N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 19.07: Office of alcoholism and substance abuse services; scope of responsibilities

§ 19.07 Office of alcoholism and substance abuse services; scope of

responsibilities.

(a) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services is charged

with the responsibility for assuring the development of comprehensive

plans, programs, and services in the areas of research, prevention,

care, treatment, rehabilitation, including relapse prevention and

recovery maintenance, education, and training of persons who abuse or

are dependent on alcohol and/or substances and their families. Such

plans, programs, and services shall be developed with the cooperation of

the office, the other offices of the department where appropriate, local

governments, consumers and community organizations and entities. The

office shall provide appropriate facilities and shall encourage the

provision of facilities by local government and community organizations

and entities. The office is also responsible for developing plans,

programs and services related to compulsive gambling education,

prevention and treatment consistent with section 41.57 of this chapter.

(b) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall advise

and assist the governor in improving services and developing policies

designed to meet the needs of persons who suffer from an addictive

disorder and their families, and to encourage their rehabilitation,

maintenance of recovery, and functioning in society.

(c) The office of addiction services and supports shall have the

responsibility for seeing that persons who suffer from a substance use

disorder and their families are provided with addiction services, care

and treatment, and that such services, care, treatment and

rehabilitation is of high quality and effectiveness, and that the

personal and civil rights of persons seeking and receiving addiction

services, care, treatment and rehabilitation are adequately protected,

including that patients have the right to access services based on their

gender identity, gender expression and/or sexual orientation. For the

purposes of this subdivision, gender identity or gender expression means

a person's actual or perceived gender related identity, appearance,

behavior, expression, or other gender related characteristic regardless

of the sex assigned to that person at birth.

(d) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall foster

programs for the training and development of persons capable of

providing the foregoing services, including but not limited to a process

of issuing, either directly or through contract, credentials for

alcoholism and substance abuse counselors or gambling addiction

counselors in accordance with the following:

(1) The office shall establish minimum qualifications for counselors

in all phases of delivery of services to persons and their families who

are suffering from alcohol and/or substance abuse and/or chemical

dependence and/or compulsive gambling that shall include, but not be

limited to, completion of approved courses of study or equivalent

on-the-job experience in alcoholism and substance abuse counseling

and/or counseling of compulsive gambling. Such approved courses of study

or equivalent on-the-job experience shall include: providing

trauma-informed, patient-centered care; referring individuals to

appropriate treatments for co-occurring disorders; and sensitivity

training. Such courses shall be updated as needed to reflect evolving

best practices in harm reduction, treatment and long-term recovery. For

the purposes of this paragraph, sensitivity training shall mean a form

of training with the goal of making people more aware of their own

prejudices and more sensitive to others.

(i) The office shall establish procedures for issuing, directly or

through contract, credentials to counselors who meet minimum

qualifications, including the establishment of appropriate fees, and

shall further establish procedures to suspend, revoke, or annul such

credentials for good cause. Such procedures shall be promulgated by the

commissioner by rule or regulation.

(ii) The commissioner shall establish a credentialing board which

shall provide advice concerning the credentialing process.

(2) The establishment, with the advice of the advisory council on

alcoholism and substance abuse services, of minimum qualifications for

counselors in all phases of delivery of services to those suffering from

alcoholism, substance and/or chemical abuse and/or dependence and/or

compulsive gambling and their families that shall include, but not be

limited to, completion of approved courses of study or equivalent

on-the-job experience in counseling for alcoholism, substance and/or

chemical abuse and/or dependence and/or compulsive gambling, and issue

credentials to counselors who meet minimum qualifications and suspend,

revoke, or annul such credentials for good cause in accordance with

procedures promulgated by the commissioner by rule or regulation.

(3) For the purpose of this title, the term "credentialed alcoholism

and substance abuse counselor" or "C.A.S.A.C." means an official

designation identifying an individual as one who holds a currently

registered and valid credential issued by the office of alcoholism and

substance abuse services pursuant to this section which documents an

individual's qualifications to provide alcoholism and substance abuse

counseling. The term "gambling addiction counselor" means an official

designation identifying an individual as one who holds a currently

registered and valid credential issued by the office of alcoholism and

substance abuse services pursuant to this section which documents an

individual's qualifications to provide compulsive gambling counseling.

