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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>76036</law_id><section_number>37.2-100</section_number><catch_line>Definitions</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2025/" slug="2025" current="TRUE" last_updated="">2025</edition><referred_to_by><reference>15.2-1718.2</reference><reference>15.2-915</reference><reference>16.1-336</reference><reference>18.2-255.2</reference><reference>19.2-163.03</reference><reference>19.2-169.6</reference><reference>19.2-182.3</reference><reference>19.2-182.9</reference><reference>19.2-271.6</reference><reference>19.2-299</reference><reference>19.2-303.6</reference><reference>19.2-392.13</reference><reference>2.2-2696</reference><reference>2.2-309.1</reference><reference>2.2-4345</reference><reference>32.1-125.1</reference><reference>37.2-313.1</reference><reference>37.2-800</reference><reference>46.2-342</reference><reference>46.2-830.2</reference><reference>51.5-43</reference><reference>52-34.10</reference><reference>53.1-133.04</reference><reference>53.1-133.05</reference><reference>53.1-40.1</reference><reference>53.1-40.2</reference><reference>53.1-40.8</reference><reference>54.1-2901</reference><reference>54.1-2951.1</reference><reference>54.1-2962.1</reference><reference>54.1-2969</reference><reference>54.1-2983.2</reference><reference>54.1-2983.3</reference><reference>54.1-2986.2</reference><reference>54.1-3423</reference><reference>54.1-3434.02</reference><reference>54.1-3501</reference><reference>54.1-3601</reference><reference>54.1-3701</reference><reference>60.2-221</reference><reference>63.2-1801</reference><reference>63.2-1808.1</reference><reference>8.01-2</reference><reference>9.1-102</reference><reference>9.1-193</reference></referred_to_by><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="1" identifier="37.2">Behavioral Health and Developmental Services</unit><unit label="subtitle" level="2" order_by="1" identifier="I">General Provisions</unit><unit label="chapter" level="3" order_by="1" identifier="1">Definitions</unit></structure><text>
						<section><p>As used in this title, unless the context requires a different meaning:
		&#x201C;Abuse&#x201D; means any act or failure to act by an employee or other person responsible for the care of an <span class="dictionary">individual</span> in a <span class="dictionary">facility</span> or program operated, licensed, or funded by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span>, excluding those operated by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span> of Corrections, that was performed or was failed to be performed knowingly, recklessly, or intentionally, and that caused or might have caused physical or psychological harm, injury, or death to an <span class="dictionary">individual</span> receiving care or treatment for <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span>, developmental disabilities, or <span class="dictionary">substance abuse</span>. Examples of abuse include acts such as:</p></section>
						<section id="1"><p><span class="prefix-number">1.</span> <span class="dictionary">Rape</span>, sexual <span class="dictionary">assault</span>, or other criminal sexual behavior; <a id="paragraph-272908" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/37.2-100/#1"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="2"><p><span class="prefix-number">2.</span> <span class="dictionary">Assault</span> or <span class="dictionary">battery</span>; <a id="paragraph-272909" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/37.2-100/#2"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="3"><p><span class="prefix-number">3.</span> Use of language that demeans, threatens, intimidates, or humiliates the <span class="dictionary">individual</span>; <a id="paragraph-272910" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/37.2-100/#3"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="4"><p><span class="prefix-number">4.</span> Misuse or misappropriation of the <span class="dictionary">individual</span>&#x2019;s <span class="dictionary">assets</span>, goods, or property; <a id="paragraph-272911" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/37.2-100/#4"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="5"><p><span class="prefix-number">5.</span> Use of excessive force when placing an <span class="dictionary">individual</span> in physical or mechanical restraint; <a id="paragraph-272912" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/37.2-100/#5"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="6"><p><span class="prefix-number">6.</span> Use of physical or mechanical restraints on an <span class="dictionary">individual</span> that is not in compliance with federal and <span class="dictionary">state</span> <span class="dictionary">laws</span>, regulations, and policies, professionally accepted standards of practice, or his individualized services plan; and <a id="paragraph-272913" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/37.2-100/#6"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="7"><p><span class="prefix-number">7.</span> Use of more restrictive or intensive services or denial of services to punish an individual or that is not consistent with his individualized services plan.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Administrative policy <span class="dictionary">community services board</span></span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">administrative policy board</span>&#x201D; means the public body organized in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 (&#xA7; <a class="law" title="Purpose; community services board; services to be provided" href="/37.2-500/">37.2-500</a> et seq.) that is appointed by and accountable to the governing body of each city and county that established it to set policy for and administer the provision of mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services. The &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">administrative policy <span class="dictionary">community services board</span></span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">administrative policy board</span>&#x201D; denotes the board, the members of which are appointed pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services board; appointment; membership; duties of fiscal agent" href="/37.2-501/">37.2-501</a> with the powers and duties enumerated in subsection A of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services boards; local government departments; powers and duties" href="/37.2-504/">37.2-504</a> and &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Coordination of services for preadmission screening and discharge planning" href="/37.2-505/">37.2-505</a>. Mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services are provided through local government staff or through <span class="dictionary">contracts</span> with other organizations and providers.