Code of Vermont Rules › Agency 13 - AGENCY OF HUMAN SERVICES › Sub-Agency 100 - OFFICE OF ALCOHOL AND DRUG ABUSE › Chapter 003 - SERVICES TO INCAPACITATED INEBRIATES › Section 13 100 003 - SERVICES TO INCAPACITATED INEBRIATES

Current through June, 2024
Section 1
				Responsibility
The Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs of the Agency
				  of Human Services is designated the responsibility to carry out the legislative
				  mandate and to adopt rules and standards for the provision of services to
				  persons incapacitated from the abuse of alcohol. To carry out this
				  responsibility the Office sets forth the rules contained herein, under the
				  authority of Chapter 213 of Title 18, VSA and pursuant to Chapter 25 of Title
				  3, VSA.
Section 2 Purpose
Current statutes ( 18 VSA 9144 ) provide that when a law
				  enforcement officer encounters a person who, in the judgement of the officer is
				  incapacitated, from the use of alcohol, the person shall be taken into
				  protective custody by the officer. The officer shall then transport the
				  incapacitated person to an approved alcohol treatment program with
				  detoxification capabilities or to the emergency room of a licensed general
				  hospital for treatment, except that if an alcohol crisis team or a designated
				  alcohol counselor exists in the vicinity and is available, the person may be
				  released to the team or counselor at a location mutually agreeable between the
				  officer and treator. The period of protective custody shall end when the person
				  is released to any of the above programs. In the event that a program willing
				  to accept the incapacitated person is not available, or where assistance is
				  actively refused or resisted by the incapacitated person, then protective
				  custody can be continued by lodging the person in a lock-up or community
				  correctional center. Protective custody cannot exceed 24 hours. The rules set
				  forth herein provide for the following: the establishment of Alcohol Crisis
				  Teams as the primary treatment response to requests for services for
				  incapacitated persons; procedures to be followed when taking a person into
				  protective custody; and the criteria for determining incapacitation before
				  lodging of an incapacitated person in a lock-up or community correctional
				  center.
Section 3 Alcohol
				Crisis Teams
a) The Office of Alcohol and Drug
				Abuse Programs shall designate qualified organizations to manage Alcohol Crisis
				Teams. The number and location of Alcohol Crisis Teams shall be determined by
				the Office to insure accessibility and a timely response to requests for
				assistance from law enforcement agencies.
b) A qualified organization, for the purposes
				of management of an Alcohol Crisis Team is any organization in compliance with
				the Vermont Standards for Substance Abuse Treatment and approved by the Office
				of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs.
c) Alcohol Crisis Teams must be able to
				comply with the following requirements:
- the designated agency must appoint a staff person at the
				  supervisory level, to serve as the coordinator of the Alcohol Crisis Team and
				  as liaison for the agency to coordinate the activities of the Alcohol Crisis
				  Team with health and law enforcement agencies;
- the services of the Alcohol Crisis Team shall be available
				  and accessible 24 hours a day;
- the Alcohol Crisis Team shall provide immediate response to
				  all requests for assistance;
- the designated agency shall train all Alcohol Crisis Team
				  personnel to an acceptable level of competency to deal with the acutely
				  intoxicated individual and the sick alcoholic;
- the Alcohol Crisis Team must have written protocols and
				  procedures for referral, coordination and follow-up with law enforcment units,
				  hospital emergency rooms, local lock-ups and/or correctional centers in the
				  programs catchment area.
d)
				Alcohol Crisis Team members must be able to meet the following minimum
				qualifications:
- shall be knowledgeable of all rules, policies, and
				  procedures promulgated by the Office under Chapter 213 of Title 18, VSA;
- shall be able to work effectively with law enforcement
				  personnel and shall be knowledgeable of the appropriate and legal options
				  available for incapacitated persons;
- shall be knowledgeable of social and medical resources
				  available to incapacitated persons and the procedures and methods to be
				  followed for their use;
- shall be knowledgeable of the affects of alcoholism and
				  alcohol abuse to include familiarity with the signs of acute intoxication,
				  incapacitation and withdrawal and the resources available for treatment.
These qualifications shall be demonstrated through education,
				  training and direct experience.
e) Alcohol Crisis Teams shall provide the
				following services:
- screening services to evaluate intoxicated persons for
				  incapacitation;
- referral services: upon completion of the screening
				  evaluation, the Alcohol Crisis Team shall offer assistance to incapacitated
				  individuals to get them into a residential treatment setting for
				  detoxification. The crisis Team may also arrange for a medical screening prior
				  to referral to an alcohol treatment program. Alcohol Crisis Teams shall either
				  provide or arrange for transportation to a treatment program;
- when treatment programs are not accessible to an Alcohol
				  Crisis Team, the Team member shall either directly supervise the incapacitated
				  persons, or arrange to have someone else provide the supervision. The
				  supervision shall take place in a community shelter specifically set up for
				  this purpose or can be provided at some other community location, such as
				  someone's home, with whom arrangements are made for supervision. In no event,
				  shall an incapacitated person who is not refusing assistance be lodged in a
				  local lock-up or community correctional center;
- Alcohol Crisis Team members, or other designated staff of
				  the agency shall make a follow-up contract with all persons lodged in a lock-up
				  or correctional center or who are admitted to a hospital. The individual shall
				  be informed of the circumstances leading up to the intervention and the reasons
				  for the disposition. Further assistance, treatment or education shall be
				  offered the individual as part of the follow-up. In correctional centers and
				  local lock-ups, the follow-up shall take place upon the request of the facility
				  when it is determined that the person is no longer incapacitated and is ready
				  for release.
f) Alcohol
				Crisis Team services are available to all incapacitated and intoxicated persons
				referred by hospital emergency rooms and law enforcement personnel. These
				services are not available to persons in acute medical or psychiatric
				emergencies or persons in violation of the criminal codes of the State of
				Vermont.