N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 41.43: Family support services

§ 41.43 Family support services.

(a) The commissioner of the office for people with developmental

disabilities, directly or through contract, and within amounts made

available therefor, shall establish a family-directed, statewide system

of comprehensive family support services. The purpose of family support

services will be to enhance a family's ability to provide in-home care

to their family members with a developmental disability.

(b) In administering family support services, the commissioner may, to

the extent practicable, establish standards for outcome assessment and

performance reviews of the goods and services obtained whether such

goods and services are purchased pursuant to contract with the state,

through reimbursement of families, through the issuance of vouchers to

families for the purchase of goods and services, or through other means.

(c) For purposes of this section, family supports are goods, services,

and subsidies, determined by the family and the commissioner of the

office for people with developmental disabilities, which are provided to

meet the goals of: (i) providing a quality of life comparable, to the

extent practicable, to that of similarly situated families without a

family member having a developmental disability; (ii) maintaining family

unity; (iii) preventing premature or inappropriate out-of-home

placement; (iv) reuniting families; (v) enhancing parenting skills; and

(vi) maximizing the potential of the family member with a developmental

disability.

(d) The developmental disabilities advisory council created by section

13.05 of this chapter shall establish a committee pursuant to the

provisions of paragraph one of subdivision (c) of section 13.05 of this

chapter, comprised of members selected by the commissioner, to be called

the committee on family support services. The committee shall (i)

provide information to the commissioner on the needs of families caring

at home for a family member with a developmental disability; (ii) advise

the commissioner on policies related to family supports and services;

and (iii) offer advice to the commissioner on the design, implementation

and monitoring of family support services. Members of the committee

shall include persons with a developmental disability, family members of

persons with a developmental disability, and professionals and others

with an interest in the care of persons with developmental disabilities.

A majority of the committee shall be family members of persons with

developmental disabilities. Members shall only receive reimbursement for

expenses incurred in connection with their duties on the committee.

(e) The commissioner, in consultation with the committee on family

support services, shall submit by January first, nineteen hundred

ninety-three, and annually thereafter for four years, reports to the

governor and the legislature concerning family support services. Such

reports shall include, but not be limited to, the following: an analysis

of family support services provided by contract agencies and those

provided by the state, the amounts and sources of funds expended

annually for family support services by region and by type of service,

the number of families receiving services, the number of families

estimated to be in need of family support services, the results of

consumer and family member assessments of family support services, and a

description of any new initiatives and recommendations for future

action.