                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DISCHARGE FROM STATE HOSPITALS OR TRAINING CENTERS, CONDITIONAL RELEASE, AND
TRIAL OR HOME VISITS FOR INDIVIDUALS (§ 37.2-837)

A. Except for an individual receiving services in a state hospital who is held
upon an order of a court for a criminal proceeding, the director of a state
hospital or training center may discharge, after the preparation of a discharge
plan:

   1. Any individual in a state hospital who, in his judgment, (i) is recovered,
   (ii) does not have a mental illness, or (iii) is impaired or not recovered but
   whose discharge will not be detrimental to the public welfare or injurious to
   the individual;

   2. Any individual in a state hospital who is not a proper case for treatment
   within the purview of this chapter; or

   3. Any individual in a training center who chooses to be discharged or, if the
   individual lacks the mental capacity to choose, whose legally authorized
   representative chooses for him to be discharged. Pursuant to regulations of
   the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services and the Department of Medical
   Assistance Services, no individual at a training center who is enrolled in
   Medicaid shall be discharged if the individual or his legally authorized
   representative on his behalf chooses to continue receiving services in a
   training center.
   				Central State Hospital, Southern Virginia Mental Health Institute, and
   Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute shall, in consultation with the
   appropriate community services board or behavioral health authority, provide
   discharge planning for any individual to be discharged from the state hospital
   in 30 days or less after admission. For all individuals discharged from any
   other state facility in 30 days or less after admission, or from a state
   hospital more than 30 days after admission, or from a state training center,
   the discharge plan shall be formulated in accordance with the provisions of
   &#xA7; 37.2-505 by the community services board or behavioral health authority
   that serves the city or county where the individual resided prior to admission
   or by the board or authority that serves the city or county where the
   individual or his legally authorized representative on his behalf chooses to
   reside immediately following the discharge. The discharge plan shall be
   contained in a uniform discharge document developed by the Department and used
   by all state hospitals, training centers, and community services boards or
   behavioral health authorities and shall identify (i) the services, including
   mental health, developmental, substance abuse, social, educational, medical,
   employment, housing, legal, advocacy, transportation, and other services that
   the individual will require upon discharge into the community, and (ii) the
   public or private agencies that have agreed to provide these services. If the
   individual will be housed in an assisted living facility, as defined in &#xA7;
   63.2-100, the discharge plan shall identify the facility, document its
   appropriateness for housing and capacity to care for the individual, contain
   evidence of the facility&#8217;s agreement to admit and care for the
   individual, and describe how the community services board or behavioral health
   authority will monitor the individual&#8217;s care in the facility. Prior to
   discharging an individual pursuant to subdivision A 1 or 2 who has not
   executed an advance directive, the director of a state hospital or his
   designee shall give to the individual a written explanation of the procedures
   for executing an advance directive in accordance with the Health Care
   Decisions Act (&#xA7; 54.1-2981 et seq.) and an advance directive form, which
   may be the form set forth in &#xA7; 54.1-2984.

B. The director may grant a trial or home visit to an individual receiving
services in accordance with regulations adopted by the Board. The state facility
granting a trial or home visit to an individual shall not be liable for his
expenses during the period of that visit. Such liability shall devolve upon the
relative, conservator, person to whose care the individual is entrusted while on
the trial or home visit, or the appropriate local department of social services
of the county or city in which the individual resided at the time of admission
pursuant to regulations adopted by the State Board of Social Services.

C. Any individual who is discharged pursuant to subdivision A 2 shall, if
necessary for his welfare, be received and cared for by the appropriate local
department of social services. The provision of public assistance or social
services to the individual shall be the responsibility of the appropriate local
department of social services as determined by regulations adopted by the State
Board of Social Services. Expenses incurred for the provision of public
assistance to the individual who is receiving 24-hour care while in an assisted
living facility licensed pursuant to Chapters 17 (&#xA7; 63.2-1700 et seq.) and
18 (&#xA7; 63.2-1800 et seq.) of Title 63.2 shall be the responsibility of the
appropriate local department of social services of the county or city in which
the individual resided at the time of admission.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 37-94; 1950, p. 912; 1968, c. 477, § 37.1-98; 1972, c.
639; 1976, c. 671; 1977, c. 189; 1980, c. 582; 1985, c. 87; 1986, cc. 256, 309;
1993, cc. 957, 993; 1998, c. 680; 2002, cc. 62, 557, 747; 2005, c. 716; 2008, c.
263; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2016, c. 688; 2024, cc. 153, 279.