New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 14 - DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE › Chapter XIII - Office of Mental Health › Part 524 - Incident Management Programs › Section 524.2 - Legal base

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Section 7.07  of the Mental Hygiene Law gives the
				Office of Mental Health the responsibility for seeing that persons with mental
				illness are provided with care and treatment, that such care, treatment and
				rehabilitation is of high quality and effectiveness, and that the personal and
				civil rights of persons receiving care, treatment, and rehabilitation are
				adequately protected.
(b) Section 7.09  of the Mental Hygiene Law grants the
				Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health the power and responsibility to
				adopt regulations that are necessary and proper to implement matters under his
				or her jurisdiction and to set standards of quality care.
(c) Subdivision (b) of Section 7.21  of the Mental Hygiene Law requires
				directors of facilities operated by the Office of Mental Health to investigate,
				or cause to be investigated, every reportable incident in accordance with
				Article 11 of the Social Services Law, and to require allegations of abuse and
				neglect and significant incidents to be reported to the Vulnerable Persons'
				Central Register. Directors of facilities must also notify the Vulnerable
				Persons' Central Register if it appears that a crime may have been committed
				and such Register shall notify law enforcement as appropriate. Pursuant to this
				Section, the Vulnerable Persons' Central Register must notify the Board of
				Visitors and the Mental Hygiene Legal Service of every complaint of abuse or
				neglect and the results of all related investigations.
(d) Section 29.29  of the Mental Hygiene Law requires
				the establishment of uniform standards and procedures for the compilation and
				analysis of incident reports in facilities operated by the Office of Mental
				Health.
(e) Section 31.11  of the Mental Hygiene Law requires
				programs licensed by the Office of Mental Health to notify the district
				attorney or other law enforcement official and the Commissioner or his or her
				authorized representative if it appears that a crime may have been committed
				against a patient.
(f) Section 31.16  of the Mental Hygiene Law provides
				that the Commissioner of the Office of Mental Health may impose a fine upon a
				finding that the holder of an operating certificate has failed to comply with
				the provisions of any applicable statute, rule, or regulation.
(g) Section 33.23  of the Mental Hygiene Law requires
				24-hour telephone notification of qualified persons, as defined in Section
				33.16 of such law, of certain incidents that occur at facilities.
(h) Section 33.25  of the Mental Hygiene Law requires
				the release of records and documents pertaining to allegations and
				investigations of abuse or neglect to qualified persons, as defined in Section 33.16  of the Mental Hygiene Law, upon
				their request.
(i) Section 556  of the Executive Law provides the
				Justice Center the authority to make recommendations of preventive and remedial
				actions to the Office of Mental Health in response to investigations of
				allegations of abuse or neglect involving patients.
(j) Section 557  of the Executive Law requires that
				directors of State-operated facilities and directors of licensed programs
				report deaths of individuals in their care and any allegations of abuse or
				neglect to the Justice Center.
(k)
				Article 6, title 6 of the Social Services Law requires the reporting of
				suspected abuse or neglect by a caretaker in a foster family care, day care, or
				family setting of persons under 18 years of age to the Statewide Central
				Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.
(l) Section 490  of the Social Services Law requires the
				Office of Mental Health to promulgate regulations governing the development of
				incident management programs; such regulations must be approved by the Justice
				Center as consistent with its standards and guidelines.
(m) Sections 491 and
				492  of the Social Services Law require the
				reporting of allegations of abuse and neglect and significant incidents to the
				Vulnerable Persons' Central Register.