N.Y. MHY Law § 1.03 — New York Code / Act MHY / Title A / Article 1 / Section 1.03
Definitions
Status: in_force

§ 1.03 Definitions.\n  When used in this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated or unless\nthe context otherwise requires:\n  1. "Department" means the department of mental hygiene of the state of\nNew York. Except as used in article five of this chapter, the term\n"department" shall hereafter refer to an office of the department\ncreated by section 5.01 of this chapter.\n  2. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of mental health, the\ncommissioner of developmental disabilities and the commissioner of\naddiction services and supports as used in this chapter. Any power or\nduty heretofore assigned to the commissioner of mental hygiene or to the\ndepartment of mental hygiene pursuant to this chapter shall hereafter be\nassigned to the commissioner of mental health in the case of facilities,\nprograms, or services for individuals with mental illness, to the\ncommissioner of developmental disabilities in the case of facilities,\nprograms, or services for individuals with developmental disabilities,\nto the commissioner of addiction services and supports in the case of\nfacilities, programs, or addiction disorder services in accordance with\nthe provisions of titles D and E of this chapter.\n  2-a. Notwithstanding any other section of law or regulation, on and\nafter the effective date of this subdivision, any and all references to\nthe office of alcoholism and substance abuse services and the\npredecessor agencies to the office of alcoholism and substance abuse\nservices including the division of alcoholism and alcohol abuse and the\ndivision of substance abuse services, shall be known as the "office of\naddiction services and supports." Nothing in this subdivision shall be\nconstrued as requiring or prohibiting the further amendment of statutes\nor regulations to conform to the provisions of this subdivision.\n  3. "Mental disability" means mental illness, intellectual disability,\ndevelopmental disability, or an addictive disorder as defined in this\nsection.\n  4. "Services for persons with a mental disability" means examination,\ndiagnosis, care, treatment, rehabilitation, supports, habilitation or\ntraining or as may be more specifically defined in this section.\n  5. "Provider of services" means an individual, association,\ncorporation, partnership, limited liability company, or public or\nprivate agency, other than an agency or department of the state, which\nprovides services for persons with a mental disability. It shall not\ninclude any part of a hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of the\npublic health law which is not being operated for the purpose of\nproviding services for the mentally disabled. No provider of services\nshall be subject to the regulation or control of the department or one\nof its offices except as such regulation or control is provided for by\nother provisions of this chapter.\n  6. "Facility" means any place in which services for the mentally\ndisabled are provided and includes but is not limited to a psychiatric\ncenter, developmental center, institute, clinic, ward, institution, or\nbuilding, except that in the case of a hospital as defined in article\ntwenty-eight of the public health law it shall mean only a ward, wing,\nunit, or part thereof which is operated for the purpose of providing\nservices for the mentally disabled. It shall not include a place where\nthe services rendered consist solely of non-residential services for the\nmentally disabled which are exempt from the requirement for an operating\ncertificate under article sixteen, thirty-one or thirty-two of this\nchapter, nor shall it include domestic care and comfort to a person in\nthe home.\n  7. "Department facility" means a facility within one of the offices of\nthe department.\n  8. "Examining physician" means a physician licensed to practice\nmedicine in the state of New York.\n  9. "Certified psychologist" means a person who has been certified and\nregistered to practice psychology in the state of New York pursuant to\nthe education law.\n  * 10. "Hospital" means the in-patient services of a psychiatric center\nunder the jurisdiction of the office of mental health or other\npsychiatric in-patient facility in the department, a psychiatric\nin-patient facility maintained by a political subdivision of the state\nfor the care or treatment of the mentally ill, a ward, wing, unit, or\nother part of a hospital, as defined in article twenty-eight of the\npublic health law, operated as a part of such hospital for the purpose\nof providing services for the mentally ill pursuant to an operating\ncertificate issued by the commissioner of mental health, a comprehensive\npsychiatric emergency program which has been issued an operating\ncertificate by such commissioner, or other facility providing in-patient\ncare or treatment of the mentally ill which has been issued an operating\ncertificate by such commissioner.