NY Ment Hygiene L § 41.44 (2021)
2021 New York Laws MHY - Mental Hygiene Title E - General Provisions Article 41 - Local Services 41.44 - Community Residential Services for the Mentally Ill.

§ 41.44 Community residential services for the mentally ill.  (a)   The   commissioner   of  mental  health  is  authorized,  within appropriations made therefor, to  establish  a  continuum  of  community residential services for the mentally ill.  (b)  The  commissioner shall establish standards for the operation and funding of community residential services, including but not limited to:   1. criteria for admission to and continued residence in each  type  of community residence;   2. periodic evaluation of services provided by community residences;   3. staffing patterns for each type of community residence; and   4.  guidelines  for  determining state aid to community residences, as described in subdivision (c) of this section.  (c) Within amounts  available  therefor  and  subject  to  regulations established  by  him  and  notwithstanding  any other provisions of this article, the commissioner may provide state aid to local governments and to voluntary agencies in an amount not to exceed one hundred percent  of net  operating  costs  of community residences for the mentally ill. The commissioner shall establish guidelines for determining  the  amount  of state  aid  provided  pursuant  to this section. The guidelines shall be designed to  enable  the  effective  and  efficient  operation  of  such residences  and  shall include, but need not be limited to standards for determining  anticipated  revenue,  for  retention  and  use  of  income exceeding  the  anticipated amount and for determining reasonable levels of uncollectible income. Such state aid to voluntary agencies shall  not be  granted  unless  there  has  been  prior  approval  of  the proposed community residence by the local governmental unit.  (d) The commissioner shall establish standards for the  operation  and funding  of  residential  care  centers  for  adults,  including but not limited to:   1. criteria for admission to and continued  residence  in  residential care centers for adults, including curfews, restrictions against on-site use  of  alcohol and controlled substances and criminal involvement. For residential care centers for adults licensed or established after  April first,  nineteen  hundred eighty-eight criteria for admission shall also include but not be limited to, in the case of centers on the grounds  of existing  state  operated  psychiatric hospitals, the availability of at least twenty-five percent of the placements for  community  clients.  In the  case  of  community  based  residential  care centers for adults, a minimum of fifty percent of the placements  within  a  region  shall  be reserved  for  community  clients.  For  the  purposes of this section a community client is any person who, immediately prior  to  admission  to the  residential  care  center for adults, was not a resident of a state operated psychiatric hospital for more than thirty consecutive days,  or if  such  person  was  residing  in  the  community immediately prior to admission to the residential care center for adults, was not a  resident of  a  state  operated  psychiatric  hospital within the previous thirty days;   2. provision of on-site  services  by  residential  care  centers  for adults  which  shall  include  but  not  be limited to, case management, medication management, and development of a recommended service plan for each resident for necessary social, vocational and clinical services;   3. periodic review of services provided by  residential  care  centers for adults;   4.  staffing  patterns  for  residential care centers for adults which shall be sufficient to provide on-site supervision twenty-four hours per day at each facility; and   5. guidelines for determining state aid to  residential  care  centers for adults as described in subdivisions (e) and (f) of this section.  (e)  Within  amounts  available therefor and notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, the commissioner may provide  state  aid  to local  governments  and  to  voluntary  agencies  for  the  operation of residential care centers for adults in accordance with paragraph one  of this  subdivision,  and  may  provide  state  aid  to local governments, voluntary agencies, and other individuals or organizations certified  to operate   residential  care  centers  for  adults,  in  accordance  with paragraph two of this subdivision.   1. The commissioner may provide state aid in an amount not  to  exceed one  hundred  percent of net operating costs of residential care centers for adults. The commissioner shall establish guidelines for  determining the amount of state aid provided pursuant to this paragraph.   2.  The commissioner may provide state aid through the payment of fees for reimbursable services. For purposes of this paragraph,  reimbursable services   include,  but  are  not  limited  to,  room  and  board.  The commissioner shall establish standards for programs  funded  under  this section and shall by rule or regulation annually establish fees for each reimbursable  service,  subject  to  the approval of the director of the budget. Fees may be varied for geographic  reasons  or  for  other  good cause shown.  (f)  Within  amounts  available therefor, the commissioner may provide state aid to local governments and voluntary agencies for capital  costs for  residential  care  centers  for  adults  at the rate of up to fifty percent of such capital costs; provided, however, that no such state aid shall be granted unless the recipient enters into an agreement in a form acceptable to the commissioner guaranteeing that  the  residential  care center for adults will be operated by the recipient or made available at no  cost  to another provider of services or the office of mental health for no less than twenty years, and grants the state  such  security  and real property interests as the commissioner may require.  (g)  No  psychiatric  center shall have more than one residential care center for adults on its  grounds  unless  the  commissioner  of  mental health   submits   a   report   to  the  legislature  and  the  governor demonstrating the appropriateness of such  additional  residential  care center  for adults.  After October first, nineteen hundred eighty-seven, the commissioner shall not convert inpatient buildings on the grounds of a psychiatric center to a residential care center for adults unless such buildings are vacant, nor cause such buildings to be vacated solely  for the purposes of establishing a residential care center for adults.