2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title E - General Provisions › Article 33 - Rights of Patients › 33.07 - Care and Custody of the Personal Property of Persons Receiving Services.

§ 33.07 * Care and custody of the personal property of persons receiving
services.
* NB Effective until June 30, 2027
* Care and custody of the personal property of patients.
* NB Effective June 30, 2027
(a) A patient's right to retain his personal belongings upon admission
to  a  facility  shall  be  respected.  The  director,  subject  to  the
regulations of the commissioner,  may  take  temporary  custody  of  the
patient's  personal  property  upon  the person of the patient. Personal
property which is retained for the patient's protection  shall  be  used
for  the  support  and  benefit  of  the  patient  if  deemed desirable.
Otherwise, it is to be conserved  for  his  benefit.  If  a  patient  is
transferred  to  another  facility,  his  personal  belongings  shall be
transferred with him. Gifts received by a patient in a facility shall be
handled in the same manner.
(b) The director of a department facility shall have the power to take
temporary and immediate custody of the personal property  of  a  patient
which  is  in  the  possession  of  other  persons upon giving a receipt
therefor to the person having possession thereof.
(c) Any interest on money received and held for a patient shall be the
property of the individual patient and shall not accrue for the  general
welfare of all patients in a facility.
* (e) A mental hygiene facility director who is a representative payee
for   a   person   pursuant   to  designation  by  the  social  security
administration or  other  federal  agency  and  who  assumes  management
responsibility  over  the  funds  of such person, including benefits for
which there is a state share, shall maintain such funds in  a  fiduciary
capacity  to  the person; provided that the application of such funds to
the cost of care and treatment of such  person  shall  not,  in  and  of
itself,  be  a  violation  of such fiduciary obligation if such director
acts in accordance with federal law and regulations.  The  commissioners
of   mental  health,  developmental  disabilities,  and  alcoholism  and
substance abuse services  shall  promulgate  regulations  regarding  the
management  and  protection  of such funds in collaboration with persons
receiving  services,  advocacy  groups  representing  persons  receiving
services and families of such persons, and mental hygiene legal service.
Such  regulations  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited to, the use of
Medicaid exception trusts, including special  needs  trusts  or  similar
devices,  notice requirements to qualified persons as defined by section
33.16 of this article regarding the intent of the facility  director  to
apply  to  be  the  person's  representative  payee, and the appropriate
establishment and maintenance of a discharge account for future needs.
In the event that a director of a department facility receives a  lump
sum  retroactive  payment  of  a federal or state benefit on behalf of a
person in the  director's  capacity  as  representative  payee  and  the
receipt  of  such  funds  would, in combination with other funds held on
behalf of  such  person,  make  the  person  ineligible  for  government
benefits,  such  director shall, to the extent permissible by law, apply
the funds in excess of the appropriate eligibility level to the person's
personal needs or seek to place such  excess  funds  into  a  qualifying
Medicaid  exception  trust,  including a special needs trust, or similar
device; provided, however, that, for purposes of this section, the  term
"lump  sum  retroactive  payment"  shall  not  apply to any payment that
exceeds the expected monthly recurring amount where such excess  is  due
to a delay in processing an application, changing a representative payee
or  similar  administrative delay. The director of a department facility
shall ensure that the  treatment  team  meet  with,  and  determine  the
current and future personal needs of, the person receiving services. For

purposes  of  this  section, a treatment team is one that is responsible
for the following, including but not limited to,  clinical  assessments,
treatment  plan  development,  any  necessary  discharge  planning,  and
personal expenditure planning.
* NB Effective until June 30, 2027
* (e)  A mental hygiene facility which is a representative payee for a
patient pursuant to designation by the social security administration or
which assumes management responsibility over the  funds  of  a  patient,
shall  maintain  such  funds in a fiduciary capacity to the patient. The
commissioners of mental  health  and  developmental  disabilities  shall
develop standards regarding the management of patient funds.
* NB Effective June 30, 2027
* (f)  The commissioners of mental health, developmental disabilities,
and alcoholism and substance abuse services shall post on  the  offices'
respective  websites, in a prominent location, the applicable standards,
regulations and/or policies established pursuant to this section.
* NB Repealed June 30, 2027
* (g) Upon request by a person receiving services  from  a  department
facility,  his or her guardian, qualified persons, as defined by section
33.16 of this article, or other legally authorized  representative,  the
director  of such facility shall, on a quarterly basis, make a statement
of deposits and disbursements from the personal account  of  the  person
receiving services available for review.
* NB Repealed June 30, 2027
* (h)  The  office  of  mental  health  and the office for people with
developmental  disabilities  and  mental  hygiene  legal  service  shall
collaboratively review, at least annually, the management of funds which
a  department facility director receives as a representative payee or of
funds received pursuant to section 29.23 of this title. In such  review,
the office of mental health and the office for people with developmental
disabilities  shall  make  available  final  federal  reviews  regarding
facility directors' handling  of  federal  benefits  and  other  related
documents to aid the proper conduct of such review.
* NB Repealed June 30, 2027
* (i)  The  office  of  mental  health  and the office for people with
developmental disabilities shall, by the fifteenth day  of  December  of
each year, commencing on December fifteenth, two thousand eleven, submit
and  publish  on its official website, a report to the governor, speaker
of the assembly,  temporary  president  of  the  senate,  chair  of  the
assembly  committee  on  mental  health,  and  the  chair  of the senate
committee on mental health, detailing how persons' federal benefits  are
being utilized.
* NB Repealed June 30, 2027