2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title A - Organization of Department of Mental Hygiene › Article 1 - Short Title and Definitions › 1.03 - Definitions.

§ 1.03 Definitions.
When used in this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated or unless
the context otherwise requires:
1. "Department" means the department of mental hygiene of the state of
New  York.  Except  as  used  in  article five of this chapter, the term
"department" shall hereafter  refer  to  an  office  of  the  department
created by section 5.01 of this chapter.
2.  "Commissioner"  means  the  commissioner  of  mental  health,  the
commissioner of  developmental  disabilities  and  the  commissioner  of
addiction  services  and  supports as used in this chapter. Any power or
duty heretofore assigned to the commissioner of mental hygiene or to the
department of mental hygiene pursuant to this chapter shall hereafter be
assigned to the commissioner of mental health in the case of facilities,
programs, or services  for  individuals  with  mental  illness,  to  the
commissioner  of  developmental  disabilities in the case of facilities,
programs, or services for individuals with  developmental  disabilities,
to  the  commissioner  of addiction services and supports in the case of
facilities, programs, or addiction disorder services in accordance  with
the provisions of titles D and E of this chapter.
2-a.  Notwithstanding  any  other section of law or regulation, on and
after the effective date of this subdivision, any and all references  to
the   office   of  alcoholism  and  substance  abuse  services  and  the
predecessor agencies to the office of  alcoholism  and  substance  abuse
services  including the division of alcoholism and alcohol abuse and the
division of substance abuse services, shall be known as the  "office  of
addiction  services  and supports." Nothing in this subdivision shall be
construed as requiring or prohibiting the further amendment of  statutes
or regulations to conform to the provisions of this subdivision.
3.  "Mental disability" means mental illness, intellectual disability,
developmental disability, or an addictive disorder as  defined  in  this
section.
4.  "Services for persons with a mental disability" means examination,
diagnosis, care, treatment, rehabilitation,  supports,  habilitation  or
training or as may be more specifically defined in this section.
5.   "Provider   of   services"   means  an  individual,  association,
corporation,  partnership,  limited  liability  company,  or  public  or
private  agency,  other than an agency or department of the state, which
provides services for persons with a mental  disability.  It  shall  not
include any part of a hospital as defined in article twenty-eight of the
public  health  law  which  is  not  being  operated  for the purpose of
providing services for the mentally disabled. No  provider  of  services
shall  be  subject to the regulation or control of the department or one
of its offices except as such regulation or control is provided  for  by
other provisions of this chapter.
6.  "Facility"  means  any  place  in  which services for the mentally
disabled are provided and includes but is not limited to  a  psychiatric
center,  developmental  center, institute, clinic, ward, institution, or
building, except that in the case of a hospital as  defined  in  article
twenty-eight  of  the public health law it shall mean only a ward, wing,
unit, or part thereof which is operated for  the  purpose  of  providing
services  for  the mentally disabled. It shall not include a place where
the services rendered consist solely of non-residential services for the
mentally disabled which are exempt from the requirement for an operating
certificate under article sixteen,  thirty-one  or  thirty-two  of  this
chapter,  nor  shall it include domestic care and comfort to a person in
the home.
7. "Department facility" means a facility within one of the offices of
the department.
8. "Examining  physician"  means  a  physician  licensed  to  practice
medicine in the state of New York.
9.  "Certified psychologist" means a person who has been certified and
registered to practice psychology in the state of New York  pursuant  to
the education law.
* 10. "Hospital" means the in-patient services of a psychiatric center
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  office  of  mental  health  or  other
psychiatric  in-patient  facility  in  the  department,  a   psychiatric
in-patient  facility  maintained by a political subdivision of the state
for the care or treatment of the mentally ill, a ward,  wing,  unit,  or
other  part  of  a  hospital,  as defined in article twenty-eight of the
public health law, operated as a part of such hospital for  the  purpose
of  providing  services  for  the  mentally ill pursuant to an operating
certificate issued by the commissioner of mental health, a comprehensive
psychiatric  emergency  program  which  has  been  issued  an  operating
certificate by such commissioner, or other facility providing in-patient
care or treatment of the mentally ill which has been issued an operating
certificate by such commissioner.
