in division (X) of section
2152.02 of the Revised Code,
i.e., a person who is eligible for a mandatory SYO or discretionary SYO, but
who is not transferred to adult court under a mandatory or discretionary
transfer.
(C) General guidelines
(1) Young children (under age fourteen years) and younger adolescents
(ages fourteen to fifteen) should not be placed
in an ODMH
regional psychiatric hospital (RPH) because adult
facilities are not designed or staffed to provide age-appropriate services for
youth. Additionally, because interaction with adult patients on these units may
be problematic, these children should be placed in an age-appropriate inpatient
psychiatric unit for children or a community residential treatment facility
that would specifically meet their individual needs. Older immature adolescents
and those not medically cleared for admission to an adult facility should also
be treated in these types of settings
(2) Older adolescents (ages sixteen to seventeen) and some younger
adolescents (ages fourteen to fifteen) in limited
exceptional cases, may be admitted to adult units for valid clinical reasons
but should be treated in an individualized program designed to meet their
specific needs.
(D)
Procedures for admission of adolescents to ODMH
RPH inpatient
units. Prior to such admissions for competency
restoration services, the RPH chief clinical officer shall assure the
following:
(1)
The child must be medically assessed as appropriate for admission to an adult
inpatient unit by a board-eligible or board-certified child psychiatrist with
documented specialized training and experience in working with adolescents and
their families in an inpatient treatment program;
(2)
Other available
less restrictive treatment resources (e.g., residential treatment, intensive
outpatient), must have been considered and determined to not be available or
not appropriate to meet the youth's mental health and safety needs; and
(3)
An
individual plan of care must be developed by a child/adolescent psychiatrist or
in consultation with a child/adolescent psychiatrist to meet the adolescent's
restoration to competency needs including the developmental, educational,
safety, and environmental needs.
(E) Guidelines for adolescent competency to
stand trial restoration treatment services provided in the
RPH.
(1) Treatment for the adolescent should be
supervised by a child/adolescent psychiatrist or in consultation with a
child/adolescent psychiatrist;
(2)
All relevant components of the competency to stand trial restoration service
are to be adjusted to meet the adolescent's developmental, educational, safety,
and environmental needs;
(3) Upon
admission, an objective competency assessment should be performed.
Standardized competency assessment tools may be utilized;
(4) Multi-modal,
experiential competency restoration educational experiences, (e.g.,
discussions, reading, video, role playing or mock trial), may be utilized;
(5) An educational component
should be included regarding the criminal charges, severity of charges,
sentencing, pleas, plea bargaining, roles of the courtroom personnel,
adversarial nature of the trial process and evaluating evidence;
(6) Periodic reassessment of competency
should be made regarding the adolescent's progress toward restoration to
competence; and
(7) Medication
treatment may be needed in order for restoration to competence to occur.