The Court Has Ordered Treatment. Now a Bed Is Needed.

If your loved one has a court order for treatment but no bed is open, the wait can feel like a dead end. It helps to know that a court order and an open bed are two separate steps. The court decides whether the legal criteria are met. A treatment provider decides when it can admit your loved one. This page explains how those steps fit together, and what your family can do now.

Responsible lawyer: Richard J. Casey III, Esq., Robinson & Casey

Where You Are Right Now: A Marchman Act Order Without an Open Bed

A Marchman Act order doesn’t always mean treatment starts the same day. You may have filed a petition, been served with papers, or been told a judge ordered treatment. Now the placement isn’t ready, and you’re left waiting.

That gap is stressful. You may be worried about your loved one’s safety, your own work schedule, and what to tell other family members. You may also feel unsure who makes the next move.

The sections below cover who can file, why an order can come before a bed, what the law allows during the wait, how to keep your loved one safe at home, which records matter, and which questions to ask.

Can You File a Marchman Act for a Homeless Adult Who Uses Drugs in Florida?

Yes. A Marchman Act petition can concern an adult who has no stable home, as long as the statute’s criteria are met. Those criteria focus on impairment and risk, not on where a person sleeps. Fla. Stat. § 397.675 describes them. In short, there must be a good faith reason to believe the person is substance abuse impaired or has a substance use disorder and a co-occurring mental health disorder. Because of that, the person must have lost the power of self-control with respect to substance abuse. The person must also meet one of these conditions: (a) needs substance abuse services and, because of impaired judgment, can’t appreciate that need or make a rational decision about it (mere refusal of services is not evidence of lack of judgment); or (b) without care is likely to suffer from neglect or refuse to care for himself or herself, posing a real and present threat of substantial harm that does not appear avoidable with help from willing, able, and responsible family members or friends or other services; or there is a substantial likelihood the person has inflicted, threatened, or attempted to inflict, or, unless admitted, is likely to inflict, physical harm on himself, herself, or another.

Under Fla. Stat. § 397.68112, for an adult respondent, a spouse or legal guardian, any relative, a service provider, or an adult who has direct personal knowledge of the impairment and of the person’s prior course of assessment and treatment may file.

The clerk may not charge a fee to file it (Fla. Stat. § 397.681). For a loved one without a fixed address, the location question needs careful attention.

The petition must be filed with the clerk of the court in the county where the person is located, and the clerk may not charge a fee for filing it. Unless the chief judge authorizes private process servers, the clerk sends it to law enforcement within 6 hours for service (Fla. Stat. § 397.68151). Ask the court how service will be attempted.

Why a Court Order Can Come Before a Treatment Bed Is Open

A court order and a provider’s admission are separate decisions. A provider may decline a person when it lacks space, when it lacks the financial resources to pay for the person’s care, when the person’s medical or behavioral conditions are beyond its safe management capabilities, or when the person doesn’t meet its admission criteria.

Under Fla. Stat. § 397.6751, a provider must make sure admission won’t push it over its licensed capacity. It must also check whether the person’s needs are beyond its safe care. It must consider whether the cost fits the person’s finances or those responsible for the person’s care.

The law also requires the most appropriate, least restrictive available setting. The facility the court has in mind may not be the first one with an opening.

If a provider can’t admit, it must try to reach the referral source and talk through other options. If it can’t reach that source, it must refuse admission and help the person find other appropriate services. Within one workday after those efforts, it must report in writing why it refused and what it tried.

The court may direct a sheriff to deliver your loved one to the provider named in the order, or to the nearest appropriate provider (Fla. Stat. § 397.697). How long the wait lasts depends on the facts of the case, the provider’s intake process, and the level of care ordered. Don’t assume a bed date. Ask the court and the petitioner for the current status in writing.

What Typically Happens to Your Loved One While the Family Waits

The court process keeps moving while you wait, and the statute sets firm time limits. Filing a petition doesn’t by itself move your loved one into a facility. A court order or a provider’s admission does that.

