(1) An individual requesting admission to MCDC or a court referral must be assessed as chemically dependent pursuant to ARM 37.27.130(2) (a) , and demonstrate a severity of illness which qualifies the individual for level III care based on nationally recognized patient placement criteria. Furthermore, the certified chemical dependency counselor must confirm that the individual cannot obtain necessary care locally.

(2) The certified chemical dependency counselor must contact the admission coordinator at MCDC and request admission. The admissions coordinator will instruct the program or certified counselor in admission protocols.

(3) The certified counselor will send the completed level III justification packet and supporting documentation to MCDC.

(4) The MCDC utilization review committee will meet 5 days per week (Monday through Friday except holidays) to process and accept requests for admissions within 24 hours, providing the documentation within the level III justification packet is complete. Requests received after 11:00 a.m. on Friday will be processed on Monday.

(5) The committee may reject requests for admission based on inadequate documentation or inappropriate placement.

(6) The referring certified chemical dependency counselor will be notified of the deficiencies and be given the opportunity to correct the deficiencies and resubmit.

(7) Following acceptance of the admission request, MCDC will notify the referring certified chemical dependency counselor or state approved program of the specific date and time for the admission. The referring certified chemical dependency counselor or state approved program is responsible to arrange the travel so the individual arrives at the designated arrival time.