Arkansas Severe Mental Illness Information, Laws, & Helpful Resources

ARK. CODE ANN. § 20-47-210(a). Whenever it appears that a person [meets the criteria for emergency evaluation]: (1) An interested citizen may take the person to a hospital or to a receiving facility or program. If no other safe means of transporting the individual is available, it shall be the responsibility of the law enforcement agency that exercises jurisdiction at the site where the individual is physically located and requiring transportation, or unless otherwise ordered by the judge[;] or (2) Any person filing a petition for involuntary admission may append to the petition a request for immediate confinement which shall state with particularity facts personally known to the affiant which establish reasonable cause to believe that the person sought to be involuntarily admitted is in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm or that the lives of others are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm due to the mental state of the person sought to be involuntarily admitted.

ARK. CODE ANN. § 20-47-207(a). Any person having reason to believe that a person meets the criteria for involuntary admission … may file a verified petition with the probate clerk of the county in which the person alleged to have mental illness resides or is detained. ARK. CODE ANN. § 20-47-207(c)(1). A person shall be eligible for involuntary admission if he or she is in such a mental condition as a result of mental illness, disease, or disorder that he or she poses a clear and present danger to himself or herself or others; ARK. CODE ANN. § 20-47-207(c)(2). As used in this subsection, "a clear and present danger to himself or herself" is established by demonstrating that: (A) The person has inflicted serious bodily injury on himself or herself or has attempted suicide or serious self-injury, and there is a reasonable probability that the conduct will be repeated if admission is not ordered; (B) The person has threatened to inflict serious bodily injury on himself or herself, and there is a reasonable probability that the conduct will occur if admission is not ordered; (C) The person's recent behavior or behavior history demonstrates that he or she so lacks the capacity to care for his or her own welfare that there is a reasonable probability of death, serious bodily injury, or serious physical or mental debilitation if admission is not ordered; or (D) (i) The person's understanding of the need for treatment is impaired to the point that he or she is unlikely to participate in treatment voluntarily; (ii) The person needs mental health treatment on a continuing basis to prevent a relapse or harmful deterioration of his or her condition; and (iii) The person's noncompliance with treatment has been a factor in the individual's placement in a psychiatric hospital, prison, or jail at least two times within the last forty- eight months or has been a factor in the individual's committing one or more acts, attempts, or threats of serious violent behavior within the last forty-eight months. ARK. CODE ANN. § 20-47-207(c)(3). As used in this subsection, "a clear and present danger to others" is established by demonstrating that the person has inflicted, attempted to inflict, or threatened to inflict serious bodily harm on another, and there is a reasonable probability that such conduct will occur if admission is not ordered.