• Emergency orders: In an emergency, the court may rely on the petition alone and enter an ex parte assessment and stabilization order, without first appointing an attorney. That order must be carried out while the hearing is pending (Fla. Stat. § 397.6818).
• Observation limit: A provider may not hold your loved one for more than 72 hours of observation unless an exception applies. Exceptions include a court-approved extension, withdrawal or medical needs, and a weekend or holiday end date.
• Void orders: If the ex parte order isn’t carried out by the initial hearing date, it is void.
• Hearing date: The court must schedule the hearing within 10 court working days unless a continuance is granted (Fla. Stat. § 397.68151).
• Assessment: Your loved one generally can’t be ordered into treatment without a clinical assessment. Your loved one’s assessment by a qualified professional must occur within 72 hours after arriving at a licensed service provider, unless he or she shows signs of withdrawal or needs to be detoxified or treated for a medical condition, which extends the observation time until that issue is resolved but no later than the scheduled hearing date, absent a court-approved extension. If the person is a minor, the assessment must be initiated within the first 12 hours of admission (Fla. Stat. § 397.6957).
• Counsel: Your loved one has the right to counsel at every stage. A person who can’t afford private counsel may receive court-appointed counsel (Fla. Stat. § 397.681).

Keep a written log of dates, phone calls, hearing notices, and instructions from the court or providers.

Keeping Your Loved One Safe at Home Before the Hearing

The most useful steps now are to reduce access to harm and know when to call for emergency help. Start with the home itself.

• Lock up or remove alcohol, medications, and other items that could cause harm.
• Write down current medications, doses, and known allergies. Keep the list where you can grab it fast.
• Decide ahead of time who will be home and who you will call.

The statute recognizes signs of withdrawal as a reason a provider may extend observation time. Tell the provider about any signs you notice.

If your loved one may hurt himself, herself, or someone else, call 911 right away. Don’t wait for a bed or a hearing date in a crisis. For more on the wait, see our safety-at-home guide.

Medical Records and Information the Court and Providers May Need

Gather a short written history of your loved one’s past treatment, current medications, and provider contacts. Keep it in one place.

The petition must name the respondent and the petitioner, state their relationship, and list any known attorney. It must also set out the facts behind the request (Fla. Stat. § 397.68141). It may include a professional’s report from an exam within 30 days before filing. If your loved one wasn’t assessed, the petition must say so.

Court records under this part are confidential. The clerk may release them only to listed people, including the petitioner, the respondent, and their attorneys (Fla. Stat. § 397.6760).

Federal law adds another layer. Substance use disorder treatment records generally may not be used against the patient in civil proceedings. The exceptions are the patient’s consent or a court order based on good cause (42 U.S.C. § 290dd-2). Where consent is needed, it must be in writing. It must describe the information and who may receive it, and it must include an expiration date or an expiration event tied to the patient or the purpose of the disclosure (42 C.F.R. § 2.31).

Questions to Ask the Court, the Petitioner, and the Treatment Provider

The key questions are who is arranging placement, when the next hearing is, and what the provider needs before it can admit your loved one. Write each answer down with the date.

• Who is responsible for arranging placement under the order?
• What is the next hearing date, and has it been continued?
• Has the ex parte order been carried out, and on what date?
• What intake steps and paperwork does the provider require?
• If the provider can’t admit, what alternative services has it contacted?

How Robinson Casey Can Help Your Family Through the Wait

Robinson Casey focuses on Marchman Act petitions and guardianship matters for families across South Florida and statewide. Richard J. Casey III, Esq. is the responsible attorney for this page. The firm also has assistants and office staff who support this work.

For the wider picture, read our guide to involuntary commitment for addiction in Florida. If you’re dealing with a filing in Miami-Dade, see our Miami-Dade Marchman Act guide.

Frequently asked questions