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Behavioral health authority</span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;authority&#x201D; means a public body and a body corporate and politic organized in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 6 (&#xA7; <a class="law" title="Definitions" href="/37.2-600/">37.2-600</a> et seq.) that is appointed by and accountable to the governing body of the city or county that established it for the provision of mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services. &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Behavioral health authority</span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;authority&#x201D; also includes the organization that provides these services through its own staff or through <span class="dictionary">contracts</span> with other organizations and providers.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Behavioral health services</span>&#x201D; means the full range of mental health and substance abuse services.
			&#x201C;Board&#x201D; means the State Board of Behavioral Health and <span class="dictionary">Developmental Services</span>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Commissioner</span>&#x201D; means the <span class="dictionary">Commissioner</span> of Behavioral Health and <span class="dictionary">Developmental Services</span>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Community services board</span>&#x201D; means the public body established pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services board; appointment; membership; duties of fiscal agent" href="/37.2-501/">37.2-501</a> that provides mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services within each city and county that established it; the term &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">community services board</span>&#x201D; shall include <span class="dictionary">administrative policy <span class="dictionary">community services boards</span></span>, <span class="dictionary">operating <span class="dictionary">community services boards</span></span>, and local government <span class="dictionary">departments</span> with <span class="dictionary">policy-advisory <span class="dictionary">community services boards</span></span>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Department</span>&#x201D; means the <span class="dictionary">Department</span> of Behavioral Health and <span class="dictionary">Developmental Services</span>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Developmental disability</span>&#x201D; means a severe, chronic disability of an individual that (i) is attributable to a mental or physical impairment, or a combination of mental and physical impairments, other than a sole diagnosis of <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span>; (ii) is manifested before the individual reaches 22 years of age; (iii) is likely to continue indefinitely; (iv) results in substantial functional limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life activity: self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, self-direction, capacity for independent living, or economic self-sufficiency; and (v) reflects the individual&#x2019;s need for a combination and sequence of special interdisciplinary or generic services, individualized supports, or other forms of assistance that are of lifelong or extended duration and are individually planned and coordinated. An individual from birth to age nine, inclusive, who has a substantial developmental delay or specific congenital or acquired condition may be considered to have a <span class="dictionary">developmental disability</span> without meeting three or more of the criteria described in clauses (i) through (v) if the individual, without services and supports, has a high probability of meeting those criteria later in life.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Developmental services</span>&#x201D; means planned, individualized, and person-centered services and supports provided to <span class="dictionary">individuals</span> with developmental disabilities for the purpose of enabling these <span class="dictionary">individuals</span> to increase their self-determination and independence, obtain employment, participate fully in all aspects of community life, advocate for themselves, and achieve their fullest potential to the greatest extent possible.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Facility</span>&#x201D; means a state or <span class="dictionary">licensed hospital</span>, <span class="dictionary">training center</span>, psychiatric hospital, or other type of residential or outpatient mental health or <span class="dictionary">developmental services</span> <span class="dictionary">facility</span>. When modified by the word &#x201C;state,&#x201D; &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">facility</span>&#x201D; means a <span class="dictionary">state hospital</span> or <span class="dictionary">training center</span> operated by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span>, including the buildings and land associated with it.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Family member</span>&#x201D; means an immediate <span class="dictionary">family member</span> of an <span class="dictionary">individual receiving services</span> or the principal caregiver of that individual. A principal caregiver is a person who acts in the place of an immediate <span class="dictionary">family member</span>, including other relatives and foster care providers, but does not have a proprietary interest in the care of the <span class="dictionary">individual receiving services</span>.
