N.Y. MHY Law § 9.51 — New York Code / Act MHY / Title B / Article 9 / Section 9.51
Residential treatment facilities for children and youth; admissions
Status: in_force

§ 9.51 Residential treatment facilities for children and youth;\n         admissions.\n  (a) The director of a residential treatment facility for children and\nyouth, as defined by section 1.03 of this chapter, may receive as a\npatient a person under the age of twenty-one in need of care and\ntreatment in such a facility who has been determined appropriate for\nsuch care and treatment in accordance with standards and priorities for\nadmission established by the office in regulations in accordance with\nfederal regulations.\n  (b) Persons admitted as in-patients to hospitals operated by the\noffice of mental health upon the application of the commissioner of the\noffice of children and family services pursuant to section five hundred\nnine of the executive law or 353.4 of the family court act who are not\nsubject to a restrictive placement pursuant to section 353.5 of the\nfamily court act, may, if appropriate, and subject to the provisions of\nsubdivision (d) of this section, be transferred to a residential\ntreatment facility for children and youth. The commissioner of the\noffice of children and family services shall be notified of any such\ntransfer. When appropriate, the director of the residential treatment\nfacility may arrange the return of a patient so transferred to the\nhospital or the transfer of a patient to another hospital or, in\naccordance with subdivision four of section five hundred nine of the\nexecutive law to the commissioner of the office of children and family\nservices.\n  (c) The commissioner shall consult with the executive director of the\ncouncil on children and families regarding the establishment of an\nadvisory board. The advisory board shall include, as deemed appropriate\nby the commissioner and the executive director of the council on\nchildren and families, representatives of the members of the council on\nchildren and families as specified in section four hundred eighty-three\nof the social services law, local agency representatives under the\njurisdiction of a member agency of the council on children and families,\nfamily representatives with lived experience with residential treatment\nfacility services, medical directors from residential treatment\nfacilities, and representatives from hospitals with pediatric inpatient\npsychiatric beds, that is not operated by the state office of mental\nhealth. Members of the advisory board shall be representative of the\nracial, ethnic, and geographic diversity of the state. Such board shall\nhave the right to visit residential treatment facilities for children\nand youth and shall have the right to review clinical records and shall\nbe bound by the confidentiality requirements of section 33.13 of this\nchapter. The advisory board shall issue an annual report on the\ndisposition of applications for admission to residential treatment\nfacilities. Such report shall include, but not be limited to: the number\nof children that applied to each residential treatment facility, the\nnumber of children admitted to each residential treatment facility, the\nnumber of children transferred from a hospital operated by the office of\nmental health and subsequently transferred to another hospital, the\naverage length of stay for residents at each residential treatment\nfacility, the number of children served at each residential treatment\nfacility, and the number of involuntary placements and/or transfers from\noffice of mental health operated inpatient facilities which occur each\ncalendar year. Such annual report shall be posted on the office of\nmental health's website and submitted to the governor, the speaker of\nthe assembly and the temporary president of the senate by March first\nfor the previous calendar year.\n  (d) Applications for admission or transfer of an individual to a\nresidential treatment facility for children and youth must document that\nthere has been an evaluation of the needs of the individual and a\ndetermination of the individual's need for treatment in a residential\ntreatment facility for children and youth and the appropriateness of\nsuch treatment. In the case of individuals who are applicants or\nrecipients of medical assistance pursuant to title eleven of article\nfive of the social services law, such determination shall also include\ncertification of need for residential treatment facility services in\naccordance with this section. Where certification is required, an\nindividual will be certified for admission if:\n  (1) Available ambulatory care resources and other residential\nplacements do not meet the treatment needs of the individual;\n  (2) Proper treatment of the individual's psychiatric condition\nrequires in-patient care and treatment under the direction of a\nphysician; and\n  (3) Care and treatment in a residential treatment facility for\nchildren and youth can reasonably be expected to improve the\nindividual's condition or prevent further regression so that services\nwill no longer be needed, provided that a poor prognosis shall not in\nitself constitute grounds for a denial of certification if treatment can\nbe expected to effect a change in prognosis. Decisions to recommend\nadmission or priority admission shall occur in consultation with the\nresidential treatment facility and be based on a determination of\nappropriateness including consideration of facility staffing, patient\nmix and acuity and the impact on the safety of other residents. In the\nevent the office evaluates a child who is the subject of a proceeding\ncurrently pending in the family court, the office shall report its\ndecision to the family court. Prior to admission and no sooner than\nfourteen days after admission, the office or its designee may evaluate\nthe medical necessity and quality of services for each Medicaid member.\nIf the office or its designee determines that residential treatment\nservices are no longer appropriate, the determination of the office or\nits designee shall be reported to the facility and the person, or the\nperson's legally authorized representative. Such determination shall not\nbe effective retroactively.\n  No residential treatment facility for children and youth shall admit a\nperson who has not been determined appropriate and where appropriate,\ncertified for such admission. Residential treatment facilities shall\nadmit individuals who have been designated as priority admissions by the\noffice or commissioner's designee.\n  (e) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, no government\nagency shall make payments pursuant to title nineteen of the federal\nsocial security act or articles five and six of the social services law\nto a residential treatment facility for children and youth for service\nto a person whose need for care and treatment in such a facility was not\ncertified pursuant to this section.\n  (f) No person shall be admitted to a residential treatment facility\nfor children and youth who has a mental illness which presents a\nlikelihood of serious harm to others; "likelihood of serious harm" shall\nmean a substantial risk of physical harm to other persons as manifested\nby recent homicidal or other violent behavior by which others are placed\nin reasonable fear of serious physical harm.\n  (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office or\ncommissioner's designee shall be entitled to review clinical records\nmaintained by any person or entity which pertain to an individual on\nwhose behalf an application is made for admission to a residential\ntreatment facility for children and youth. Any clinical records received\nby the office or commissioner's designee shall be kept confidential in\naccordance with the provisions of section 33.13 of this chapter.\n  Confidentiality of clinical records of treatment of a person in a\nresidential treatment facility for children and youth shall be\nmaintained as required in section 33.13 of this chapter. That portion of\nthe clinical record maintained by a residential treatment facility for\nchildren and youth operated by an authorized agency specifically related\nto medical care and treatment shall not be considered part of the record\nrequired to be maintained by such authorized agency pursuant to section\nthree hundred seventy-two of the social services law and shall not be\ndiscoverable in a proceeding under section three hundred fifty-eight-a\nof the social services law or article ten-A of the family court act\nexcept upon order of the family court; provided, however, that all other\ninformation required by a local social services district or the office\nof children and family services for purposes of sections three hundred\nfifty-eight-a, four hundred nine-e and four hundred nine-f of the social\nservices law and article ten-A of the family court act shall be\nfurnished on request, and the confidentiality of such information shall\nbe safeguarded as provided in section four hundred sixty-e of the social\nservices law.\n