Bill Text: NY S08820 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Establishes a statewide person-centered mental health services work group to improve statewide mental health planning and outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first integrated and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-15 - PRINT NUMBER 8820A [S08820 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S08820-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Establishes a statewide person-centered mental health services work group to improve statewide mental health planning and outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first integrated and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-15 - PRINT NUMBER 8820A [S08820 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S08820-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8820 IN SENATE March 15, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT in relation to establishing a statewide person-centered mental health services work group to improve statewide mental health planning and outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first integrated and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Statewide person-centered mental health services work 2 group. 1. There is hereby created person-centered mental health 3 services work group to examine, evaluate, determine, recommend, and 4 oversee implementation of how to improve statewide mental health plan- 5 ning and outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first inte- 6 grated and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness. 7 2. The work group shall consist of twenty statewide members, four ex 8 officio members, and twenty-eight regional representative members, 9 appointed as follows: 10 (a) Statewide members. Statewide members shall be appointed within 11 sixty days of the effective date of this act: 12 (i) three members shall be appointed by the temporary president of the 13 senate, one of which must be a peer or consumer representative; 14 (ii) three members shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly, 15 one of which must be a peer or consumer representative; 16 (iii) two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 17 senate; 18 (iv) two members shall be appointed by the minority leader of the 19 assembly; 20 (v) three members shall be appointed by the governor, one of which 21 must be a peer or consumer representative; 22 (vi) three members shall be appointed by the council of local mental 23 hygiene directors; 24 (vii) two members shall be appointed by the behavioral health services 25 advisory council; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14417-01-4S. 8820 2 1 (viii) two members shall be appointed by the most integrated setting 2 coordinating council. 3 (b) Ex officio members. The commissioners of the office of addiction 4 services and supports, the office of mental health, the department of 5 health, and the New York city department of health and mental hygiene, 6 or their designees, shall serve as ex officio members of the work group. 7 (c) Regional membership and appointments. (i) For purposes of this 8 act, there shall be nine regions, consisting of the same geographic 9 areas and counties as the social care networks described in the January 10 2024 New York State Department of Health Request for Applications: New 11 York Health Equity Reform: Social Care Networks: 12 (1) Region 1: Capital; 13 (2) Region 2: Western; 14 (3) Region 3: Hudson Valley; 15 (4) Region 4: New York City; 16 (5) Region 5: Finger Lakes; 17 (6) Region 6: Southern Tier; 18 (7) Region 7: Central; 19 (8) Region 8: Long Island; 20 (9) Region 9: North Country. 21 (ii) There shall be three members from each region, except New York 22 City, which shall have four. 23 (iii) Regional members shall be selected through a nominating process 24 conducted by the New York alliance for rights and recovery. A majority 25 of the candidates must have lived experience as a person who is current- 26 ly or was previously in the shelter system, used or using public housing 27 vouchers, court-involved, and/or the public health and mental health 28 systems. The New York alliance for rights and recovery shall be compen- 29 sated for this work through a negotiated contract with the office of 30 mental health. 31 3. Appointments shall be made within sixty days of the effective date 32 of this act. Vacancies in the work group shall be filled in the same 33 manner provided for original appointments. 34 4. The work group membership shall accurately reflect the race and 35 ethnicity of people who use public health and mental health services. 36 The minority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly shall 37 review the composition of the work group following the nominating proc- 38 ess and shall, if necessary, select alternative members proposed by the 39 relevant nominating bodies to achieve the inclusion and equity targets 40 described herein. 41 5. All work group members shall be required to disclose any financial, 42 personal, or professional conflicts of interest related to the subject 43 and decisions under consideration by the work group. 44 6. Participation by non-voting members encourages the inclusion of 45 diverse viewpoints but does not dilute the decision-making authority of 46 the work group members who use mental health services. Non-voting 47 members may participate in all actions afforded members but may not vote 48 on any resolutions. If not otherwise selected to be a member of the work 49 group, the following shall be non-voting members: 50 (a) the director of recipient affairs from any local or state govern- 51 mental unit; 52 (b) representatives of trade associations representing housing and 53 service providers, hospital associations, and health insurance compa- 54 nies;S. 8820 3 1 (c) representatives of social justice and legal advocacy organizations 2 with an established track record of public testimony and/or policy 3 research related to the provision of mental health service; 4 (d) a representative selected by the national alliance on mental 5 illness of New York state; and 6 (e) additional non-voting members may be added at the discretion of 7 the work group. 8 7. Work group members shall receive no compensation for their efforts 9 and services as members for the actual and necessary expenses incurred 10 in the performance of their duties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, 11 however, compensation shall be provided to work group members, both 12 voting and non-voting, with lived experiences who are not otherwise 13 compensated for their time devoted to work group activities. Such 14 compensation shall be equivalent to the average compensation of the work 15 group membership that is voted on and agreed to by the voting members of 16 the work group. Such compensation shall be allocated from the work 17 group operating budget. Members shall be considered public officers for 18 the purpose of section 17 of the public officers law. 19 8. A quorum shall consist of a majority of members of the work group 20 entitled to vote on the matter under consideration. Approval of any 21 matter shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the members 22 voting thereon. The quorum must include a proportionate number of 23 members with lived experiences that is equal to or greater than the 24 proportion of the work group as a whole. 