Montana Title 53. Social Services and Institutions § 53-21-107. Abuse and neglect of persons admitted to mental health facility prohibited--reporting--investigations

(1) Any form of abuse or neglect of a person admitted to a mental health facility is prohibited.

(2) Each mental health facility shall publish policies and procedures that define the facility's guidelines for detecting, reporting, investigating, determining the validity, and resolving allegations of abuse or neglect.

(3) Each allegation of abuse or neglect must be reported as follows:

(4) Each mental health facility shall provide a mechanism for reporting allegations of abuse or neglect that in no way deters or discourages an individual from reporting the allegations.

(5) Investigations of allegations of abuse or neglect must be initiated by the professional person in charge of the facility as soon as possible after the initial report of the incident, but not later than by the end of the next business day. Initiation of each investigation may not be delayed in any way that adversely affects the efficacy of the investigation. However, the investigation must be initiated immediately when there is a report of an alleged criminal act.

(6) The investigation of each allegation of abuse or neglect must be concluded within the minimum period of time necessary to gather the information relative to each allegation and to come to a conclusion following the initial report of the allegation.

(7) Each mental health facility shall document the following in writing regarding each allegation of abuse or neglect:

(8) Mental health facilities shall provide a copy of the written report described in subsections (7)(a) through (7)(e) within 5 working days of the completion of each investigation to the director of the department and to the board.