N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 41.35: Demonstration programs

§ 41.35 Demonstration programs.

* (a) The commissioners of the offices in the department shall cause

to be developed plans for three or more time-limited demonstration

programs, the purpose of which shall be to test and evaluate new methods

or arrangements for organizing, financing, staffing and providing

services for the mentally disabled in order to determine the

desirability of such methods or arrangements. Subject to regulations

established by the commissioners and notwithstanding section one hundred

sixty-three of the state finance law and section one hundred forty-two

of the economic development law, or any other provision of law, such

programs may include but shall not be limited to comprehensive

organizational structures to serve all mentally disabled persons within

the purview of a local governmental unit, innovative financing and

staffing arrangements and specific programs to serve the mentally

disabled. Such demonstration programs shall be consistent with

established statewide goals and objectives and local comprehensive

plans, shall be developed in conjunction with the local comprehensive

planning process, and shall be submitted to the single agent jointly

designated by the commissioners of the department for review and

approval by the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction of the

services.

* NB Effective until March 31, 2028

* (a) The commissioners of the offices in the department shall cause

to be developed plans for three or more time-limited demonstration

programs, the purpose of which shall be to test and evaluate new methods

or arrangements for organizing, financing, staffing and providing

services for the mentally disabled in order to determine the

desirability of such methods or arrangements. Subject to regulations

established by the commissioners and notwithstanding any other provision

of law, such programs may include but shall not be limited to

comprehensive organizational structures to serve all mentally disabled

persons within the purview of a local governmental unit, innovative

financing and staffing arrangements and specific programs to serve the

mentally disabled. Such demonstration programs shall be consistent with

established statewide goals and objectives and local comprehensive

plans, shall be developed in conjunction with the local comprehensive

planning process, and shall be submitted to the single agent jointly

designated by the commissioners of the department for review and

approval by the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction of the

services.

* NB Effective March 31, 2028

(b) The demonstration programs required to be developed pursuant to

this section shall include at least one single system program for

comprehensive services for all mentally disabled persons or all services

to one or more of the following classes of mentally disabled: persons

with mental illness, a developmental disability; those suffering from

alcohol abuse or alcoholism; or alcoholics, alcohol abusers and

substance abusers. Such comprehensive services provided pursuant to a

single system program shall be provided by a local governmental unit or

group of local government units or an approved non-governmental agent or

a combination of providers of service and a local governmental unit or

units.

(1) A local governmental unit or group of local governmental units may

propose that such unit or units, or a non-governmental agent designated

by such unit or units, or a combination of providers of service and a

local governmental unit assume responsibility for provision of

comprehensive services. A plan embodying such a proposal shall be

submitted to the single agent jointly designated by the commissioners of

the offices of the department in accordance with regulations of the

commissioners. Such a plan shall provide that the local governmental

unit or units or a designated non-governmental agent, or a combination

of providers of service and local governmental unit or units shall be

responsible for the provision of and shall direct the operation of all

facilities and programs or portions thereof serving the class or classes

of mentally disabled in the area for whom the unit or non-governmental

agent proposes to provide comprehensive services.

(2) A proposed plan submitted in accordance with the provisions of

this subdivision shall contain at least the following with respect to

the class or classes of mentally disabled covered by the plan:

A. a commitment to provide necessary comprehensive services for all

residents, regardless of diagnostic category or severity of disability

or ability to pay, subject to availability of funds, of the local

government or local governments submitting such plan throughout the

course of their mental disability.

B. a commitment to provide comprehensive services which shall include,

but not be limited to, preventive services, emergency services, acute,

intermediate and long-term services, including both hospital and

non-hospital based inpatient and outpatient services, day care, night

care and weekend care services, diagnostic and referral services,

residential and non-residential services, vocational, educational and

training programs, staff training, consultive services, necessary

manpower and support services.

C. an assurance that comprehensive services will be provided to all

mentally disabled residents regardless of age, income or area of

residence in all age and population groups, including all such residents

receiving service irrespective of the location and auspices under which

such services are provided at the time of the plan's submission.

D. a statement describing the proposed administrative organization of

the system under which comprehensive services to mentally disabled

residents of the locality or localities are to be provided, including a

description of the respective roles and relationships of all providers,

governmental and non-governmental.

E. an inventory of all public and private resources available to the

class or classes of mentally disabled residents of the local area and a

statement of their responsibilities.

F. a proposed fiscal plan for comprehensive services during the next

local and state fiscal years, which proposed fiscal plan shall include,

but not be limited to, all projected needs; a breakdown of services to

be provided by disability and service category; estimated expenditures

by purpose; estimated revenues by source and amounts, including

estimated local, state and federal government funds; and a comparison of

proposed expenditures and revenues with those of the existing year.

