Court orders would set transport rules for involuntary hospital care

Certified court security officers would transport people in custody or others a court orders transported, and could arrest people while carrying out that work. These duties apply to certified court security officers in the county where they are sworn. Officers could make arrests while transporting, monitoring, or supervising people ordered transported by a court.

Sheriffs, certified court security officers, or other peace officers would transport people under court orders for involuntary hospital care. These provisions cover people ordered to a hospital or psychiatric facility for involuntary care, including transfers between hospitals and returns to the county of discharge. For trips to a hospital, a sheriff or other peace officer may authorize a cabinet-contracted private agency or cabinet-designated ambulance service to transport the person, if an authorized person agrees. The cabinet would pay covered transport costs under its regulations. A person held under a short-term hospital order may not be kept in jail while awaiting evaluation and transport.

The court would notify the receiving facility at once and order a sheriff or other peace officer to transport the patient. This applies to people a court orders to a hospital or psychiatric facility under the involuntary hospitalization chapter. The patient must travel with the petition, unless the hospitalization uses the separate process named in the text, the mental health professionals’ certificate, and the court order. A hospital may refuse the patient if the papers do not meet the chapter’s requirements or the hospital did not receive the required notice. The 48-hour period starts after the facility receives notice of the order.