On this question, ORR Director John Sanford wrote in an email which he sent on May 16, 2001:

"...Our mandate is to ensure that providers of mental health service maintain a rights system consistent with the standards established by the Mental Health Code. Administrative rule 7001(L) defines a provider as the department, each community mental health services program, each licensed hospital, each psychiatric unit and each psychiatric hospitalization program licensed under section 137 of the act, their employees, volunteers, and contractual agents. The courts are not considered a provider. Thus, ORR has no control or jurisdiction over them."

The fact that ORR has no jurisdiction over the courts is no justification for looking the other way when the Mental Health Code is violated. At the very least, ORR should provide rights officers and others with a correct interpretation of 330.1717, instead of contributing to the confusion by promoting contradictory and misleading information, as it did at "The 2000 Recipient Rights Conference" held at the Grand Traverse Resort in October of last year.

Conference participants received an information packet which included a document entitled, "A Mental Health Professional's Guide to Michigan Mental Health Procedure," authored by Probate Judge John Kirkendall. In a section on electroshock and the requirements for its use, the document states the following:

"The probate court may grant consent. This can occur if 1) No one can be found after diligent effort who meets the criteria above; 2) There is a petition and hearing. Once you believe ECT is indicated and you can find no one to give consent, you must cause a petition to be filed with the probate court. Call the prosecuting attorney in the county who handles these matters to take care of this for you."

The Office of Recipient Rights should make a concerted effort to inform all who attended last year's conference that the information quoted above is contrary to the Mental Health Code. Failure to do so will put ORR in the embarrassing position of appearing to endorse an interpretation of the Mental Health Code which has been ruled unlawful by the circuit courts.

Attachments:

1. Michigan Mental Health Code, "330.1717 Electro-convulsive therapy; consent."

2. "Initial Order Following Hearing on Petition for Admission," Lenawee County Probate Court, File No. 99-438-M, October 12, 1999.

3. Order, 39th Judicial Circuit Court for Lenawee County, File No. 99-8390-AV, May 31, 2000.

4. "Petition and Order for ECT Treatment," Calhoun County Probate Court, (Probate Court No. 99-033MI) June 16, 2000.

5. Order, 37th Judicial Circuit Court, File No. 00-2429AV, October 23, 2000.

6. Email correspondence between Ben Hansen and Calhoun County Probate Judge Phillip Harter, May 22 - 31, 2001.

7. "A Mental Health Professional's Guide to Michigan Mental Health Procedure," Hon. John N. Kirkendall, Judge of Probate, Washtenaw County Probate Court, pages 1, 4 and 5.

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