GA Code § 37-2-1 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 37 - Mental Health|Chapter 2 - Administration of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Addictive Diseases, and Other Disability Services|Article 1 - General Provisions|§ 37-2-1. Declaration of Purpose

  The State of Georgia recognizes its responsibility for its citizens who are mentally ill or developmentally disabled including individuals with epilepsy, cerebral palsy, autism, and other neurologically disabling conditions or who abuse alcohol, narcotics, or other drugs and recognizes an obligation to such citizens to meet their needs through a coordinated system of community facilities, programs, and services.   It is the policy of this state to provide adequate mental health, developmental disability, addictive disease, and other disability services to all its citizens. It is further the policy of this state to provide such services through a unified system which encourages cooperation and sharing of resources among all providers of such services, both governmental and private.   It is the purpose of this chapter to enable and encourage the development of comprehensive, preventive, early detection, habilitative, rehabilitative, and treatment disability services; to improve and expand community programs for the disabled; to provide continuity of care through integration of county, area, regional, and state services and facilities for the disabled; to provide for joint disability services and the sharing of manpower and other resources; and to monitor and restructure the system of providing disability services in the State of Georgia to make better use of the combined public and private resources of the state and local communities.   The provisions of this chapter shall be liberally construed to achieve the objectives set forth in this Code section.    (Code 1933, § 88-601, enacted by Ga. L. 1976, p. 953, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1213, § 1; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 16; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1302, § 17; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1324, § 1-7; Ga. L. 2009, p. 453, § 3-1/HB 228.)   Cross references.   - Special education services for children who are physically, mentally, or emotionally disabled, § 20-2-152.   State health planning and development generally, T. 31, C. 6.    Coverage for autism, § 33-24-59.10.   Code Commission notes.   - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1993, "the" was deleted following "encourage the" near the beginning of subsection (c).   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 18.1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "Nothing in this Act shall be construed to repeal any provision of Chapter 5 of Title 37 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the 'Community Services Act for the Mentally Retarded.' "   Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, § 19, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall become effective on July 1, 1994; provided, however, that provisions relating to the establishment of regional and community service board boundaries and the appointments of regional boards and community service boards shall become effective on July 1, 1993, or upon whatever date is stipulated in the Act and provided, further, that the provisions authorizing a county board of health to agree to serve as the lead county board of health for only that county shall become effective upon the approval of this Act by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval." The Act was approved by the Governor on April 27, 1993.   Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, which amends this Code section, provides, in § 19.1, not codified by the General Assembly, that the amendment is repealed on June 30, 1999; however, Ga. L. 1998, p. 870, § 1, struck § 19.1 of Ga. L. 1993, p. 1445, which would have repealed the 1993 amendment to this Code section.   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Community service boards.    - Limited sovereign immunity waiver was subject to a specific exception for assault or battery, and in determining whether this exception applied, it was not necessary that the act have been committed by a state officer or employee. A community service board was a state agency and was immune from a claim arising from the stabbing death of a resident at a community home run by the board. Limited sovereign immunity waiver in the Georgia Tort Claims Act, O.C.G.A. § 50-21-20 et seq., was subject to a specific exception for assault or battery, and in determining whether this exception applied, it was not necessary that the act have been committed by a state officer or employee; a community service board was a state agency, and was immune from a claim arising from the stabbing death of a resident at a community home run by the community service board. Oconee Cmty. Serv. Bd. v. Holsey, 266 Ga. App. 385, 597 S.E.2d 489 (2004).    Legislature did not intend for community service boards to be part of the Department of Human Resources (DHR) (now known as the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities for these purposes) or its employees to be department employees under ordinary circumstances; thus, a suit claiming that DHR was liable for the alleged negligence of a board employee should have been dismissed. Dep't of Human Res. v. Crews, 278 Ga. App. 56, 628 S.E.2d 191 (2006).    Cited in Lewis v. Griffin, 258 Ga. 887, 376 S.E.2d 364 (1989); Youngblood v. Gwinnett Rockdale Newton Cmty. Serv. Bd., 273 Ga. 715, 545 S.E.2d 875 (2001); Summerlin v. Ga. Pines Cmty. Serv. Bd., 278 Ga. App. 831, 630 S.E.2d 115 (2006).