(i) No person shall use the title credentialed alcoholism and

substance abuse counselor or "C.A.S.A.C." or gambling addiction

counselor unless authorized pursuant to this title.

(ii) Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall

constitute a violation as defined in the penal law.

(4) All persons holding previously issued and valid alcoholism or

substance abuse counselor credentials on the effective date of

amendments to this section shall be deemed C.A.S.A.C. designated.

(e) Consistent with the requirements of subdivision (b) of section

5.05 of this chapter, the office shall carry out the provisions of

article thirty-two of this chapter as such article pertains to

regulation and quality control of chemical dependence services,

including but not limited to the establishment of standards for

determining the necessity and appropriateness of care and services

provided by chemical dependence providers of services. In implementing

this subdivision, the commissioner, in consultation with the

commissioner of health, shall adopt standards including necessary rules

and regulations including but not limited to those for determining the

necessity or appropriate level of admission, controlling the length of

stay and the provision of services, and establishing the methods and

procedures for making such determination.

(f) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall

develop a list of all agencies throughout the state which are currently

certified by the office and are capable of and available to provide

evaluations in accordance with section sixty-five-b of the alcoholic

beverage control law so as to determine need for treatment pursuant to

such section and to assure the availability of such evaluation services

by a certified agency within a reasonable distance of every court of a

local jurisdiction in the state. Such list shall be updated on a regular

basis and shall be made available to every supreme court law library in

this state, or, if no supreme court law library is available in a

certain county, to the county court library of such county.

(g) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall

develop and maintain a list of the names and locations of all licensed

agencies and alcohol and substance abuse professionals, as defined in

paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one of section eleven hundred

ninety-eight-a of the vehicle and traffic law, throughout the state

which are capable of and available to provide an assessment of, and

treatment for, alcohol and substance abuse and dependency. Such list

shall be provided to the chief administrator of the office of court

administration and the commissioner of motor vehicles. Persons who may

be aggrieved by an agency decision regarding inclusion on the list may

request an administrative appeal in accordance with rules and

regulations of the office.

(h) The office of addiction services and supports shall monitor

programs providing care and treatment to incarcerated individuals in

correctional facilities operated by the department of corrections and

community supervision who have a history of alcohol or substance use

disorder or dependence. The office shall also develop guidelines for the

operation of alcohol and substance use disorder treatment programs in

such correctional facilities, based on best practices, and tailored to

the nature of the individual's substance use, history of past treatment,

and history of mental illness or trauma, which may include harm

reduction strategies, in order to ensure that such programs sufficiently

meet the needs of incarcerated individuals with a history of alcohol or

substance use disorder or dependence and promote the successful

transition to treatment in the community upon release. No later than the

first day of December of each year, the office shall submit a report

regarding: (1) the adequacy and effectiveness of alcohol and substance

use disorder treatment programs operated by the department of

corrections and community supervision; (2) the total number of

incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities that have been

screened for, and determined to have, a substance use disorder; (3)

information regarding which substances incarcerated individuals are most

dependent upon and the available treatment for such individuals within

each correctional facility; (4) the total number of individuals who

participate in each of the treatment programs operated by the department

of corrections and community supervision; and (5) the total number of

individuals who participated in a substance use disorder treatment

program but failed to complete such program, as well as whether such

failure to complete the program was a result of disciplinary action

taken by the facility against the individual for instances unrelated to

their participation in the treatment program. The department of

corrections and community supervision shall provide the office with

information needed to complete this report. Such report shall be sent to

the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the

assembly, the chairman of the senate committee on crime victims, crime

and correction, and the chairman of the assembly committee on

correction.

(i) The office of addiction services and supports shall periodically,

in consultation with the state commissioner of veterans' services: (1)

review the programs operated by the office to ensure that the needs of

the state's veterans who served in the U.S. armed forces and who are

recovering from alcohol and/or substance abuse are being met and to

develop improvements to programs to meet such needs; and (2) in

collaboration with the state commissioner of veterans' services and the

commissioner of the office of mental health, review and make

recommendations to improve programs that provide treatment,

rehabilitation, relapse prevention, and recovery services to veterans

who have served in a combat theatre or combat zone of operations and

have a co-occurring mental health and alcoholism or substance abuse

disorder.

