Article Figures & Data
Tables
- Table 1
State Laws that Permit Minors to Consent to Treatment for Abuse of Illegal Substances, and Age at Which Confidential Treatment Is Allowed
State Statute or Code* Consent Age* Law Specific to Substance Abuse Alabama Code of Alabama 22-8-4 14 Yes Alaska Alaska Statutes 25.20.025 Not specified No Arizona Arizona Revised Statutes 44-133.01 12 Yes Arkansas Arkansas Code 20-9-602-7 Not specified No California California Family Code § 6929 12 Yes Colorado Colorado Revised Statutes 13-22-102 15 Yes Connecticut General Statutes of Connecticut Ch 319 § 17a-79 (in); 688 (out) Out: not specified; in: 14 Yes Delaware Delaware Code 16-22 § 2210 14 (parental consent for in) Yes D.C. DC Statutes § 7-1231.14 Not specified (parental consent for in) No Florida Florida Statutes XXIX 397.601 Not specified Yes Georgia Georgia Code 37-7-8 Out: not specified; in:12 Yes Hawaii Hawaii, Revised Statutes Ti 31 Chap 577.26 Not specified Yes Idaho Idaho Statutes Ti 37 Chap 3102 16 Yes Illinois Illinois Compiled Statutes 405 ILCS § 5/3-501 (out); 5/3-502 (in) Out: 12; in: 16 (parental consent for in) Yes Indiana Indiana Code 12-23-12-1 Not specified Yes Iowa Iowa Statutes Ti IV Ch 125.33 Not specified Yes Kansas Kansas Statutes Ti 59 Art 2949 14; if inpatient, custodian to be notified Yes Kentucky Kentucky Revised Statutes Ti XVIII Ch 222 Not specified Yes Louisiana Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 40: § 1095 Not specified Yes Maine Maine Revised Statutes Ti 22 Ch 260 § 1502 Not specified Yes Maryland Code of Maryland regulations 10.21.06.03 16 Yes Massachusetts General Laws of Massachusetts Part I, Ti XVI, Ch 112, S12e 12 Yes Michigan Michigan Public Health Code Act 368 of 1978 333.6121 Not specified Yes Minnesota Minnesota Statutes Ch 144.343 Not specified Yes Mississippi Mississippi Code Ti 41 Ch 41 § 14 15 Yes Missouri Missouri Revised Statutes Ch 431 § 061 Not specified Yes Montana Montana Code Annotated 41-1-402 Not specified Yes Nebraska Nebraska Statutes 71-5041 Not specified Yes Nevada Nevada Revised Statutes 129.050 Not specified Yes New Hampshire New Hampshire Revised Statutes Ti XXX Ch 318-B: 12-a 12 Yes New Jersey New Jersey Statutes Ti 9:17A-4 Not specified Yes New Mexico New Mexico Statutes Ch 32A-6-12 and 15 14; if inpatient, custodian to be notified No New York New York State Consolidated Laws Ti Mental Hygiene Law Ti D Ar 22.11 and Ti E Ar 33.21 Not specified Yes North Carolina North Carolina General Statutes § 90-21.5 Not specified Yes North Dakota North Dakota Century Code 14-10-17 14 Yes Ohio Ohio Revised Statutes § 3719.01.02 Not specified Yes Oklahoma Oklahoma Statutes § 63-26Q2 Not specified Yes Oregon Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 109.675 Out: 14; in: 15 Yes Pennsylvania Pennsylvania Statutes 71 PS § 1690.112 Not specified Yes Rhode Island General Laws of Rhode Island Ti 14, Chapter 14-5 § 14-5-3 Not specified Yes South Carolina South Carolina Code of Laws § 20-7-280/20-7-290 16/any age when deemed “necessary” No South Dakota South Dakota Statutes Ti 34 Chap 20A, § 50 Not specified Yes Tennessee Ti 33 Chap 8 § 202 16 Yes Texas Texas Statutes Family Code Chap 32 § 32.004/Health and Safety Code Ch 462 § 462.022 Out: not specified; in: 16 Yes Utah No law No law No Vermont Vermont Statutes Title 18 Part 5 Chapter 84 § 4226 12 Yes Virginia Code of Virginia Ti 54.1-2969E.3 14 Yes Washington Revised Code of Washington 70.96A.095 13 Yes West Virginia West Virginia Code § 60A-5-504E 12 Yes Wisconsin Wisconsin Statutes Ch 51.47/51.13(1)[c]1. Out: 12; in 14 and guardian must consent Yes Wyoming No law No law No * Ti, title; Out, outpatient treatment; in, inpatient treatment.
