Request By:
Mr. David H. Bland
Executive Director
Kentucky Jailers Association
Route #2, McCowans Ferry Pike
Versailles, Kentucky 40383
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Your letter concerns medical attention to be given juveniles incarcerated in county jails.
Your questions read:
"1. Can the jailer authorize medical treatment in a clearly diagnosed emergency treatment situation when the juvenile's parent or guardian are unavailable?
"2. If the parent or guardian are some distance from the jail or hospital to which the juvenile has been taken, but can be reached by phone, what procedure must the jailer follow in obtaining parental approval for the needed medical attention?
"3. If a written waiver is necessary prior to effecting the emergency medical procedure and the parent or guardian are not available at the time of arrest who would have to sign such a waiver?"
You are referring to jail prisoners who have not reached their eighteenth birthday. KRS 208.010. We assume that juveniles have been properly placed in such detention under applicable statutory law. See KRS 208.020, 208.120 and 208.130.
In answer to Question No. 1, and pursuant to KRS 208.130(5), each child detained in such facility shall be deemed under the jurisdiction of the juvenile session of the district court before which his or her case is pending. When the health or physical condition of any child before the juvenile session of the district court requires it, the court may order the child to be placed in a public hospital or institution for treatment or special care, or in a private hospital or institution for necessary treatment and care. In order to ascertain the physical condition of a child, the court may cause the child to be examined by a health officer or children's clinic or any reputable physician who will conduct the examination. See KRS 208.160. Under subsection (2) of that statute, the court may order or consent to necessary medical treatment, including surgical procedures, except for the purpose of abortion or sterilization, after a hearing conducted to determine the necessity of such treatment or procedure. Reasonable notice, taking into account any emergency circumstances, shall be provided to the parents, guardian or custodian of the child to enable them to attend the hearing. See also KRS 208.150, concerning the court's having a child examined for mental illness or defect.
The county jailer's responsibility is that once the child's apparent need for medical attention is made known to him, emergency or otherwise, that fact should be immediately communicated to the district court of jurisdiction for appropriate action.
All of the above cited statutes contain the editorial remark that they are repealed effective July 15, 1984. However, Senate Bill No. 54, enacted in the 1984 session, repealed Acts 1980, Chapter 280, and Acts 1982, Chapter 284, which prior legislation carried the repeal of various sections of KRS Chapter 208, effective July 15, 1984. Thus the above statutes referred to are effective now and will continue to be effective, unless amended or repealed by some subsequent session of the legislature. Note that S.B. No. 54 repealed the statutes now collected in KRS Chapter 208A (juvenile code provisions).
The present statutes govern and are to be narrowly construed, since the clear meaning of the statutes are apparent.
Nickell v. Thomas, Ky.App., 665 S.W.2d 927 (1984).
We have answered Question No. 2 above. The matter of authorizing medical attention and treatment for a juvenile prisoner is in the hands of the district court of jurisdiction. However, the jailer must bring the matter of needed medical attention to the attention of the district court for appropriate action. Parental approval does not enter into the picture, although KRS 208.160(2) expressly requires that reasonable notice, taking into account any emergency circumstances, be provided to the parents, guardian or custodian of the child to enable them to attend the court hearing on the medical matter. The notice emerges out of the district court.
As relates to Question No. 3, it has been answered above. The authority to permit medical attention and treatment for a juvenile prisoner rests with the district court of jurisdiction. No waivers, written or oral, are involved.
It is our opinion that where the circuit court has jurisdiction of the juvenile's case (see KRS 208.020(1)(a) and 208.170), that court has the authority, by the strongest implication, to order needed medical attention and treatment for the juvenile, under the doctrine of in pari materia. See