			&#x201C;Hospital,&#x201D; when not modified by the words &#x201C;state&#x201D; or &#x201C;licensed,&#x201D; means a <span class="dictionary">state hospital</span> and a <span class="dictionary">licensed hospital</span> that provides care and treatment for persons with <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Individual receiving services</span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;individual&#x201D; means a current direct recipient of public or private mental health, developmental, or <span class="dictionary">substance abuse treatment</span>, rehabilitation, or habilitation services and includes the terms &#x201C;consumer,&#x201D; &#x201C;patient,&#x201D; &#x201C;resident,&#x201D; &#x201C;recipient,&#x201D; or &#x201C;client.&#x201D;
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Intellectual disability</span>&#x201D; means a disability, originating before the age of 18 years, characterized concurrently by (i) significant subaverage intellectual functioning as demonstrated by performance on a standardized measure of intellectual functioning, administered in conformity with accepted professional practice, that is at least two standard deviations below the mean and (ii) significant limitations in adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Licensed hospital</span>&#x201D; means a hospital or institution, including a psychiatric unit of a general hospital, that is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this title.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Mental health services</span>&#x201D; means planned individualized interventions intended to reduce or ameliorate <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span> or the effects of <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span> through care, treatment, counseling, rehabilitation, medical or psychiatric care, or other supports provided to <span class="dictionary">individuals</span> with <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span> for the purpose of enabling these <span class="dictionary">individuals</span> to increase their self-determination and independence, obtain remunerative employment, participate fully in all aspects of community life, advocate for themselves, and achieve their fullest potential to the greatest extent possible.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Mental illness</span>&#x201D; means a disorder of thought, mood, emotion, perception, or orientation that significantly impairs <span class="dictionary">judgment</span>, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to address basic life necessities and requires care and treatment for the health, safety, or recovery of the individual or for the safety of others.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Neglect</span>&#x201D; means failure by a person or a program or <span class="dictionary">facility</span> operated, licensed, or funded by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span>, excluding those operated by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span> of Corrections, responsible for providing services to do so, including nourishment, treatment, care, goods, or services necessary to the health, safety, or welfare of an individual receiving care or treatment for <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span>, developmental disabilities, or substance abuse.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Operating <span class="dictionary">community services board</span></span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">operating board</span>&#x201D; means the public body organized in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 (&#xA7; <a class="law" title="Purpose; community services board; services to be provided" href="/37.2-500/">37.2-500</a> et seq.) that is appointed by and accountable to the governing body of each city and county that established it for the direct provision of mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services. The &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">operating <span class="dictionary">community services board</span></span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">operating board</span>&#x201D; denotes the board, the members of which are appointed pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services board; appointment; membership; duties of fiscal agent" href="/37.2-501/">37.2-501</a> with the powers and duties enumerated in subsection A of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services boards; local government departments; powers and duties" href="/37.2-504/">37.2-504</a> and &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Coordination of services for preadmission screening and discharge planning" href="/37.2-505/">37.2-505</a>. &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Operating <span class="dictionary">community services board</span></span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">operating board</span>&#x201D; also includes the organization that provides such services, through its own staff or through <span class="dictionary">contracts</span> with other organizations and providers.