§12-15-402. Authority and procedure.

(a) The state, any county, any municipality, or any governmental department or agency, including, but not limited to, the Department of Human Resources or the Department of Youth Services, or any person, including a parent, legal guardian, or legal custodian, may file a petition in the juvenile court to have any minor or child, as defined in this chapter, committed to the custody of the department on the basis that the minor or child is an individual with a mental illness or intellectual disability and, as a consequence of that mental illness or intellectual disability, poses a real and present threat of substantial harm to self or to others.

(b) The petition shall be verified and filed in the county in which the minor or child is located or resides, petitioning the juvenile court to commit the minor or child to the custody of the department.

(Acts 1975, No. 1205, p. 2384, §5-137; Acts 1985, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 85-928; §12-15-90; amended and renumbered by Act 2008-277, p. 441, §22.)