\n  * NB Effective until July 1, 2027\n  * 10. "Hospital" means the in-patient services of a psychiatric center\nunder the jurisdiction of the office of mental health or other\npsychiatric in-patient facility in the department, a psychiatric\nin-patient facility maintained by a political subdivision of the state\nfor the care or treatment of the mentally ill, a ward, wing, unit, or\nother part of a hospital, as defined in article twenty-eight of the\npublic health law, operated as a part of such hospital for the purpose\nof providing services for the mentally ill pursuant to an operating\ncertificate issued by the commissioner of mental health, or other\nfacility providing in-patient care or treatment of the mentally ill\nwhich has been issued an operating certificate by such commissioner.\n  * NB Effective July 1, 2027\n  11. "School" means the in-patient service of a developmental center or\nother residential facility for individuals with developmental\ndisabilities under the jurisdiction of the office for people with\ndevelopmental disabilities or a facility for the residential care,\ntreatment, training, or education of individuals with developmental\ndisabilities which has been issued an operating certificate by the\ncommissioner of developmental disabilities.\n  12. "Addictive disorder" or "addiction disorder" for purposes of this\nchapter means substance use disorder or gambling disorder as such terms\nare defined in this section and derived from the most recent edition of\nthe diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM),\npublished by the American Psychiatric Association.\n  17. "Addiction treatment facility" or "Alcoholism facility" means an\nin-patient, residential or outpatient facility in the department\nsuitable for the provision of addiction disorder services to persons\nsuffering from an addictive disorder and which has been issued an\noperating certificate pursuant to article thirty-two of this chapter.\n  19. "Significant other" means a relative, close friend, associate or\nindividual otherwise concerned with the welfare of a person suffering\nfrom an addictive disorder when that individual is directly affected by\nthe person's addictive disorder.\n  20. "Mental illness" means an affliction with a mental disease or\nmental condition which is manifested by a disorder or disturbance in\nbehavior, feeling, thinking, or judgment to such an extent that the\nperson afflicted requires care, treatment and rehabilitation.\n  22. "Developmental disability" means a disability of a person which:\n  (a) (1) is attributable to intellectual disability, cerebral palsy,\nepilepsy, neurological impairment, familial dysautonomia, Prader-Willi\nsyndrome or autism;\n  (2) is attributable to any other condition of a person found to be\nclosely related to intellectual disability because such condition\nresults in similar impairment of general intellectual functioning or\nadaptive behavior to that of intellectually disabled persons or requires\ntreatment and services similar to those required for such person; or\n  (3) is attributable to dyslexia resulting from a disability described\nin subparagraph one or two of this paragraph;\n  (b) originates before such person attains age twenty-two;\n  (c) has continued or can be expected to continue indefinitely; and\n  (d) constitutes a substantial handicap to such person's ability to\nfunction normally in society.\n  23. "Patient" means a person receiving services for the mentally\ndisabled at a facility. It includes a resident at a school.\n  24. "Informal caregiver" means the family member, friends, neighbors,\nor other natural person who normally provides the daily care or\nsupervision of a mentally disabled person. Such informal caregiver may,\nbut need not reside in the same household as the mentally disabled\nperson.\n  26. "Infant" or "minor" means a person who has not attained the age of\neighteen years.\n  27. "Aftercare services" means services for persons no longer\nreceiving in-patient services for the mentally disabled and may include,\nbut shall not be limited to, medical care, including psychiatric care,\nand vocational and social rehabilitation.\n  28. "Community residence" means any facility operated by or subject to\nlicensure by the office of mental health or the office for people with\ndevelopmental disabilities which provides a supervised residence or\nresidential respite services for individuals with mental disabilities\nand a homelike environment and room, board and responsible supervision\nfor the habilitation or rehabilitation of individuals with mental\ndisabilities as part of an overall service delivery system. A community\nresidence shall include an intermediate care facility with fourteen or\nfewer residents that has been approved pursuant to law, and a community\nresidential facility as that term is used in section 41.36 of this\nchapter. Such term does not include family care homes.\n  28-a. "Supervised living facility" means a community residence\nproviding responsible supervisory staff on-site twenty-four hours per\nday for the purpose of enabling residents to live as independently as\npossible.