- Table 2
Highlights of Information Obtained Directly From the Legislators Who Crafted the Bills or From the Bills' Legislative Histories
State Commentary Arizona The bill was sponsored by the late Douglas Holsclaw (R, Tucson) and former United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (formerly R, Paradise Valley). In her reply letter, Justice O’Connor wrote “In response to your letter. … I have kept no records of my legislative activity in 1971 and have no information to offer in response to your question.” California The bill was introduced by Assemblywoman Leona Egeland in 1977 and was approved, with amendments, by the California House and Senate the same year. The legislative history indicates that 12 years was selected, to be “. … consistent with minor consent rights for other types of care in California.” Colorado One legislator involved in crafting the bill did not recall specific details. He proceeded to say, “If you ask me, we probably pulled the number out of thin air.” A member of the Behavioral Health Network that provides services to the State of Colorado stated, “Many treatment providers do have a policy that adolescents younger than 16 will only be admitted with parental consent. This is partially a clinical decision based on the belief that treatment cannot be successful for such individuals without family involvement, partially a concern for parental rights and potential liability, and partially due to licensing issues.” Connecticut The legislative history indicates that the statute was intended to establish an opportunity for minors to seek and enter into substance abuse treatment programs without parental consent, in an effort to remove barriers for young people to receive treatment. Florida The information available indicates that Florida does not have a consistent public policy governing health care for minors. An official with Florida's Department of Children and Families indicated, “In my many years with the system, each of these laws reflects decisions made at the time of passage over a span of many years. The decisions derive from political, financial, and precedent origins, not necessarily on the developmental needs or maturity level of a person to make such decisions.” Idaho Upon review of the legislative history, a member of the state librarian's office said, “In the original bill, the age was 18. In 1972 they tried to change it to 12 years old; it ended at 16 years old. The minutes don‘t really discuss why.” Indiana An attorney with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration indicated that no legislative history was available for review, as “. … Indiana is not a legislative history state, in some jurisdictions the legislative hearings are recorded and carry some legal weight in interpreting statutes the way the legislators intended them. Indiana is not such a jurisdiction, and legislative history has absolutely no legal significance, and so it's not preserved except by memory of those involved.” Kansas Interpreting the legislative history, an attorney with the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services indicated his recollection was that “… [14 years] was the age that legislators thought might show the most promise for treatment.” Kentucky An individual in the Attorney General's office indicated that the age was set at 16 for purposes of uniformity, given that in Kentucky “. … minors can consent to medical treatment, mental health services, and sex at age 16. … the age at which a minor can consent to sex was lowered to 16 in 1976.” Maryland After reviewing the legislative history, an individual with the Attorney General's office indicated that before 1981, the age was 18 years. Then, the Special Committee on Mental Health Laws began working on a revision that among other things would lower the age from 18 to 14. The change received support from the state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, as “lowering the age for voluntary admissions to 14 is in accordance with the developmental guidelines of when children reach adult-type abstract thinking capacity. According to developmental psychologists, this capacity is attained at age 14.” For unclear reasons, at the last minute the age was raised to 16 years, and the bill was signed into law. New Hampshire Interpretation of the bill's legislative history revealed that 12 years of age had been selected, as “. … the age of individuals involved with drugs [had been] decreasing and the legislators wanted children to be able to come forward and ask for help.” New Mexico In his reply, an attorney with Child Protective Services wrote, “In the mid-1990s, a task force was convened to do a major rewrite of the Children's Mental Health Code. I sat on that task force. We debated the age of consent for hours, possibly days. We looked at other states' laws. We looked at New Mexico laws that set ages for different processes (the age at which delinquents could be tried as adults, 14). There was psychological information that was presented about child development and brain development. Many on the task force wanted a younger age and some wanted an older age. In the end we compromised on the age 14.” North Dakota The legislative history revealed that “mental health professionals” advising the 1977 North Dakota Legislative Council testified that “. … there is a need to be able to treat juveniles in life-threatening situations. This help cannot now be given without the permission of the jiveniles' parents. … [J]uveniles are often in trouble and need the help precisely because they cannot or will not talk to their parents. … [M]ost adolescents who come in [for treatment] are in conflict with society, especially their family. … [T]hey do not trust adults. If we tell them that we will provide them with care and respect their need for confidentiality, this instills a trust within them for us.” ND representatives discussed using 14 as the age, then agreed to eliminate a specific age and insert the word “minors” in the bill. The next day, after a meeting with the state's Attorney General (AG) and the Legislative Research Council, the AG asked that 14 years be reinserted. The argument was that 14 years was a ‘“point of reference’ in federal and state law.” Oregon The legislative history of the bill revealed that its passage was not driven by access to substance abuse treatment as much as it was related to abused children who were seeking care. Treatment providers who received service requests from children were concerned about the confidentiality of adolescents who were victims of abuse or were afraid of parental retaliation if the children reported abusive behavior to others. Specific discussions regarding age were not found. Tennessee Tennessee's legislators selected this age to be consistent with federal laws that authorize 16-year-olds to consent to inpatient treatment without parental consent. Utah An attorney from the Utah Medical Association indicated that arguments are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. “. … [W]e tend to encourage people to look at the AMA code of ethics on the issue. … and to the extent we need to have legislative backing on that, we look to the provisions in Utah's professional licensing code. Finally, the state looks to nationally recognize[d] standards to fill in the blanks for whatever isn’t specifically regulated by the state.” Virginia An individual with the office of Mental Health Planning of the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services indicated that “. … the age of 14 is consistent with the age [at which minors may consent] for several things: substance abuse treatment, seeking treatment for STDs, medical care for reproductive health (except for surgical sterilization), mental health services for outpatient mental health treatment, involuntary commitment proceedings, and with other states' laws.” Washington An individual in the office of the Director of Washington State's Division of Alcohol and Substance Abuse indicated that . … 14 was selected [initially] as the age, given that it was the age of the youngest kids who were seeking, or showing up, for treatment and seemed to have the maturity to follow through. Then later we decided to be consistent with mental health for no reason other than consistency and the age was lowered to 13 years.” West Virginia An individual in the Attorney General's office for the Bureau for Behavioral Health and Health Facilities stated, “. … I suspect that 12 years was selected based upon family and domestic laws, where a child 12 years or older must consent to various living arrangements, such as foster parents, group homes, etc.”
