N.Y. MHY Law § 41.44 — New York Code / Act MHY / Title E / Article 41 / Section 41.44
Community residential services for the mentally ill
Status: in_force

§ 41.44 Community residential services for the mentally ill.\n  (a) The commissioner of mental health is authorized, within\nappropriations made therefor, to establish a continuum of community\nresidential services for the mentally ill.\n  (b) The commissioner shall establish standards for the operation and\nfunding of community residential services, including but not limited to:\n  1. criteria for admission to and continued residence in each type of\ncommunity residence;\n  2. periodic evaluation of services provided by community residences;\n  3. staffing patterns for each type of community residence; and\n  4. guidelines for determining state aid to community residences, as\ndescribed in subdivision (c) of this section.\n  (c) Within amounts available therefor and subject to regulations\nestablished by him and notwithstanding any other provisions of this\narticle, the commissioner may provide state aid to local governments and\nto voluntary agencies in an amount not to exceed one hundred percent of\nnet operating costs of community residences for the mentally ill. The\ncommissioner shall establish guidelines for determining the amount of\nstate aid provided pursuant to this section. The guidelines shall be\ndesigned to enable the effective and efficient operation of such\nresidences and shall include, but need not be limited to standards for\ndetermining anticipated revenue, for retention and use of income\nexceeding the anticipated amount and for determining reasonable levels\nof uncollectible income. Such state aid to voluntary agencies shall not\nbe granted unless there has been prior approval of the proposed\ncommunity residence by the local governmental unit.\n  (d) The commissioner shall establish standards for the operation and\nfunding of residential care centers for adults, including but not\nlimited to:\n  1. criteria for admission to and continued residence in residential\ncare centers for adults, including curfews, restrictions against on-site\nuse of alcohol and controlled substances and criminal involvement. For\nresidential care centers for adults licensed or established after April\nfirst, nineteen hundred eighty-eight criteria for admission shall also\ninclude but not be limited to, in the case of centers on the grounds of\nexisting state operated psychiatric hospitals, the availability of at\nleast twenty-five percent of the placements for community clients. In\nthe case of community based residential care centers for adults, a\nminimum of fifty percent of the placements within a region shall be\nreserved for community clients. For the purposes of this section a\ncommunity client is any person who, immediately prior to admission to\nthe residential care center for adults, was not a resident of a state\noperated psychiatric hospital for more than thirty consecutive days, or\nif such person was residing in the community immediately prior to\nadmission to the residential care center for adults, was not a resident\nof a state operated psychiatric hospital within the previous thirty\ndays;\n  2. provision of on-site services by residential care centers for\nadults which shall include but not be limited to, case management,\nmedication management, and development of a recommended service plan for\neach resident for necessary social, vocational and clinical services;\n  3. periodic review of services provided by residential care centers\nfor adults;\n  4. staffing patterns for residential care centers for adults which\nshall be sufficient to provide on-site supervision twenty-four hours per\nday at each facility; and\n  5. guidelines for determining state aid to residential care centers\nfor adults as described in subdivisions (e) and (f) of this section.\n  (e) Within amounts available therefor and notwithstanding any other\nprovisions of this article, the commissioner may provide state aid to\nlocal governments and to voluntary agencies for the operation of\nresidential care centers for adults in accordance with paragraph one of\nthis subdivision, and may provide state aid to local governments,\nvoluntary agencies, and other individuals or organizations certified to\noperate residential care centers for adults, in accordance with\nparagraph two of this subdivision.\n  1. The commissioner may provide state aid in an amount not to exceed\none hundred percent of net operating costs of residential care centers\nfor adults. The commissioner shall establish guidelines for determining\nthe amount of state aid provided pursuant to this paragraph.\n  2. The commissioner may provide state aid through the payment of fees\nfor reimbursable services. For purposes of this paragraph, reimbursable\nservices include, but are not limited to, room and board. The\ncommissioner shall establish standards for programs funded under this\nsection and shall by rule or regulation annually establish fees for each\nreimbursable service, subject to the approval of the director of the\nbudget. Fees may be varied for geographic reasons or for other good\ncause shown.\n  (f) Within amounts available therefor, the commissioner may provide\nstate aid to local governments and voluntary agencies for capital costs\nfor residential care centers for adults at the rate of up to fifty\npercent of such capital costs; provided, however, that no such state aid\nshall be granted unless the recipient enters into an agreement in a form\nacceptable to the commissioner guaranteeing that the residential care\ncenter for adults will be operated by the recipient or made available at\nno cost to another provider of services or the office of mental health\nfor no less than twenty years, and grants the state such security and\nreal property interests as the commissioner may require.\n  (g) No psychiatric center shall have more than one residential care\ncenter for adults on its grounds unless the commissioner of mental\nhealth submits a report to the legislature and the governor\ndemonstrating the appropriateness of such additional residential care\ncenter for adults.  After October first, nineteen hundred eighty-seven,\nthe commissioner shall not convert inpatient buildings on the grounds of\na psychiatric center to a residential care center for adults unless such\nbuildings are vacant, nor cause such buildings to be vacated solely for\nthe purposes of establishing a residential care center for adults.\n