2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title E - General Provisions › Article 41 - Local Services › 41.55 - Community Mental Health Support and Workforce Reinvestment Program.

* § 41.55 Community  mental  health  support  and workforce reinvestment
program.
(a) Community mental health support and workforce  reinvestment  funds
shall be annually allocated by the commissioner based upon the following
criteria:
(1)  the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of funding within the
local governmental unit for the delivery of  services  to  persons  with
serious  mental  illness  in  order  to  assure  that resources are made
available to fund mental health services to persons discharged into  the
community; and
(2)  other  relevant  factors that require the maintenance of existing
mental  health  services  and  the  development  of  new  mental  health
services.
(b)  Amounts  provided  pursuant to this section shall only be used to
fund mental health workforce related activities,  including  recruitment
and  retention  initiatives  and  training  programs,  and other general
programmatic activities to help ensure a stable  mental  health  system.
Such  grants  and  other  funds  shall  not  be  used  for capital costs
associated with the development of community mental health  support  and
workforce reinvestment services.
(c)  Prior  to  entering  into contracts for the provision of services
funded pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, the office of mental
health and any  local  governmental  unit  receiving  such  funds  shall
consider the following:
(1)  the  service  needs  of  persons  with  serious  mental  illness,
including children and adolescents with serious emotional  disturbances,
in  the  geographical  area in which the community mental health support
and workforce reinvestment program operates;
(2) the capacity of the program to meet identified service  needs  and
specified  performance standards related to access, admission, referral,
and service coordination and delivery;
(3) the extent to which community mental health support and  workforce
reinvestment  services  authorized  by  the  contract are consistent and
integrated with the plan prepared and approved pursuant to section 41.16
of this article and other applicable provisions of this article; and
(4) the reliability and capability  of  the  provider,  including  its
expertise,   prior   experience,  financial  responsibility,  record  of
adherence to law, record of providing quality  care  and  services,  and
ability   to  deliver  appropriate  services  in  a  cost-effective  and
efficient  manner  to  persons  with   serious   mental   illness.   The
commissioner  is  authorized  to  promulgate  regulations  to  establish
minimum contractual obligations in accordance  with  the  provisions  of
this subdivision.
(d)  The  commissioner is authorized and empowered to make inspections
and examine records of a local governmental  unit  receiving  state  aid
under  this  section  or  a  provider  of  services  funded  pursuant to
subdivision (b) of this section.  Such  examination  shall  include  all
medical,   service   and  financial  records,  receipts,  disbursements,
contracts, loans and other moneys relating to the financial operation of
the provider.
(e) The amount  of  community  mental  health  support  and  workforce
reinvestment  funds  for the office of mental health shall be determined
in the annual budget and  shall  include  the  amount  of  actual  state
operations  general  fund  appropriation  reductions, including personal
service  savings  and  other  than  personal  service  savings  directly
attributed  to each child and adult non-geriatric inpatient bed closure.
For the purposes of this section a bed shall be considered to be  closed
upon  the  elimination of funding for such beds in the executive budget.

The appropriation reductions as a result of inpatient bed closures shall
be no less than one hundred ten thousand  dollars  per  bed  on  a  full
annual  basis,  as  annually recommended by the commissioner, subject to
the  approval  of  the  director  of the budget, in the executive budget
request prior to the fiscal year for which the executive budget is being
submitted. The methodologies used  to  calculate  the  per  bed  closure
savings  shall  be developed by the commissioner and the director of the
budget. In no event shall the full  annual  value  of  community  mental
health  support and workforce reinvestment programs attributable to beds
closed as a result of net inpatient census  decline  exceed  the  twelve
month value of the office of mental health state operations general fund
reductions  resulting from such census decline. Such reinvestment amount
shall be made available in the same proportion by which  the  office  of
mental health's state operations general fund appropriations are reduced
each  year  as  a  result of child and adult non-geriatric inpatient bed
closures due to census decline.
(f) Additional  reinvestment  amounts  shall  be  made  available  for
appropriation in the executive budget based upon state operation general
fund appropriations directly attributed to the co-location or closure of
psychiatric  centers  made  pursuant  to  law. Such amount shall be made
available at the same proportion by which the office  of  mental  health
state  operations general fund appropriations are reduced each year as a
result of facility co-locations and closures.
(g)  The  annual  community  mental  health  support   and   workforce
reinvestment  appropriation shall reflect the amount of state operations
general fund appropriation reductions resulting  from  subdivisions  (e)
and  (f)  of  this  section.  Within any fiscal year where appropriation
increases are recommended for the community mental  health  support  and
workforce  reinvestment  program,  insofar as projected inpatient census
decline or facility co-locations or closures do not occur as  estimated,
and  state  operations  general  fund  savings  do  not result, then the
reinvestment appropriations shall be  made  available,  as  needed,  for
transfer from the office of mental health general fund-aid to localities
account  to  the  office  of  mental  health general fund-state purposes
account to pay for any necessary inpatient expenses. The total community
mental health support and workforce reinvestment appropriation also  may
include  such  additional  appropriations,  as shall be determined to be
needed and approved by the legislature, to fund all  the  provisions  of
this section.
(h)  Amounts made available to the community mental health support and
workforce reinvestment program of the office of mental health  shall  be
subject  to annual appropriations therefor. Up to fifteen percent of the
amounts so appropriated shall be made available for  staffing  at  state
mental  health  facilities  and  at least seven percent of the remaining
funds may be allocated for state operated community services pursuant to
this section.
(i) For purposes of this section, the term "state  operations  general
fund"  shall  mean  the office of mental health state operations general
fund  appropriations  before  any  offset  from  the   special   revenue
funds-other miscellaneous special revenue fund or mental hygiene patient
income account.
(j)  No  provision in this section shall create or be deemed to create
any right, interest or entitlement to services or  funds  that  are  the
subject  of  this  act,  or  to  any other services or funds, whether to
individuals,  localities,   providers   or   others,   individually   or
collectively.
(k)  All  appropriations  for  community  mental  health  support  and
workforce reinvestment services  shall  be  adjusted  in  the  following

fiscal  year  to  reflect  the  variance between the initial and revised
estimates of census decline.
* NB Repealed March 31, 2027