§ 8728. Rights of recipients

(a) Every person with a developmental disability who receives services has the right to:

(1) Be free from aversive procedures, devices, and treatments.

(2) Privacy, dignity, confidentiality, and humane care.

(3) Associate with individuals of both genders.

(4) Communicate in private by mail and telephone.

(5) Communicate in his or her primary language and primary mode of communication.

(6) Be free from retaliation for making a complaint, voicing a grievance, recommending changes in policies, or exercising a legal right.

(7) Maintain contact with family, unless contact has been restricted by court order.

(8) Refuse or terminate services, except where services are required by court order.

(9) Have access to, read, and challenge any information contained in any records about the person that are maintained by the Department or any agency or program funded by the Department and to file a written statement in the record regarding any portion of the record with which the person disagrees.

(b) Every family that receives services has the right to:

(1) Receive services without relinquishing custody of a child or children, except when custody is terminated in accordance with Vermont law.

(2) Privacy and confidentiality.

(3) Communicate in the family's primary language and primary mode of communication.

(4) Be free from retaliation for making a complaint, voicing a grievance, recommending a change in policy, or exercising a legal right.

(c) People committed to the care of the Commissioner pursuant to chapter 206, subchapter 3 of this title, relating to judicial proceedings, shall have all the rights provided by this section except when the Commissioner restricts those rights for reasons of safety, security, or treatment. (Added 1995, No. 174 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)