2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title D - Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Act › Article 19 - Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse › 19.20-A - Review of Criminal History Information Concerning Prospective Providers, Operators and Individuals Seeking to Be Credentialed by the Office.

§  19.20-a Review of criminal history information concerning prospective
providers,  operators  and  individuals   seeking   to   be
credentialed by the office.
* The  office  shall  be  authorized  to  receive from the division of
criminal justice services criminal history information, as  such  phrase
is  defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section eight hundred
forty-five-b of the executive law, concerning each  applicant  to  be  a
provider  of  services  or  operator  of  such  provider  except:  (1) a
department facility; (2) a hospital as defined in  article  twenty-eight
of  the  public  health  law; or (3) a licensed professional under title
eight of the education law who does not have employees or volunteers who
will have regular and substantial unsupervised or unrestricted  physical
contact  with  the  clients  of  such provider, and for every individual
seeking to be credentialed  by  the  office  to  provide  substance  use
disorder  services  pursuant  to  section  19.07  of  this  article. For
purposes of this section, "operator" shall include  any  natural  person
with an ownership interest in the provider of services.
* NB Effective until November 3, 2023
* The  office  shall  be  authorized  to  receive from the division of
criminal justice services criminal history information, as  such  phrase
is  defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision one of section eight hundred
forty-five-b of the executive law, concerning each  applicant  to  be  a
provider  of  services  or  operator  of  such  provider  except:  (1) a
department facility; (2) a hospital as defined in  article  twenty-eight
of  the  public  health  law; or (3) a licensed professional under title
eight of the education law who does not have employees or volunteers who
will have regular and substantial unsupervised or unrestricted  physical
contact  with  the  clients  of  such provider, and for every individual
seeking to be credentialed  by  the  office  to  provide  substance  use
disorder  services  pursuant  to  section  19.07  of  this  article. For
purposes of this section, "operator" shall include  any  natural  person
with  an  ownership  interest  in  the  provider  of services. Provided,
however, an applicant to be a provider of services or operator  of  such
provider  under article thirty-six of this chapter shall comply with the
requirements of subdivision (a) of section  36.06  of  such  article  to
satisfy  the  requirements  of this section, and provided further that a
provider who complies  with  the  requirements  of  subdivision  (b)  of
section  36.06  of  such  article, shall be deemed to have satisfied the
requirements of this section.
* NB Effective November 3, 2023
(a) Prior to requesting criminal history  information  concerning  any
prospective provider, operator or individual seeking to be credentialed,
the office shall:
(1) inform the prospective provider, operator or individual seeking to
be credentialed in writing that the office is required to request his or
her  criminal  history information from the division of criminal justice
services and review such information pursuant to this section; and
(2) obtain the signed informed consent of  the  prospective  provider,
operator  or individual seeking to be credentialed on a form supplied by
the division of criminal justice  services  which  indicates  that  such
person has:
(i)  been  informed  of  the right and procedures necessary to obtain,
review and seek correction of his or her criminal history information;
(ii) been informed of the reason  for  the  request  for  his  or  her
criminal history information;
(iii) consented to such request; and
(iv) supplied on the form a current mailing or home address.

Upon  receiving  such written consent, the office may obtain two sets of
fingerprints  of  such  prospective  provider,  operator  or  individual
seeking  to  be  credentialed pursuant to regulations established by the
division of criminal justice services.
(b)  The  office  shall designate one or two persons in its employ who
shall be authorized to request,  receive  and  review  criminal  history
information,  and  only  such  persons  and  the  prospective  provider,
operator or individual seeking to be credentialed to which the  criminal
history  information  relates  shall  have  access  to such information;
provided, however, that criminal history information may be disclosed to
other personnel authorized by the  office  who  are  empowered  to  make
decisions  concerning  prospective  providers,  operators or individuals
seeking  to  be  credentialed  and  provided  further  that  such  other
personnel  shall also be subject to the confidentiality requirements and
all other provisions of  this  section.  The  office  shall  notify  the
division  of criminal justice services of each person authorized to have
access to criminal history information pursuant to this section.
(c) The office shall request criminal history information pursuant  to
this  section  by  completing  a  form developed for such purpose by the
division of criminal justice services. Such form shall include  a  sworn
statement  of  the  persons designated by the office to request, receive
and review criminal history information pursuant to subdivision  (b)  of
this section certifying that:
(1)  such  criminal  history  information  will  be used by the office
solely for purposes authorized by this section;
(2) the office and its staff are  aware  of  and  will  abide  by  the
confidentiality  requirements  and all other provisions of this section;
and
(3) the person designated by the office to  receive  criminal  history
information  pursuant  to  subdivision  (b)  of  this section shall upon
receipt   immediately   mark   such   criminal    history    information
"confidential,"  and  shall  at all times maintain such criminal history
information in a secure place.
(d) Upon receipt of the fingerprints and sworn statement  required  by
subdivisions  (a)  and  (c)  of  this  section, the division of criminal
justice services shall  promptly  forward  a  set  of  the  individual's
fingerprints to the federal bureau of investigation for the purpose of a
nationwide  criminal  history  record  check  to  determine whether such
individual has been convicted of a criminal offense in any  state  other
than New York or in a federal jurisdiction.
(e)  The  division of criminal justice services shall promptly provide
the requested criminal  history  information  to  the  office.  Criminal
history  information  provided  by  the  division  of  criminal  justice
services pursuant to this section shall be furnished  only  by  mail  or
other  method  of  secure  and  confidential  delivery, addressed to the
office. Such information and the envelope in which it  is  enclosed,  if
any,  shall be prominently marked "confidential," and shall at all times
be maintained by the office in a secure place.
(f) Upon receipt of criminal  history  information  pursuant  to  this
section  and before making a determination, the office shall provide the
prospective provider, operator or individual seeking to be  credentialed
with  a  copy of such criminal history information and a copy of article
twenty-three-A  of  the  correction  law  and  inform  such  prospective
provider,  operator  or  individual seeking to be credentialed of his or
her right to seek correction of any incorrect information  contained  in
such  criminal  history  information  pursuant  to  the  regulations and
procedures established by the division of criminal justice services.
(g) Criminal history information obtained  pursuant  to  this  section
shall  be  considered by the office in accordance with the provisions of
article twenty-three-A of the correction law  and  subdivisions  fifteen
and sixteen of section two hundred ninety-six of the executive law.
(h)  A  prospective  provider,  operator  or  individual seeking to be
credentialed  may  withdraw  from  the  application   process,   without
prejudice,  at  any  time  regardless of whether or not he or she or the
office has reviewed his or her criminal  history  information.  Where  a
prospective  provider, operator or individual seeking to be credentialed
withdraws from the application process, any  fingerprints  and  criminal
history  information  concerning  such prospective provider, operator or
individual seeking to be credentialed  received  by  the  office  shall,
within  ninety  days, be returned to such prospective provider, operator
or individual seeking to be credentialed by the  person  designated  for
receipt  of  criminal history information pursuant to subdivision (b) of
this section.
(i) The commissioner of the  division  of  criminal  justice  services
shall  promulgate  all  rules and regulations necessary to implement the
provisions of this section, which shall  include  convenient  procedures
for  prospective  providers,  operators  or  individuals  seeking  to be
credentialed to promptly verify the accuracy of their  criminal  history
information  and,  to  the  extent  authorized by law, to have access to
relevant documents related thereto.
(j) Any person who willfully permits the release of  any  confidential
criminal  history  information  contained  in  the report to persons not
permitted by this section to receive such information shall be guilty of
a misdemeanor.