* NB Effective until July 1, 2027
* 10. "Hospital" means the in-patient services of a psychiatric center
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  office  of  mental  health  or  other
psychiatric  in-patient  facility  in  the  department,  a   psychiatric
in-patient  facility  maintained by a political subdivision of the state
for the care or treatment of the mentally ill, a ward,  wing,  unit,  or
other  part  of  a  hospital,  as defined in article twenty-eight of the
public health law, operated as a part of such hospital for  the  purpose
of  providing  services  for  the  mentally ill pursuant to an operating
certificate issued by  the  commissioner  of  mental  health,  or  other
facility  providing  in-patient  care  or  treatment of the mentally ill
which has been issued an operating certificate by such commissioner.
* NB Effective July 1, 2027
11. "School" means the in-patient service of a developmental center or
other  residential   facility   for   individuals   with   developmental
disabilities  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  office  for people with
developmental disabilities or  a  facility  for  the  residential  care,
treatment,  training,  or  education  of  individuals with developmental
disabilities which has been  issued  an  operating  certificate  by  the
commissioner of developmental disabilities.
12.  "Addictive disorder" or "addiction disorder" for purposes of this
chapter means substance use disorder or gambling disorder as such  terms
are  defined in this section and derived from the most recent edition of
the  diagnostic  and  statistical  manual  of  mental  disorders  (DSM),
published by the American Psychiatric Association.
17.  "Addiction  treatment facility" or "Alcoholism facility" means an
in-patient,  residential  or  outpatient  facility  in  the   department
suitable  for  the  provision  of addiction disorder services to persons
suffering from an addictive  disorder  and  which  has  been  issued  an
operating certificate pursuant to article thirty-two of this chapter.
19.  "Significant  other" means a relative, close friend, associate or
individual otherwise concerned with the welfare of  a  person  suffering
from  an addictive disorder when that individual is directly affected by
the person's addictive disorder.
20. "Mental illness" means an affliction  with  a  mental  disease  or
mental  condition  which  is  manifested by a disorder or disturbance in
behavior, feeling, thinking, or judgment to  such  an  extent  that  the
person afflicted requires care, treatment and rehabilitation.
22. "Developmental disability" means a disability of a person which:
(a)  (1)  is  attributable to intellectual disability, cerebral palsy,
epilepsy, neurological impairment, familial  dysautonomia,  Prader-Willi
syndrome or autism;
(2)  is  attributable  to  any other condition of a person found to be
closely  related  to  intellectual  disability  because  such  condition
results  in  similar  impairment  of general intellectual functioning or
adaptive behavior to that of intellectually disabled persons or requires
treatment and services similar to those required for such person; or
(3) is attributable to dyslexia resulting from a disability  described
in subparagraph one or two of this paragraph;
(b) originates before such person attains age twenty-two;
(c) has continued or can be expected to continue indefinitely; and
(d)  constitutes  a  substantial  handicap to such person's ability to
function normally in society.
23. "Patient" means a  person  receiving  services  for  the  mentally
disabled at a facility. It includes a resident at a school.
24.  "Informal caregiver" means the family member, friends, neighbors,
or other  natural  person  who  normally  provides  the  daily  care  or
supervision  of a mentally disabled person. Such informal caregiver may,
but need not reside in the  same  household  as  the  mentally  disabled
person.
26. "Infant" or "minor" means a person who has not attained the age of
eighteen years.
27.   "Aftercare  services"  means  services  for  persons  no  longer
receiving in-patient services for the mentally disabled and may include,
but shall not be limited to, medical care, including  psychiatric  care,
and vocational and social rehabilitation.
28. "Community residence" means any facility operated by or subject to
licensure  by  the office of mental health or the office for people with
developmental disabilities which  provides  a  supervised  residence  or
residential  respite  services  for individuals with mental disabilities
and a homelike environment and room, board and  responsible  supervision
for  the  habilitation  or  rehabilitation  of  individuals  with mental
disabilities as part of an overall service delivery system. A  community
residence  shall  include an intermediate care facility with fourteen or
fewer residents that has been approved pursuant to law, and a  community
residential  facility  as  that  term  is  used in section 41.36 of this
chapter. Such term does not include family care homes.
28-a.  "Supervised  living  facility"  means  a  community   residence
providing  responsible  supervisory  staff on-site twenty-four hours per
day for the purpose of enabling residents to live  as  independently  as
possible.