\n  28-b. "Supportive living facility" means a community residence\nproviding practice in independent living under supervision but not\nproviding staff on-site on a twenty-four hour per day basis.\n  30. "Conditional release" means release subject to the right of the\nschool, hospital, or alcoholism facility to return the patient to\nin-patient care pursuant to the conditions set forth in section 29.15 of\nthis chapter.\n  31. "Discharge" means release and the termination of any right to\nretain or treat the patient on an in-patient basis. The discharge of\nsuch a patient shall not preclude the patient from receiving necessary\nservices on other than an in-patient basis nor shall it preclude\nsubsequent readmission as an in-patient if made in accordance with\narticle nine, fifteen, or twenty-two of this chapter.\n  32. "Conference" means the New York state conference of local mental\nhygiene directors as established pursuant to section 41.10 of this\nchapter.\n  33. "Residential treatment facility for children and youth" shall mean\nan inpatient psychiatric facility which provides active treatment under\nthe direction of a physician for individuals who are under twenty-one\nyears of age, provided that a person who, during the course of\ntreatment, attains the age of twenty-one may continue to receive\nservices in a residential treatment facility for children and youth\nuntil he or she reaches the age of twenty-two. The term "residential\ntreatment facility for children and youth" does not apply to the\nchildren's psychiatric centers described in section 7.17 of this chapter\nor to facilities specifically licensed by the office of mental health as\nchildren's hospitals. Residential treatment facilities for children and\nyouth are a sub-class of the class of facilities defined to be\n"hospitals" in subdivision ten of this section.\n  34. "Authorized agency" shall have the meaning defined in section\nthree hundred seventy-one of the social services law.\n  35. "Social services official" shall have the meaning defined in\nsection two of the social services law.\n  36. "Residential care center for adults" means a facility which\nprovides long term residential care and support services to mentally ill\nadults, provides case management and medication management services, and\nassists residents in securing clinical, vocational and social services\nnecessary to enable the resident to continue to live in the community.\nNo residential care center for adults established after September first,\nnineteen hundred eighty-six shall have more than one hundred fifty\nresidents. A residential care center for adults is not an adult care\nfacility subject to licensure by the department of social services, nor\nis it an inpatient treatment facility.\n  * 37. "Comprehensive psychiatric emergency program" means a program\nwhich is licensed by the office of mental health to provide a full range\nof psychiatric emergency services within a defined geographic area to\npersons who are believed to be mentally ill and in need of such\nservices, and which shall include crisis intervention services, crisis\noutreach services, crisis residence services, extended observation beds,\nand triage and referral services, as such terms are defined in section\n31.27 of this chapter.\n  * NB Repealed July 1, 2027\n  38. "Residential services facility" or "Alcoholism community\nresidence" means any facility licensed or operated pursuant to article\nthirty-two of this chapter which provides residential services for the\ntreatment of an addiction disorder and a homelike environment, including\nroom, board and responsible supervision as part of an overall service\ndelivery system. Provided however, "certified recovery residence" as\ndefined in subdivision fifty-nine of this section shall not be\nconsidered a residential services facility for the purposes of this\nchapter.\n  * 39. "Substance" shall mean:\n  (i) any controlled substance listed in section thirty-three hundred\nsix of the public health law;\n  (ii) any substance listed in section thirty-three hundred eighty of\nthe public health law;\n  (iii) any substance, except alcohol and tobacco, as listed in the\npublished rules of the office which has been certified to the\ncommissioner by the commissioner of health as having the capability of\ncausing physical and/or psychological dependence. Notice of a proposed\nrule listing any such substance shall be given to the speaker of the\nassembly and the temporary president of the senate. The commissioner\nshall consider the advice and recommendations of the legislature and\nshall hold a public hearing prior to listing any substance in its\npublished rules.\n  * NB There are 2 sub 39's\n  * 39. "Employee assistance program" means a confidential program\ndesigned to assist employees and their families, through identification,\nmotivation referral, and follow-up, with problems that may interfere\nwith the employees' ability to perform on the job effectively,\nefficiently and safely. Such problems include addictive disorders,\nemotional, marital, family, and other personal problems.