(j) The office, in consultation with the state education department,

shall identify or develop materials on problem gambling among school-age

youth which may be used by school districts and boards of cooperative

educational services, at their option, to educate students on the

dangers and consequences of problem gambling as they deem appropriate.

Such materials shall be available on the internet website of the state

education department. The internet website of the office shall provide a

hyperlink to the internet page of the state education department that

displays such materials.

(k) Heroin and opioid addiction awareness and education program. The

commissioner, in cooperation with the commissioner of the department of

health, shall develop and conduct a public awareness and educational

campaign on heroin and opioid addiction. The campaign shall utilize

public forums, social media and mass media, including, but not limited

to, internet, radio, and print advertising such as billboards and

posters and shall also include posting of materials and information on

the office website. The campaign shall be tailored to educate youth,

parents, healthcare professionals and the general public regarding: (1)

the risks associated with the abuse and misuse of heroin and opioids;

(2) how to recognize the signs of addiction; and (3) the resources

available for those needing assistance with heroin or opioid addiction.

The campaign shall further be designed to enhance awareness of the

opioid overdose prevention program authorized pursuant to section

thirty-three hundred nine of the public health law and the "Good

Samaritan law" established pursuant to sections 220.03 and 220.78 of the

penal law and section 390.40 of the criminal procedure law, and to

reduce the stigma associated with addiction.

(l) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, in

consultation with the state education department, shall develop or

utilize existing educational materials to be provided to school

districts and boards of cooperative educational services for use in

addition to or in conjunction with any drug and alcohol related

curriculum regarding the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco,

prescription medication and other drugs with an increased focus on

substances that are most prevalent among school aged youth as such term

is defined in section eight hundred four of the education law. Such

materials shall be age appropriate for school age children, and to the

extent practicable, shall include information or resources for parents

to identify the warning signs and address the risks of substance abuse.

(m) (1) The office shall report on the status and outcomes of

initiatives created in response to the heroin and opioid epidemic to the

temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the

chairs of the assembly and senate committees on alcoholism and drug

abuse, the chair of the assembly ways and means committee and the chair

of the senate finance committee.

(2) Such reports shall include, to the extent practicable and

applicable, information on:

(i) The number of individuals enrolled in the initiative in the

preceding quarter;

(ii) The number of individuals who completed the treatment program in

the preceding quarter;

(iii) The number of individuals discharged from the treatment program

in the preceding quarter;

(iv) The age and sex of the individuals served;

(v) Relevant regional data about the individuals;

(vi) The populations served; and

(vii) The outcomes and effectiveness of each initiative surveyed.

(3) Such initiatives shall include opioid treatment programs, crisis

detoxification programs, 24/7 open access centers, adolescent club

houses, family navigator programs, peer engagement specialists, recovery

community and outreach centers, regional addiction resource centers and

the state implementation of the federal opioid state targeted response

initiatives.

(4) Such information shall be provided quarterly, beginning no later

than July first, two thousand nineteen.

* (n) The office in consultation with the office of mental health, the

department of health, the division of housing and community renewal and

any other agency that may oversee an appropriate program or service

shall monitor and ensure funds appropriated pursuant to section

ninety-nine-nn of the state finance law are expended for services and

programs in accordance with such section.

* NB There are 2 sb (n)'s

* (n) The office of addiction services and supports, in consultation

with the commissioner of health, shall provide and publish, in

electronic or other format, training materials for health care

providers, as defined by subdivision six of section two hundred

thirty-eight of the public health law, and qualified health

professionals, recognized by the office to enable the implementation of

the screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment program

(SBIRT). Such training materials shall include any and all materials

necessary to inform health care providers and qualified health

professionals of the method for administering the SBIRT program to a

patient in the care of health care providers or qualified health

professionals. Such training materials shall be made available to health

care providers and qualified health professionals through the official

websites of the office and the department of health and by any other

means deemed appropriate by the commissioner.

* NB There are 2 sb (n)'s