Legal considerations in the child psychiatric emergency department

Clinicians who practice in the child psychiatric emergency department have the complex task of evaluating the mental health or substance abuse needs of children, adolescents, and their families during times of crisis. Adding to this challenging clinical task are multiple legal considerations with which the clinician must be familiar. The precise impact of these legal issues varies from state to state. Some of these legal considerations are present at the start of the evaluation (consent for evaluation or treatment), during the evaluation (psychiatric hospitalization), and at the end of an evaluation (mandatory reporting of suspected child abuse and duty to warn or protect third parties from harm). Other issues (confidentiality and consent for release of information) are present at all stages of the evaluation and continue long after the evaluation has been completed. Clinicians who evaluate the psychiatric needs of children and adolescents are urged to review their local state laws relating to civil commitment, confidentiality, and mandatory reporting.