36-206. Duties of superintendent; clinical assessment

A. The director has charge of the state hospital and the superintendent shall supervise and direct its activities, subject to the provisions of law and approval of the director. The superintendent is directly responsible to the director for carrying out the purposes for which the hospital is maintained. Subject to the approval of the director, the superintendent may deputize any qualified officer of the state hospital to do or perform any act the superintendent is empowered to do or charged with the responsibility of doing by law.

B. The superintendent in December each year shall estimate the probable daily per capita cost of treatment and maintenance of each category of patients for the next ensuing year as determined in accordance with standard accounting practices. A statement of the estimate shall be provided to the director in January of the following year.

C. The superintendent, on request, shall provide to the director a clinical assessment of the state hospital's programs.

D. On or before August 1 of each year, the director shall establish maximum funded capacity and a percentage allocation formula for forensic and civil bed capacity at the Arizona state hospital based on census data collected pursuant to sections 13-3994, 13-4512, 36-202.01 and 36-503.03. By June 1 of each year, the director shall solicit and consider the recommendations of representatives of the county board of supervisors, the Arizona prosecuting attorneys' advisory council and the superior court when establishing this formula. In addition to establishing the formula, the director, the county board of supervisors, the Arizona prosecuting attorneys' advisory council and the superior court shall develop a contingency plan for the placement of patients subject to sections 13-3994, 13-4512, 36-202.01 and 36-503.03 in times of emergency and other unforeseen circumstances. The director shall notify the governor, the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives and the chairman of each county board of supervisors of the funded capacity and allocation formula for the current fiscal year. Thirty days before the notification of the forensic and civil bed funded capacity formula, the director shall provide this information to the representatives of the county board of supervisors, the Arizona prosecuting attorneys' advisory council and the superior court for comment. The director shall include these comments when issuing the formula.