25 9. The work group shall be authorized to adopt by-laws for the manage- 26 ment and regulation of its affairs. 27 10. The statewide person-centered mental health services work group 28 shall develop the recommendations for: 29 (a) A regional and statewide mental health planning system to: 30 (i) Establish regional short and long-range strategic goals and strat- 31 egies that integrate behavioral health and physical health; 32 (ii) Ensure that persons with lived experiences have a leadership role 33 in the development of these goals; 34 (iii) Ensure adoption through a community consensus process; 35 (iv) Identify measurable outcomes, accountability, and funding for the 36 strategic goals; and 37 (v) Ensure there is a transparent annual evaluation and quality 38 improvement process that is consistent across all regions. 39 (b) Establishing a statewide clearinghouse of best practices to be 40 posted publicly, regularly updated, and on the office of mental health, 41 the office of addiction services and supports, the department of health, 42 and the New York city department of health and mental hygiene websites 43 to ensure the implementation of programs that have proved effective in 44 one region could be scaled up across the entire system. 45 (c) Establishing an annual budgeting system to ensure regional-identi- 46 fied priorities are adequately funded. 47 (d) A bill, to be called the "person-centered mental health services 48 act" that authorizes the establishment of planning, implementation, 49 funding, evaluation, and recommendations of services, supports, and 50 outcomes for people who use the public behavioral health systems that 51 are consistent with the recommendations of the work group. 52 11. In carrying out its functions, the work group shall foster 53 discussions among, and conduct formal public hearings with requisite 54 public notice to solicit input from, local stakeholders' interests. It 55 will conduct research and evaluate strategic planning tools and tech- 56 niques used in the public sphere that have proven to be effective inS. 8820 4 1 soliciting and incorporating meaningful community input into comparable 2 regional plans and meet the requirements described in paragraph (a) of 3 subdivision ten of this section. 4 12. (a) The commissioners of the office of mental health, the office 5 of addiction services and supports, the department of health, and the 6 New York city department of health and mental hygiene shall designate a 7 sufficient number of employees of their offices as are reasonably neces- 8 sary to provide support services to the statewide work group and its 9 efforts. The work group may employ additional staff and consultants, who 10 shall be paid from amounts available to the work group for that purpose. 11 (b) The commissioners of the office of mental health, the office of 12 addiction services and supports, the department of health, and local 13 county health care agencies shall appoint representatives of their 14 respective offices to serve as a liaison between their offices and the 15 work group. All state agencies, public authorities and public benefit 16 corporations shall provide such assistance as may be reasonably 17 requested. 18 13. The work group's tasks shall be supported by an independent 19 outside consulting firm that possesses the requisite experience and 20 expertise in human-centered design, design thinking, or related 21 concepts. The firm shall be selected by a majority vote of the work 22 group from a list of three candidates identified through a request for 23 proposal process overseen by the department of health. 24 14. Deliberations, meetings and other proceedings of the work group, 25 and any committees thereof, shall be governed by article 7 of the public 26 officers law. Any one or more members of the work group may participate 27 in a meeting by means of a conference telephone, conference video or 28 similar communications equipment allowing all persons participating in 29 the meeting to hear each other at the same time. Participation by such 30 means shall constitute presence in person at a meeting. At any meetings 31 of the work group conducted by means of a conference telephone, confer- 32 ence video or similar communications equipment, other than executive 33 sessions, the public shall be given an opportunity to listen. If a 34 meeting other than an executive session is to be conducted by means of a 35 conference telephone, conference video or similar communications equip- 36 ment, the public notice for the meeting shall inform the public that 37 such equipment will be used and identify the means by which the public 38 may listen to such meeting. 39 15. (a) Upon consideration of factors identified in subdivision ten of 40 this section, the work group shall develop recommendations for reform of 41 the state's local mental health planning process to ensure it is 42 informed by consumers and reflective of local needs. 43 (b) The work group shall transmit a report containing these specific 44 recommendations to the governor and the legislature on or before Novem- 45 ber 1, 2025. The report and recommendations shall simultaneously be 46 posted on the websites of the office of mental health, the office of 47 addiction services and supports, and the department of health, as well 48 as distributed to the public via the same media channels used to 49 announce major program or policy changes, or procurement opportunities. 50 16. The work group's annual budget is five million dollars, subject to 51 an appropriation therefor. In the furtherance of its duties, the work 52 group shall be authorized to expend not more than the approved annual 53 budget for reasonable and standard consulting and research fees, tech- 54 nology devices, travel and lodging, compensation of members eligible as 55 described in subdivision seven of this section, and any other itemsS. 8820 5 1 considered essential for its work. The work group may make a request for 2 additional funding to the office of mental health, as needed. 3 17. The work group shall be authorized and entitled to receive any 4 grants offered pursuant to section 54 of the state finance law. 5 18. (a) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section, or 6 part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdic- 7 tion to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invali- 8 date the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to 9 the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof 10 directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have 11 been rendered. 12 (b) It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that 13 this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not 14 been included herein. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
