BILL NUMBER:  S7254

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend chapter 408 of the laws of 1999 constituting Kendra's
Law, in relation to extending the expiration thereof


 PURPOSE OF THE BILL :

This bill would extend the sunset date of Chapter 408 of the Laws of
1999 (Kendra's Law) from June 30, 2010, to June 30, 2015.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill would amend Chapter 408 of the Laws of 1999 to
extend the sunset date of Kendra's Law until June 30, 2015.

Section 2 of the bill would provide for an immediate effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Kendra's Law creates a statutory framework for court-ordered Assisted
Outpatient Treatment (AOT), to ensure that individuals with mental
illness and a history of hospitalizations or violence participate in
community-based services appropriate to their needs. Kendra's Law
              

establishes a procedure for obtaining court orders for certain
individuals with mental illness to receive and accept outpatient
treatment. Kendra's Law was originally set to expire on June 30, 2005.

Chapter 158 of the Laws of 2005 extended Kendra's Law until June 30,
2010 and made a number of technical changes.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new proposal.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

The statewide implementation of Kendra's Law has resulted in
beneficial structural changes to local mental health service delivery
systems.  New mechanisms for identifying, investigating, and assessing
individuals, developed in order to fulfill the requirements of AOT
implementation, have improved access to services for high need
individuals, treatment plan development, discharge planning, and
coordination of service planning. The implementation of AOT has also
supported the development of more collaborative relationships between
the mental health and court systems.

The 2005 reauthorization of AOT required an independent evaluation of
its implementation and effectiveness, specifically addressing several
areas of investigation.  The Office of Mental Health (OMH) contracted
for the evaluation with the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences at Duke University Medical Center, the MacArthur Foundation,
and Policy Research Associates, Inc. (PRA).

In June 2009 the independent study conducted by Duke University, the
MacArthur Foundation and PRA was released and concluded that New York
State's AOT Program improves a range of important outcomes for its
recipients, apparently without negative consequences to recipients.
The evaluation also concluded that the increased services available
under AOT clearly improve recipient outcomes. Furthermore, the AOT
court order itself and its attendant monitoring, appear to offer
additional benefits in improving outcomes. It was also determined that
the AOT order exerts a critical effect on service providers
stimulating their efforts to prioritize care for AOT recipients.
In addition, to these positive outcomes, it is important to note that
the constitutionality of the statutory scheme for AOT has been upheld
by the courts (see Matter of K.L., 1NY3d 362 (2004)). In Matter of
K.L., the Court of Appeals found that Kendra's Law helps individuals
who have a history of treatment noncompliance to safely survive in the
community, in a manner which does not impinge upon the
constitutionally protected liberty interests of these individuals.

 BUDGET IMPLICATIONS :

This bill would have no fiscal implications. Costs associated with the
implementation of Kendra's Law are already included in the State's
Financial Plan.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
The bill would take effect immediately.