28-b.   "Supportive  living  facility"  means  a  community  residence
providing practice in  independent  living  under  supervision  but  not
providing staff on-site on a twenty-four hour per day basis.
30.  "Conditional  release"  means release subject to the right of the
school, hospital, or  alcoholism  facility  to  return  the  patient  to
in-patient care pursuant to the conditions set forth in section 29.15 of
this chapter.
31.  "Discharge"  means  release  and  the termination of any right to
retain or treat the patient on an in-patient  basis.  The  discharge  of
such  a  patient shall not preclude the patient from receiving necessary
services on other  than  an  in-patient  basis  nor  shall  it  preclude
subsequent  readmission  as  an  in-patient  if  made in accordance with
article nine, fifteen, or twenty-two of this chapter.
32. "Conference" means the New York state conference of  local  mental
hygiene  directors  as  established  pursuant  to  section 41.10 of this
chapter.
33. "Residential treatment facility for children and youth" shall mean
an inpatient psychiatric facility which provides active treatment  under
the  direction  of  a physician for individuals who are under twenty-one
years of  age,  provided  that  a  person  who,  during  the  course  of
treatment,  attains  the  age  of  twenty-one  may  continue  to receive
services in a residential treatment  facility  for  children  and  youth
until  he  or  she  reaches the age of twenty-two. The term "residential
treatment facility for  children  and  youth"  does  not  apply  to  the
children's psychiatric centers described in section 7.17 of this chapter
or to facilities specifically licensed by the office of mental health as
children's  hospitals. Residential treatment facilities for children and
youth are  a  sub-class  of  the  class  of  facilities  defined  to  be
"hospitals" in subdivision ten of this section.
34.  "Authorized  agency"  shall  have  the meaning defined in section
three hundred seventy-one of the social services law.
35. "Social services official"  shall  have  the  meaning  defined  in
section two of the social services law.
36.  "Residential  care  center  for  adults"  means  a facility which
provides long term residential care and support services to mentally ill
adults, provides case management and medication management services, and
assists residents in securing clinical, vocational and  social  services
necessary  to  enable the resident to continue to live in the community.
No residential care center for adults established after September first,
nineteen hundred eighty-six shall  have  more  than  one  hundred  fifty
residents.  A  residential  care  center for adults is not an adult care
facility subject to licensure by the department of social services,  nor
is it an inpatient treatment facility.
* 37.  "Comprehensive  psychiatric  emergency program" means a program
which is licensed by the office of mental health to provide a full range
of psychiatric emergency services within a defined  geographic  area  to
persons  who  are  believed  to  be  mentally  ill  and  in need of such
services, and which shall include crisis intervention  services,  crisis
outreach services, crisis residence services, extended observation beds,
and  triage  and referral services, as such terms are defined in section
31.27 of this chapter.
* NB Repealed July 1, 2027
38.  "Residential  services   facility"   or   "Alcoholism   community
residence"  means  any facility licensed or operated pursuant to article
thirty-two of this chapter which provides residential services  for  the
treatment of an addiction disorder and a homelike environment, including
room,  board  and  responsible supervision as part of an overall service
delivery system. Provided however,  "certified  recovery  residence"  as
defined   in  subdivision  fifty-nine  of  this  section  shall  not  be
considered a residential services facility  for  the  purposes  of  this
chapter.
* 39. "Substance" shall mean:
(i)  any  controlled  substance listed in section thirty-three hundred
six of the public health law;
(ii) any substance listed in section thirty-three  hundred  eighty  of
the public health law;
(iii)  any  substance,  except  alcohol  and tobacco, as listed in the
published  rules  of  the  office  which  has  been  certified  to   the
commissioner  by  the commissioner of health as having the capability of
causing physical and/or psychological dependence. Notice of  a  proposed
rule  listing  any  such  substance shall be given to the speaker of the
assembly and the temporary president of  the  senate.  The  commissioner
shall  consider  the  advice  and recommendations of the legislature and

shall hold a public hearing  prior  to  listing  any  substance  in  its
published rules.
* NB There are 2 sub 39's
* 39.  "Employee  assistance  program"  means  a  confidential program
designed to assist employees and their families, through identification,
motivation referral, and follow-up, with  problems  that  may  interfere
with   the  employees'  ability  to  perform  on  the  job  effectively,
efficiently and  safely.  Such  problems  include  addictive  disorders,
emotional, marital, family, and other personal problems.
