Code of Maine Rules › 14 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 193 - OFFICE OF ADULT MENTAL HEALTH › Chapter 1 - RIGHTS OF RECIPIENTS OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES › Part A - RULES OF GENERAL APPLICABILITY › Section 193-1-A-III - BASIC RIGHTS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A. Recipients have
				  the same human, civil and legal rights accorded all citizens, including the
				  right to live in a community of their choice without constraints upon their
				  independence, except those constraints to which all citizens are subject.
				  Recipients have the right to a humane psychological and physical environment
				  within, the facility or program. Recipients have the right to be treated with
				  courtesy and dignity. Recipients are at all times entitled to respect for their
				  individuality and to recognition that their personalities, abilities, needs,
				  and aspirations are not determinable on the basis of a psychiatric diagnosis.
				  Recipients have the right to have their privacy assured and protected to the
				  greatest extent possible in light of their treatment needs. Recipients shall
				  not be incapacitated nor denied any right, benefit, privilege, franchise,
				  license, authority or capacity of whatever nature that they would otherwise
				  have, simply due to their status as recipients of mental health
				  services.
B. There shall be no
				  limitation on the freedom of religious belief.
C. Discrimination in the provision of
				  services due to race, creed, sex, age, national origin, political belief or
				  handicapping condition shall be prohibited.
D. All basic rights shall remain intact
				  unless specifically limited through legal proceedings, as in the case of
				  guardianship or in an emergency or when necessary to protect the rights or
				  safety of the recipient or others, only as outlined in specific sections of
				  these rules.
E. Services delivered
				  to recipients shall be based on their identified individual needs and shall be
				  delivered according to flexible models that accommodate changes in recipients'
				  needs and the variations in the intensity of their needs. To the extent
				  possible, recipients will not be required to move from one setting to another
				  in order to receive the services appropriate to their changed needs.
F. Recipients have the right to refuse all or
				  some of the services offered, subject to the exceptions noted below. A person's
				  refusal of a particular mode or course of treatment shall not per se be grounds
				  for refusing a recipient's access to other services that the recipient accepts.
				  Only the following services may be imposed against a recipient's wishes:
1. Involuntary hospitalization pursuant to
				  34-B M.R.S.A. §§3863
et seq
.;
2. Forensic services pursuant to 15 M.R.S.A.
				  §101-B in a residential or hospital setting;
3. Services permitted under applicable law in
				  the case of a person under guardianship, upon the guardian's informed consent
				  and within the limits of the guardian's authority;
4. Emergency treatment in a residential or
				  hospital setting during a psychiatric emergency, pursuant to procedures set out
				  in these rules; or
5. Treatment in
				  a residential or hospital setting pursuant to the administrative hearing
				  provisions of these rules for individuals who lack capacity to consent to
				  services.