§ 40.1-24.5-12 - Duties of the mental health advocate.
SECTION 40.1-24.5-12
§ 40.1-24.5-12 Duties of the mental healthadvocate. – The mental health advocate shall perform the following duties:
(1) Review periodically the procedures established bycommunity residences to carry out the provisions of this chapter.
(2) Review grievances of residents filed according to theprovisions of the resident grievance procedure delineated in § 40.1-24.5-8of this chapter in order to insure that grievances have been fairly resolved ina timely fashion.
(3) Investigate and report to the director of mental health,retardation, and hospitals and/or the director of the community residence anyoccurrences, conditions, or practices with respect to procedure, personnel, orpolicy which reflect inadequacies with reference to provisions of this chapter.
(4) Assist any resident to obtain needed assistanceconcerning problems not related to the provisions of this chapter by referringsuch persons to appropriate lawyer referral services, public or private,depending upon the resident's ability to pay, and assist the residents in thepreparation and transmission of correspondence, forms, and other communications.
(5) To take such action as he or she deems appropriate toprotect the rights of residents including, but not limited to, programs ofpublic education, legislative advocacy, and formal legal action.