* NB There are 2 sub 39's
42.  "Substance  use  disorder  program"  or "Substance abuse program"
shall mean any  public  or  private  person,  corporation,  partnership,
agency,  either  profit  or non-profit, or state or municipal government
which provides substance use disorder services, in either a  residential
or ambulatory setting, to persons in need of services for the prevention
of,  or treatment and recovery from a substance use disorder. Any person
or entity providing such services as a minor part of a general health or
counseling unit subject to regulations promulgated by  the  commissioner
and  other  appropriate agencies shall not be considered a substance use
disorder program.
46. "Record" of a  patient  or  client  shall  consist  of  admission,
transfer  or retention papers and orders, and accompanying data required
by this article and the regulations of the commissioner.
47. "Director of  community  services"  shall  mean  the  director  of
community  services for the mentally disabled appointed pursuant to this
chapter.
48.  "Practitioner"  shall  mean  a  physician,  dentist,  podiatrist,
veterinarian,  scientific  investigator,  or  other  person licensed, or
otherwise permitted to dispense, administer  or  conduct  research  with
respect   to  a  controlled  substance  in  the  course  of  a  licensed
professional practice or research licensed  pursuant  to  this  article.
Such person shall be deemed a "practitioner" only as to such substances,
or  conduct relating to such substances, as is permitted by his license,
permit or otherwise permitted by law.
49. "Prescription" shall mean an official New York state prescription,
a written prescription or an oral prescription.
50. "Controlled substance" shall mean the  definition  of  "controlled
substance"  as  contained  in  section  thirty-three  hundred two of the
public health law.
52. "Persons with serious mental illness" means individuals  who  meet
criteria  established  by the commissioner of mental health, which shall
include persons who are in psychiatric crisis, or  persons  who  have  a
designated  diagnosis of mental illness under the most recent edition of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual  of  Mental  Disorders  and  whose
severity   and   duration  of  mental  illness  results  in  substantial
functional disability. Persons with serious mental illness shall include
children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances.
53. "Children and adolescents  with  serious  emotional  disturbances"
means  individuals  under  eighteen  years  of  age  who  meet  criteria
established by the commissioner of mental health,  which  shall  include
children  and adolescents who are in psychiatric crisis, or children and
adolescents who have a designated diagnosis of mental illness under  the
most  recent  edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders and whose severity and duration of mental illness  results  in
substantial functional disability.
54. "Gambling disorder" means an addictive disorder, as defined by the
most  recent  edition of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental
disorders (DSM), published  by  the  American  Psychiatric  Association,

characterized  by  repeated  problematic  gambling behavior which causes
significant problems or distress. Unless  otherwise  provided,  for  the
purposes  of  this  chapter,  the  term gambling disorder shall mean and
include compulsive gambling, pathological gambling or problem gambling.
55.  "Addiction  disorder services" or "addiction services" shall mean
engagement  to  treatment,  examination,  evaluation,  diagnosis,  care,
treatment,  rehabilitation, relapse prevention and recovery maintenance,
and  related  education  and  training  of  persons  suffering  from  or
recovering  from  an  addictive  disorder  and their significant others.
Unless otherwise provided, for the purposes of this  chapter,  the  term
addiction  disorder services shall mean and include "chemical dependence
services," alcoholism and/or substance  abuse  services,  substance  use
disorder services, substance dependence, and gambling disorder services.
56.  "Substance  use  disorder"  means recurrent use of alcohol and/or
legal or illegal drugs causing  clinical  and  functionally  significant
impairment  to  the  individual's  physical  and  mental  health, or the
welfare of others. Unless otherwise provided, for the purposes  of  this
chapter   the  term  substance  use  disorder  shall  mean  and  include
alcoholism,  alcohol  abuse,  drug  abuse,  substance  abuse,  substance
dependence, chemical abuse, and/or chemical dependence.
58.  "Behavioral  health services" means examination, diagnosis, care,
treatment, rehabilitation, or training for persons with mental  illness,
or addictive disorders.
59.  "Certified  recovery residence" means a shared living environment
in the state that has been certified by the office of addiction services
and supports and utilizes connection to services  to  promote  sustained
recovery from a substance use disorder.