N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 13.21: Directors of state operations offices and developmental disabilities regional offices in the office for people with developmental disabil...

§ 13.21 Directors of state operations offices and developmental

disabilities regional offices in the office for people with

developmental disabilities.

(a) The directors of both the state operations offices and

developmental disabilities regional offices in the office for people

with developmental disabilities shall be appointed by the commissioner.

Each such director shall be in the non-competitive class and designated

as confidential as defined by subdivision two-a of section forty-two of

the civil service law and shall serve at the pleasure of the

commissioner. He or she shall in exercising his or her appointing

authority take, consistent with article twenty-three-A of the correction

law, all reasonable and necessary steps to insure that any such person

so appointed has not previously engaged in any act in violation of any

law which indicates a propensity to act in a manner that would

compromise the health and safety of patients in the facility of which he

or she is director. He or she shall manage the state operations office

or developmental disabilities regional office and administer its

personnel system subject to applicable law, the regulations of the

commissioner, and the rules of the state civil service commission. The

directors of the developmental disabilities regional offices and state

operations offices shall maintain effective supervision of all parts of

their respective offices. The directors of state operations offices

shall generally provide for the administration of supports and services

to individuals with developmental disabilities in state operated

programs. Directors of regional offices shall generally oversee the

administration of supports and services to individuals with

developmental disabilities in settings outside the state operated

programs.

(b) Such directors shall have the responsibility of seeing that there

is humane treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities

receiving services in settings operated, licensed, certified, funded or

approved by this office and shall investigate, or cause to be

investigated, every reportable incident in accordance with article

eleven of the social services law. Also in accordance with article

eleven of the social services law, the director shall require

allegations of reportable incidents to be reported to the vulnerable

persons' central register, which shall screen and immediately forward

reports that appear to allege crimes to the appropriate law enforcement

agency. The vulnerable persons' central register shall notify

immediately, and in any event within three working days, the board of

visitors of the facility and the mental hygiene legal service located in

the same judicial department as the state operations office of every

complaint of patient abuse or mistreatment and shall inform the board

and the mental hygiene legal service of the results of his or her

investigation.

(c) In any investigation into the treatment and care of individuals

with developmental disabilities or the conduct, performance, or neglect

of duty of officers or employees, the commissioner or his or her

designee shall be authorized to subpoena witnesses, compel their

attendance, administer oaths to witnesses, examine witnesses under oath,

and require the production of any books or papers deemed relevant to the

inquiry or investigation. A subpoena issued under this section shall be

regulated by the civil practice law and rules.

(d) The director of a state operations office shall be responsible for

the provision of state operated community developmental disabilities

services in those areas that the commissioner may assign. Such

responsibility shall, consistent with article forty-one of this chapter,

include the operation of state operated facilities and the development

of needed facilities. The director of a developmental disabilities

regional office shall be responsible for the provision of community

developmental disabilities services to individuals in settings other

than state operated programs. Such regional director's responsibility

shall, consistent with article forty-one of this chapter, include the

oversight of facilities and programs other than those operated by the

state.

(e) Each state operations director of the office shall, upon notice

from the commissioner or upon knowledge that programs of such facility

may be contracted or terminated, implement procedures to ensure timely

notification to affected employees. Such procedures shall include, but

not be limited to:

(1) dissemination and posting of all decisions, policies and

procedures with respect to all aspects of such actions and their impact

on facility staff; and

(2) compliance with all requirements and protection of employee rights

pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with the designated legal

representative of the employees and the civil service law.