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Performance contract</span>&#x201D; means the annual agreement negotiated and entered into by a <span class="dictionary">community services board</span> or <span class="dictionary">behavioral health authority</span> with the <span class="dictionary">Department</span> through which it provides state and federal funds appropriated for mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services to that <span class="dictionary">community services board</span> or <span class="dictionary">behavioral health authority</span>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Policy-advisory <span class="dictionary">community services board</span></span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">policy-advisory board</span>&#x201D; means the public body organized in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 5 that is appointed by and accountable to the governing body of each city or county that established it to provide advice on policy matters to the local government <span class="dictionary">department</span> that provides mental health, developmental, and substance abuse services pursuant to subsection A of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services boards; local government departments; powers and duties" href="/37.2-504/">37.2-504</a> and &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Coordination of services for preadmission screening and discharge planning" href="/37.2-505/">37.2-505</a>. The &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">policy-advisory <span class="dictionary">community services board</span></span>&#x201D; or &#x201C;<span class="dictionary">policy-advisory board</span>&#x201D; denotes the board, the members of which are appointed pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services board; appointment; membership; duties of fiscal agent" href="/37.2-501/">37.2-501</a> with the powers and duties enumerated in subsection B of &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Community services boards; local government departments; powers and duties" href="/37.2-504/">37.2-504</a>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Service area</span>&#x201D; means the city or county or combination of cities and counties or counties or cities that is served by a <span class="dictionary">community services board</span> or <span class="dictionary">behavioral health authority</span> or the cities and counties that are served by a state <span class="dictionary">facility</span>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Special justice</span>&#x201D; means a person appointed by a <span class="dictionary">chief judge</span> of a judicial <span class="dictionary">circuit</span> for the purpose of performing the duties of a judge pursuant to &#xA7; <a class="law" title="Special justices to perform duties of judge" href="/37.2-803/">37.2-803</a>.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">State hospital</span>&#x201D; means a hospital, psychiatric institute, or other institution operated by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span> that provides care and treatment for persons with <span class="dictionary">mental illness</span>.
			&#x201C;Substance abuse&#x201D; means the use of drugs, enumerated in the Virginia Drug Control Act (&#xA7; <a class="law" title="Citation" href="/54.1-3400/">54.1-3400</a> et seq.), without a compelling medical reason or alcohol that (i) results in psychological or physiological dependence or danger to self or others as a function of continued and compulsive use or (ii) results in mental, emotional, or physical impairment that causes socially dysfunctional or socially disordering behavior and (iii), because of such substance abuse, requires care and treatment for the health of the individual. This care and treatment may include counseling, rehabilitation, or medical or psychiatric care.
			&#x201C;<span class="dictionary">Training center</span>&#x201D; means a <span class="dictionary">facility</span> operated by the <span class="dictionary">Department</span> that provides training, habilitation, or other individually focused supports to persons with <span class="dictionary">intellectual disability</span>. <a id="paragraph-272914" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/37.2-100/#7"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>Code 1950, &#xA7;&#xA7; 37-1.1, 37-34.2:1, 37-254.1; 1950, pp. 899, 935; 1954, c. 668; 1958, c. 556; 1960, c. 133; 1964, cc. 483, 640; 1968, c. 477, &#xA7; 37.1-1; 1972, cc. 635, 639; 1973, c. 465; 1974, c. 301; 1976, cc. 671, 767, &#xA7; 37.1-203; 1979, c. 54; 1980, c. 582; 1982, c. 50; 1983, c. 538; 1984, c. 209; 1987, c. 413; 1994, c. 939; 1995, c. 693, &#xA7; 15.1-1677; 1996, c. 861; 1997, c. 587, &#xA7; 37.1-243; 1998, cc. 680, 724, &#xA7; 37.1-194.1; 1999, c. 969; 2005, c. 716; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2015, c. 750; 2017, c. 458.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
