20-166.

Protection and advocacy system; pursuit of administrative remedies; when required.

(1) Prior to instituting any legal action in a federal or state court on behalf of a mentally ill individual or a person with developmental disabilities, the protection and advocacy system shall exhaust in a timely manner all administrative remedies when appropriate. If, in pursuing administrative remedies, the system determines that any matter with respect to such individual will not be resolved within a reasonable time, the system may pursue alternative remedies, including the initiation of legal action.

(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to any legal action instituted to prevent or eliminate imminent serious harm to a mentally ill individual or a person with developmental disabilities.