N.Y. MHY Law § 5.05 — New York Code / Act MHY / Title A / Article 5 / Section 5.05
Powers and duties of the head of the department
Status: in_force

§ 5.05 Powers and duties of the head of the department.\n  (a) The commissioners of the office of mental health and the office\nfor people with developmental disabilities, as the heads of the\ndepartment, shall jointly visit and inspect, or cause to be visited and\ninspected, all facilities either public or private used for the care,\ntreatment and rehabilitation of individuals with mental illness and\ndevelopmental disabilities in accordance with the requirements of\nsection four of article seventeen of the New York state constitution.\n  (b) (1) The commissioners of the office of mental health, the office\nfor people with developmental disabilities and the office of alcoholism\nand substance abuse services shall constitute an inter-office\ncoordinating council which, consistent with the autonomy of each office\nfor matters within its jurisdiction, shall ensure that the state policy\nfor the prevention, care, treatment and rehabilitation of individuals\nwith mental illness and developmental disabilities, alcoholism, alcohol\nabuse, substance abuse, substance dependence, and chemical dependence is\nplanned, developed and implemented comprehensively; that gaps in\nservices to individuals with multiple disabilities are eliminated and\nthat no person is denied treatment and services because he or she has\nmore than one disability; that procedures for the regulation of programs\nwhich offer care and treatment for more than one class of persons with\nmental disabilities be coordinated between the offices having\njurisdiction over such programs; and that research projects of the\ninstitutes, as identified in section 7.17 or 13.17 of this chapter or as\noperated by the office for people with developmental disabilities, are\ncoordinated to maximize the success and cost effectiveness of such\nprojects and to eliminate wasteful duplication.\n  (2) The inter-office coordinating council shall annually issue a\nreport on its activities to the legislature on or before December\nthirty-first.  Such annual report shall include, but not be limited to,\nthe following information: proper treatment models and programs for\npersons with multiple disabilities and suggested improvements to such\nmodels and programs; research projects of the institutes and their\ncoordination with each other; collaborations and joint initiatives\nundertaken by the offices of the department; consolidation of\nregulations of each of the offices of the department to reduce\nregulatory inconsistencies between the offices; inter-office or office\nactivities related to workforce training and development; data on the\nprevalence, availability of resources and service utilization by persons\nwith multiple disabilities; eligibility standards of each office of the\ndepartment affecting clients suffering from multiple disabilities, and\neligibility standards under which a client is determined to be an\noffice's primary responsibility; agreements or arrangements on\nstatewide, regional and local government levels addressing how\ndeterminations over client responsibility are made and client\nresponsibility disputes are resolved; information on any specific cohort\nof clients with multiple disabilities for which substantial barriers in\naccessing or receiving appropriate care has been reported or is known to\nthe inter-office coordinating council or the offices of the department;\nand coordination of planning, standards or services for persons with\nmultiple disabilities between the inter-office coordinating council, the\noffices of the department and local governments in accordance with the\nlocal planning requirements set forth in article forty-one of this\nchapter.\n  (c) The commissioners shall meet from time to time with the New York\nstate conference of local mental hygiene directors to assure consistent\nprocedures in fulfilling the responsibilities required by this section\nand by article forty-one of this chapter.\n  (d) 1. The commissioner of mental health shall evaluate the type and\nlevel of care required by patients in the adult psychiatric centers\nauthorized by section 7.17 of this chapter and develop appropriate\ncomprehensive requirements for the staffing of inpatient wards. These\nrequirements should reflect measurable need for administrative and\ndirect care staff including physicians, nurses and other clinical staff,\ndirect and related support and other support staff, established on the\nbasis of sound clinical judgment. The staffing requirements shall\ninclude but not be limited to the following: (i) the level of care based\non patient needs, including on ward activities, (ii) the number of\nadmissions, (iii) the geographic location of each facility, (iv) the\nphysical layout of the campus, and (v) the physical design of patient\ncare wards.\n  2. Such commissioner, in developing the requirements, shall provide\nfor adequate ward coverage on all shifts taking into account the number\nof individuals expected to be off the ward due to sick leave, workers'\ncompensation, mandated training and all other off ward leaves.\n  3. The staffing requirements shall be designed to reflect the\nlegitimate needs of facilities so as to ensure full accreditation and\ncertification by appropriate regulatory bodies. The requirements shall\nreflect appropriate industry standards. The staffing requirements shall\nbe fully measurable.\n  4. The commissioner of mental health shall submit an interim report to\nthe governor and the legislature on the development of the staffing\nrequirements on October first, nineteen hundred eighty-eight and again\non April first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine. The commissioner shall\nsubmit a final report to the governor and the legislature no later than\nOctober first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine and shall include in his\nreport a plan to achieve the staffing requirements and the length of\ntime necessary to meet these requirements.\n  (e) The commissioners of the office of mental health, office for\npeople with developmental disabilities, and the office of alcoholism and\nsubstance abuse services shall cause to have all new contracts with\nagencies and providers licensed by the offices to have a clause\nrequiring notice be provided to all current and new employees of such\nagencies and providers stating that all instances of abuse shall be\ninvestigated pursuant to this chapter, and, if an employee leaves\nemployment prior to the conclusion of a pending abuse investigation, the\ninvestigation shall continue. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to\ndiminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under any\nother law or regulation or under any collective bargaining agreement or\nemployment contract.\n