(1) The general assembly declares that, subject to available appropriations, the purposes of this article 65 are:
To secure for each person with a mental health disorder such care and treatmentsuited to his or her 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;
To deprive a person of his or her liberty for purposes of care or treatment only whenless restrictive alternatives are unavailable and only when his or her safety or the safety of others is endangered;
To provide the fullest possible measure of privacy, dignity, and other rights to persons undergoing care and treatment for a mental health disorder;
To encourage the use of voluntary, rather than coercive, measures to provide careand treatment for mental health disorders and to provide the care and treatment in the least restrictive setting;
To provide appropriate information to family members concerning the location andfact of admission of a person with a mental health disorder to inpatient or residential care and treatment;
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
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, subject to available appropriations, the provisions of this article shall be liberally construed.
Source: 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.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 27-10-101 as it existed prior to 2010.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in SB 17-242, see section 1 of chapter 263, Session Laws of Colorado 2017.