Bill Text: NY S04749 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires the establishment of community housing waiting lists within the office of mental health service system; directs each provider of housing services in the office of mental health system to provide, on a monthly basis, the office of mental health with a list of each person referred to, admitted to, applying for, withdrawing an application for and denied admission to housing provided by such provider; requires the community-based agency performing assessments of persons with a documented mental illness to provide the office with the names of such who have been assessed and who meet the eligibility criteria for the array of funded and/or licensed housing programs; requires such office to publish such waiting lists on a monthly basis.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES [S04749 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S04749-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4749 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 22, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop- mental Disabilities AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the establishment of community housing waiting lists for adults within the office of mental health service system The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 7.15 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding 2 three new subdivisions (c), (d) and (e) to read as follows: 3 (c) The commissioner shall establish a community housing waiting list 4 for adults seeking housing services in the office of mental health 5 service system. For the purposes of this section, the term "community 6 housing waiting list" shall mean an unduplicated list or roster of 7 adults with a documented mental illness who meet the eligibility crite- 8 ria for the array of office of mental health funded and/or licensed 9 housing programs who have been referred to or applied for but not yet 10 received supported, supportive, supervised or congregate housing 11 services in the office of mental health service system. 12 For the purposes of this section, the term "provider of housing 13 services" shall include every holder of an operating certificate issued 14 pursuant to article thirty-one of this chapter, or every housing program 15 funded, operated or administered by the office including any local 16 government unit mental health housing referral system and each single 17 point of entry office, operated by or under contract with a director of 18 community services pursuant to article forty-one of this chapter. 19 For the purposes of this section, the term "agency or institution" 20 shall include adult homes, nursing homes, foster care providers, home- 21 less shelters, state psychiatric centers, hospitals, correctional facil- 22 ities and other referring entities. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD05939-01-9S. 4749 2 1 Each month, each provider of housing services shall provide to the 2 office the name of each person who is referred to, applies for, is 3 admitted to, withdraws an application for or is denied admission to the 4 provider's housing program, along with such other information as the 5 commissioner may require. 6 Each month, each agency or institution making referrals for housing 7 services in the office of mental health service system may provide to 8 the office the names of persons whom it has referred to a provider of 9 housing services, along with such other information as the commissioner 10 may require. 11 Each month, each county's community-based agency performing assess- 12 ments of people with disabilities using the uniform assessment tool, as 13 required by paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section seven hundred 14 three of the executive law, shall provide to the office the name of each 15 person with a documented mental illness who is assessed and meets the 16 eligibility criteria for the array of office of mental health funded 17 and/or licensed housing programs, and the names of those persons it has 18 referred to providers of housing and services along with such other 19 information as the commissioner may require. 20 (d) The commissioner shall establish policies, procedures and forms 21 for the community housing waiting list in order to ensure that appli- 22 cants and prospective applicants for housing programs, providers of 23 housing services, and referring agencies and institutions may submit 24 waiting list information and copies of applications and referrals 25 directly to the office via electronic means. Such policies, procedures 26 and forms shall safeguard the confidentiality of information concerning 27 persons seeking housing in the office of mental health service system, 28 and accord each person on the waiting list the opportunity to receive a 29 written copy of all personal information maintained on the waiting list. 30 Such policies and procedures shall provide for the community housing 31 waiting list to include all persons on any local or state waiting list 32 for housing in the office of mental health service system before the 33 effective date of this subdivision and the date upon which each such 34 person was first placed on such waiting list. Such list shall also 35 include persons who are placed on any such local or state waiting list 36 on or after the effective date of this subdivision. 37 (e) The commissioner shall prepare a written report on the community 38 housing waiting list of persons with a documented mental illness seeking 39 housing in the office of mental health service system. Such housing 40 shall include community-based housing and related services for which 41 persons are assessed pursuant to article twenty-five of the executive 42 law. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the number of 43 adults, by county, referred to the community housing waiting list; the 44 number of adults, by county, that applied for each category of residen- 45 tial service; the number of adults, by county, admitted to each category 46 of residential service; the number of adults, by county, denied admis- 47 sion to each category of residential service; the number of adults, by 48 county, who withdrew applications for each category of residential 49 service; and the number of adults, by county, on the statewide waiting 50 list for each category of residential service. For each category and 51 county, the number of months on the waiting list shall be reported for 52 each person. Such report also shall include the types, capacities and 53 vacancy rates of residential services offered in each county and detail 54 the efforts of the office to reduce the length of the waiting list for 55 each category of residential service, including the methods by which the 56 office prioritizes the provision of services to persons on the statewideS. 4749 3 1 community housing waiting list and the efforts of the state to inform 2 the public about the community housing waiting list and the availability 3 of community housing and services for adults with a documented mental 4 illness. Such report shall be submitted to the governor, the chair- 5 person of the senate mental health and developmental disabilities 6 committee and the chairperson of the assembly mental health committee, 7 and each local community services board on or before January first, two 8 thousand twenty-two and monthly thereafter. 9 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 10 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 11 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 12 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized and directed to 13 be made and completed on or before such effective date.