G. a projected utilization rate of services and programs of facilities

of the offices of the department including any planned expansion or

contraction of such services and programs.

H. a plan, developed in consultation with the recognized

representative of employees of the offices of the department, for the

retraining and continuation of employment of persons whose employment in

a program of a facility of an office may be terminated because of

planned contraction of such program, and for the continuation of all

employment-related benefits vested by contract, by state or local law,

or by rule or regulation in the persons employed by the offices in the

department in facilities to be transferred to the control of the local

governmental unit or units or the non-governmental agent of such unit or

units, as long as those persons shall continue to be employed pursuant

to the single system plan or until such employment-related benefits are

modified or superseded pursuant to law or successor agreements.

I. a commitment that all facilities will comply with all applicable

state and federal standards, including accreditation standards and

standards required to be met as a condition for eligibility for federal

funds.

J. a statement of the mechanisms to be utilized in evaluating the

effectiveness of comprehensive services to the mentally disabled and

describing the conditions and procedures under which responsibility for

programs and services of facilities in the offices of the department at

the time of submission of the plan shall revert to the state.

(3) Each commissioner of an office in the department shall review the

portion of the single system plan for comprehensive services to the

mentally disabled over which his office has jurisdiction and approve or

disapprove such portion of the plan. In acting upon such portion of the

plan, each commissioner shall consider whether it offers a reasonable

expectation of improved services to the particular class of the mentally

disabled over which his office has jurisdiction; whether the plan as a

whole assures comprehensive services to mentally disabled persons who

suffer from more than one disability; whether the plan provides for the

efficient use of available funds and existing services; and whether such

plan adequately meets the conditions set forth in paragraph two of this

subdivision.

(4) Each commissioner of an office in the department who has approved

a single system plan is authorized to take such actions as may be

necessary, in accordance with applicable state law, including, but not

limited to, the delegation of administrative responsibility to a

director of community services in order to facilitate the implementation

of the approved single system plan. If a commissioner of an office in

the department and one or more local governmental units mutually agree,

state facilities of such office may, in whole or in part, be used by,

leased, or rented, to such local governmental unit or units, to an

approved non-governmental agent, or to a combination of providers of

service and the local governmental unit or units in accordance with

applicable state law, for operation by or through it pursuant to the

single system plan approved in accordance with the provisions of this

article. Such local governmental unit or units or an approved

non-governmental agent or combination of providers of service and the

local governmental unit or units may lease a facility or facilities from

an office in the department, if the program to be housed in such

facility is part of the single system plan for comprehensive services to

the mentally disabled approved in accordance with the provisions of this

article.

(5) Each commissioner of an office in the department shall conduct

evaluation studies of approved single system plans, or portions thereof,

over which his office has jurisdiction to determine the relative costs

and effectiveness of different types and patterns of services being

provided under such plans. The results of such studies shall be used to

determine standards for statewide program requirements and priorities.

(c) Upon approval of a plan for a demonstration program by a

commissioner or commissioners of the office having jurisdiction over the

services, said commissioner or commissioners shall, in cooperation with

the appropriate representative or representatives of the local

governmental unit or units, prepare for submission to the director of

the budget for inclusion in the executive budget, a request for the

appropriations of funds and authorization for implementation of the

demonstration program.

(d) Quarterly reviews and evaluations of the program shall be

undertaken and a final report shall be developed by representatives of

the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction over the services

and the local governmental unit assessing the program, indicating its

potential for continuation or use elsewhere, and making any further

recommendations related to the program. Copies of such quarterly

evaluations and final reports shall be sent no later than November

fifteenth to the director of the division of the budget, and the

chairmen of the senate finance committee and the assembly committee on

ways and means and such final reports shall be included in the relevant

commissioner or commissioners statewide comprehensive plan pursuant to

section 5.07 of this chapter.

(e) A local governmental unit may file a notice of intent to submit a

single system plan with the single agent jointly designated by the

commissioners of the offices. The commissioner or commissioners having

jurisdiction of the services are authorized to make grants of funds,

from appropriations specifically made for such purpose, to any such

local governmental unit in an amount not to exceed seventy-five

percentum of the local government costs approved by the commissioner and

the director of the budget, of preparing a single system plan; provided,

however, that in the case of a local government receiving state aid at

the rate of seventy-five percent of its approved net operating costs,

such grant of funds may not exceed ninety percent of the approved local

government's costs of preparing the single system plan.