(a) It shall be the policy of the District government to ensure that all persons who become incapable of making or communicating health-care decisions for themselves have available health-care decision-makers. In addition, it shall be the policy of DDS to ensure that every person served by DDS has the opportunity to execute a durable power of attorney pursuant to § 21-2205, and has one or more persons identified as reasonably available, mentally capable, and willing to provide substituted consent pursuant to § 21-2210, if the person were to become certified as incapacitated to make a health-care decision in accordance with § 21-2204.

(b) The DDS Administrator shall issue by November 1 of each year an annual plan describing how DDS will comply with subsection (a) of this section during the current fiscal year. The plan shall include data from the prior fiscal year for assessing the current and potential health-care decision-making needs of all persons served by DDS. The plan shall include, at a minimum:

(1) Aggregate statistics summarizing the number of DDS Customers who:

(A) Have a general guardian, a limited guardian, a health-care guardian, or an emergency guardian as of the end of the prior fiscal year;

(B) At any time during the prior fiscal year, had an emergency guardian authorized to make health-care decisions or a health-care guardian;

(C) Have executed a durable power of attorney in accordance with § 21-2205;

(D) Have been offered an opportunity to execute a durable power of attorney pursuant to § 21-2205 and declined;

(E) Have an person identified as reasonably available, mentally capable, and willing to provide substituted consent pursuant to § 21-2210; or

(F) Lack any available substitute health-care decision-maker;

(2) Aggregate statistics describing the numbers of persons taking psychotropic medications as of the end of the previous fiscal year, and an assessment of the degree to which health-care decision-making support for the prescription of psychotropic medication may be required for these persons;

(3) Aggregate statistics describing the requests for consent reviewed during the prior fiscal year by the independent psychotropic medication panel authorized in § 7-1305.06b, analyzing outcomes, monthly and yearly trends, and requests for review by the DDS Human Rights Committee;

(4) Aggregate statistics describing for the prior fiscal year:

(A) The number of substitute decisions which required intervention by DDS to identify an person to provide substituted consent pursuant to § 21-2210;

(B) The nature of the health-care needs and medical treatments; and

(C) The average time elapsed between a request for a substituted decision and the provision of substituted consent; and

(5) An analysis of the statistics described in this subsection, identification of yearly and multiyear trends, and a plan for remedial measures to be taken when the statistics identify process or service deficiencies.

(c) The DDS Administrator shall produce a quarterly report on all substituted consent activities pursuant to subsection (a) of this section until October 2010. Quarterly reports shall be complete by the 15th day of October, January, April, and July and shall include:

(1) Statistics describing:

(A) The number of substitute decisions during the prior quarter which required intervention by DDS to identify an person to provide substituted consent pursuant to § 21-2210;

(B) The nature of the health-care needs and medical treatments for each substituted decision;

(C) The time elapsed between each request for a substituted decision and the provision of substituted consent; and

(D) If the process for identifying an person to provide substituted consent pursuant to § 21-2210 is not complete, a summary of the specific barriers currently identified and the specific action needed; and

(2) An analysis of the statistics described in this subsection, and a plan for remedial measures to be taken, when the statistics identify process delays.

(d)(1) The DDS Administrator shall submit the annual plan described in subsection (b) of this section and the quarterly report described in subsection (c) of this section to:

(A) The Committee of the Council under whose purview DDS falls;

(B) The Mayor; and

(C) The designated state protection and advocacy agency for the District of Columbia established pursuant to the Protection and Advocacy for Mentally Ill Individuals Act of 1986, approved May 23, 1986 (100 Stat. 478; 42 U.S.C. § 10801 et seq.), and section 509 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, approved October 29, 1992 (106 Stat. 4430; 29 U.S.C. § 794e).

(2) The DDS Administrator shall make copies of the annual plan and quarterly reports described in this section available to members of the public upon request.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring any person to execute a durable power of attorney for health care.

(Mar. 3, 1979, D.C. Law 2-137, § 507a; as added Oct. 22, 2008, D.C. Law 17-249, § 5(f), 55 DCR 9206; Sept. 26, 2012, D.C. Law 19-169, § 17(ll), 59 DCR 5567; May 5, 2018, D.C. Law 22-93, § 201(c)(36), 65 DCR 2823.)

The 2012 amendment by D.C. Law 19-169, in the second sentence of (a), substituted “every individual served by DDS” for “every DDS customer” and “the individual” for “the customer”; substituted “individuals served by DDS” for “DDS customers” in the introductory language of (b) and (b)(1); and substituted “individuals” for “customers” twice in (b)(2).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 4(e) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Emergency Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Act 16-190, October 28, 2005, 52 DCR 10021).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 4(e) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-262, January 26, 2006, 53 DCR 795).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 4(f) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-480, September 25, 2006, 53 DCR 7940).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 4(f) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Act 16-566, December 19, 2006, 53 DCR 10272).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 4(f) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Emergency Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-161, October 18, 2007, 54 DCR 10932).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 4(f) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Congressional Review Emergency Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-245, January 23, 2008, 55 DCR 1230).

For temporary (90 day) addition, see § 5(f) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Developmental Disabilities Emergency Act of 2008 (D.C. Act 17-492, August 4, 2008, 55 DCR 9167).

For temporary (225 day) addition, see § 4(e) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Temporary Amendment Act of 2005 (D.C. Law 16-46, February 9, 2006, law notification 53 DCR 1454).

For temporary (225 day) addition, see § 4(f) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Temporary Amendment Act of 2006 (D.C. Law 16-194, March 2, 2007, law notification 54 DCR 2492).

For temporary (225 day) addition, see § 4(f) of Health-Care Decisions for Persons with Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Temporary Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Law 17-100, February 2, 2008, law notification 55 DCR 3407).

Section 35 of D.C. Law 19-169 provided that no provision of the act shall impair any right or obligation existing under law.