Hi Suzee. Good author's note. Just be thankful you're dealing with federal welfare and foster care. Those laws are a puzzle that changes constantly and from place to place. They're giving me fits with all the movement in my story. :-) Yes, I am in California and work in medical social work but not usually with psych patients right now. So I have some experience with this but am not smack in the middle of it either. So I am not claiming absolute knowledge of the entire HIPPA privacy laws (the act itself is enormous and completely bogged down in legalese, which hospital and provider attorneys read and interpret and set policy for their clients. It's a huge mess on the provider end and so they tend to err with extreme caution. Anyway, the privacy laws you want are HIPPA - it's federal, and it's enormous with huge penalties for inappropriate disclosure of private health information. A lot of hospitals err on the side of extreme caution for fear of these penalties. Psychiatric information is especially protected. I don't know anyone young who has signed a pre-release of information to their family members, most people don't even think about it. Older people who are more aware of their own mortality and advance directives may do so more frequently. I can't imagine a girl in her early twenties would do that except under unusual circumstances, such as a serious chronic iillness, witness of a problem where someone else was concerned and therefore having their consciousnesses raised regarding the issue, or an attorney or medical professional in the family who might also be very aware and have brought the subject up previously. Most people I don't believe even are aware of HIPPA or the necessity to have signed releases. Now how strictly any provider holds to HIPPA will vary, trying to seek a balance between family member need to know versus their employer's legal dept which would prefer that no one talk to anyone ever (based on my experience with the extremely risk averse legal depts that all organizations have guiding them). Since HIPPA is farily recent it would be important to use very recent experience as a guide and not experience of years ago. You didn't mention when your examples (suzee and spufette) took place so I don't know if it predates HIPPA or not. As for the hold. If Buffy is conscious and is able to convince her doctors she didn't mean to kill herself, they might not put her on a hold. But if she is unconscious or if the type and amount of drugs/alcohol ingested is clearly meant to kill oneself, then the involuntary hold would be more likely. So, do what you will and take us where you want to go. It's all good to me. This is only meant as advice and I'm not gonna yell if you do it some way different from how I think legally it should go. Not gonna attack or criticize or anything. Like I said, this stuff is complex and although the laws are federal the particular individual practice may vary. I really like the way you have this one unfolding and I can't wait for the next update. Thanks! :-)

So far, I'm really liking this story, so keep on writing please! :D

Hey, it's me again. I hope this is okay for me to write?
Mac 1 brings up an interesting point: I had to place a friend into a 5150 situation some years ago. Even then, it was a sticky wicket to say the least.
I had to literally carry the girl (thank God she was petite) up to the hospital door and then sign papers for a 72 hour hold.
(She took pills and drank and went ballistic at our place so.....)
Anyway, here's the jist: This is California and I live here (I've a feeling Mac 1 does also) and it is very, very difficult to put anyone in a 72 hour hold or 5150 anymore.
Even family members are pretty well out of the loop in this.
Usually (and I noticed you mentioned this Suzee) it's the patient that has to sign papers for themselves after they have 'calmed' down a bit.
Anyway, great story and I hope you update soon!
spuf

I'm glad Buffy's okay. I hope it goes well for them! Update soon please!

I'm really looking forward to finding out how William's hospital visit with Buffy goes, if he even gets the chance to see her that is. Good update.

Again I say 'Go Spike Go'! I'm so excited to see what happens when he gets to the hospital. How will their first meeting go? Argh! *bounce, bounce*

Great chapter!! Please update soon I can't wait to read what happens next!!!

can't wait to see buffy's reaction to all of this

Speaking with someone from the psychiatric members or the psychiatric unit for rehabilitation will be good for Buffy. ~ Yeah.. Spike had left her and moved on (for a while?) but Buffy made him go. Now we have to wait and see what will happen now.

Hummm...wonder if they'll let him see her?

So Spike to the rescue (emotionally anyway since Giles already did the physical rescue). And when he gets there, hew gonna be turned away by his own brother? That's cold Rupert! Maybe he should let Spike and Buffy work out their own probs?. Love the tale, more please.

Love your story. Please don't leave us hanging. I am pzzled about the one day hold the doctor mentioned to her parents. He should be talking about a 72 hour hold (5150 hold it's called) for a known attempted suicide. Also, be careful how much information the doctor reveals to anyone other than Buffy herself. The new confidentiality laws are very strict and hospitals especially always err on the side of caution when telling anyone anything at all about a patient's medical or psychiatric condition unless they have written approval from the patient to do so. So be sure they don't just become a fountain of information to anyone who asks aside from a legal guardian. They can only reveal what is necessary to reveal, and only to those people who have to know, and no more. I too am looking forward to seeing Spike arrive, and to how the 'rents react to him now that they have more information about their relationship. And Buffy is messed up -- it's gonna take some time before she's anything like ready to be in a relationship with someone. She's got a lot of problems, deep problems. I am encouraged by your start of this chapter as 'Part III' -- it looks like you might be fixing to get to the bottom of her problems and then pull the two together at last. But that's me -- tell your story your way and I'll be here reading it. Like I said, I like it. Thanks. :-)

cant wait till he gets there!