\n  * NB There are 2 sub 39's\n  42. "Substance use disorder program" or "Substance abuse program"\nshall mean any public or private person, corporation, partnership,\nagency, either profit or non-profit, or state or municipal government\nwhich provides substance use disorder services, in either a residential\nor ambulatory setting, to persons in need of services for the prevention\nof, or treatment and recovery from a substance use disorder. Any person\nor entity providing such services as a minor part of a general health or\ncounseling unit subject to regulations promulgated by the commissioner\nand other appropriate agencies shall not be considered a substance use\ndisorder program.\n  46. "Record" of a patient or client shall consist of admission,\ntransfer or retention papers and orders, and accompanying data required\nby this article and the regulations of the commissioner.\n  47. "Director of community services" shall mean the director of\ncommunity services for the mentally disabled appointed pursuant to this\nchapter.\n  48. "Practitioner" shall mean a physician, dentist, podiatrist,\nveterinarian, scientific investigator, or other person licensed, or\notherwise permitted to dispense, administer or conduct research with\nrespect to a controlled substance in the course of a licensed\nprofessional practice or research licensed pursuant to this article.\nSuch person shall be deemed a "practitioner" only as to such substances,\nor conduct relating to such substances, as is permitted by his license,\npermit or otherwise permitted by law.\n  49. "Prescription" shall mean an official New York state prescription,\na written prescription or an oral prescription.\n  50. "Controlled substance" shall mean the definition of "controlled\nsubstance" as contained in section thirty-three hundred two of the\npublic health law.\n  52. "Persons with serious mental illness" means individuals who meet\ncriteria established by the commissioner of mental health, which shall\ninclude persons who are in psychiatric crisis, or persons who have a\ndesignated diagnosis of mental illness under the most recent edition of\nthe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and whose\nseverity and duration of mental illness results in substantial\nfunctional disability. Persons with serious mental illness shall include\nchildren and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances.\n  53. "Children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances"\nmeans individuals under eighteen years of age who meet criteria\nestablished by the commissioner of mental health, which shall include\nchildren and adolescents who are in psychiatric crisis, or children and\nadolescents who have a designated diagnosis of mental illness under the\nmost recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental\nDisorders and whose severity and duration of mental illness results in\nsubstantial functional disability.\n  54. "Gambling disorder" means an addictive disorder, as defined by the\nmost recent edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental\ndisorders (DSM), published by the American Psychiatric Association,\ncharacterized by repeated problematic gambling behavior which causes\nsignificant problems or distress. Unless otherwise provided, for the\npurposes of this chapter, the term gambling disorder shall mean and\ninclude compulsive gambling, pathological gambling or problem gambling.\n  55. "Addiction disorder services" or "addiction services" shall mean\nengagement to treatment, examination, evaluation, diagnosis, care,\ntreatment, rehabilitation, relapse prevention and recovery maintenance,\nand related education and training of persons suffering from or\nrecovering from an addictive disorder and their significant others.\nUnless otherwise provided, for the purposes of this chapter, the term\naddiction disorder services shall mean and include "chemical dependence\nservices," alcoholism and/or substance abuse services, substance use\ndisorder services, substance dependence, and gambling disorder services.\n  56. "Substance use disorder" means recurrent use of alcohol and/or\nlegal or illegal drugs causing clinical and functionally significant\nimpairment to the individual's physical and mental health, or the\nwelfare of others. Unless otherwise provided, for the purposes of this\nchapter the term substance use disorder shall mean and include\nalcoholism, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, substance abuse, substance\ndependence, chemical abuse, and/or chemical dependence.\n  58. "Behavioral health services" means examination, diagnosis, care,\ntreatment, rehabilitation, or training for persons with mental illness,\nor addictive disorders.\n  59. "Certified recovery residence" means a shared living environment\nin the state that has been certified by the office of addiction services\nand supports and utilizes connection to services to promote sustained\nrecovery from a substance use disorder.\n