Thank you for the question of long term care of a child, Are legal guardians of a mentally ill child allowed to put the child in a mental health hospital if the child is unwilling? We don’t want to put him in a psych ward but more of a residential rehab type of facility and he is 100% against the idea.
I am truly sorry to read of the special need of your child. The care of a special need child can be emotional and physically draining for both parents and child. Parents may feel that they do not have a life of their own since all their energy and attention is given to that child.
One may have to consult an attorney on “legal guardianship” over a person. Without knowing the age of the special need person, the issue may be more difficult to answer. As a parent, one has parental authority over that child as to that child’s care and well-being.
If I am not mistaken, to remove the rights of a person to make any decision by that person requires a court hearing with two doctors (psychiatrist) with an appointed lawyer from the court to assess and determine the condition of that person. A judge will rule that the “legal guardianship” may be temporarily or permanent be granted to the petitioner before the court. In other words, legal guardianship, is the determination by the court that the special need person is unable to make basic or critical life decisions and assign that responsibility to a court appointed guardian. That guardian may have to give reports to the judge/court. Thus one must distinguish between parental authority and legal guardianship.
One of the critical issues is the reason or purpose for sending that special need person to a facility. Is it because one wants to have a life being emotionally and or physically exhausted day after day? Is it because one wants to provide that child the special care and development of life skills that s/he will need in the future? What is one’s motive?
Another critical issue is the facility itself. Is it a day care facility or a 24 hour residential facility? Is it a special need school/classes to equip him to learn life skills? What are the alternatives and the cost in sending one’s child to that facility? Before sending your child to any facility, visit that facility two or three times, ask if you may observe some of the sessions. You may even want to speak to some of the parents.
If that facility meets your expectations, take him/her on a field trip for a week to allow that child to experience it with you being with him, further back in the sessions, and finally outside the room but seeing him/her after the session is over until you can leave for half a day or the whole day. I do not recommend dropping the child off at the facility if it is a day care facility. It may be too dramatic for that child. Do take time to ask the child each day what he enjoyed, new things that he learned, the other children he met, etc. This will give you a sense of his adjustment and whether that facility and its staff is able to care for him appropriately.
Finally, one must address the feeling of abandonment or not being loved anymore by one’s parents. That child may or may not be able to express one’s fear or feelings. Helping that child to express their feeling is important. Again this depends on the physical and mental age of the child. If it is a long term facility, know the rules and be careful in assigning the guardianship to a facility. Do not rush into making such a life changing decision for yourself and for your child.
SUMMARY: A child may have rights being under a parental authority, but a child does not have any rights under court appointed legal guardian. Please consult an attorney on this matter.
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