Walk It Through: The Evaluation Hold

A written application for emergency admission, what it says, and who takes the person in.

A friend believes someone, as a result of a mental disorder, is a danger to themselves and unwilling to be evaluated.

Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.

One application by a friend. How long a person may be held after admission, the petition and hearing that may follow, and the screening that comes before admission are not worked through here.

A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.

Words this turns on

Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.

Application for emergency admissionThe written application that has to be made to an evaluation agency before a person may be hospitalized there, by someone with knowledge of the facts, stating the belief that the person, as a result of a mental disorder, is a danger to self or others or has a persistent or acute disability or a grave disability.