NY State Senate Bill 2023-S8820

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Mental Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 15, 2024	referred to mental health

co-Sponsors

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Mental Health
Law Section:: Mental Hygiene

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes a statewide person-centered mental health services work group to improve statewide mental health planning and outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first integrated and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness.

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8820

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to establishing a statewide person-centered mental
health services work group to improve statewide mental health planning
and outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first integrated
and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness

 
PURPOSE:

To form a behavioral health workgroup consisting of state and local
officials, providers, CBOs, and mental health service users to create a
uniform strategic planning system that would be used by local and state
officials to establish measurable goals for a person-centered and well-
ness-based mental health system. This collaborative model would replace
current process as defined in section 5.07 of the Mental Hygiene Law.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The Planning Act would establish and fund a work group to review the

current methods of financing behavioral health care and propose a new,
unified, collaborative approach that draws on the expertise of all
concerned stakeholders, including local mental hygiene directors, public
health officials, providers, state agency planners, service users, and
elected officials.

  Section  1  amends  the unconsolidated law to establish the work group
and its goals. Provides for  the  membership  to  include  twenty  eight
regional  representative  members  and now they are appointed.  Appoint-
ments shall be made within sixty days of the  effective  date  and  that
vacancies  are  to be filled in the same manner as the original appoint-
ments.

The work group shall accurately reflect the race and ethnicity of people
who use public  health  services.  All  members  shall  be  required  to
disclose  any  financial, personal or professional conflicts of interest
related to the subject and decisions under  consideration  by  the  work
group.  Sets  parameters and purpose of non-voting members.  Sets guide-
lines on how members can receive compensation. Sets a quorum  and  rules
for voting.

The  group  will  be  authorized to adopt by-laws for the management and
regulation of its affairs. The work group shall develop  recommendations
on  regional  and  statewide  planning  systems and goals that integrate
behavioral health and physical health, ensuring equal representation  by
having  those  members  with  lived  experiences  in leadership roles in
developing these goals, identify measurable outcomes,  ensure  there  is
transparency  with  annual evaluations and quality improvement processes
that are consistent across all regions, establishing a statewide  clear-
ing house of best practices to be posted publicly to show what's working
and  how  to  integrate  it  to other regions, and establishing a budget
system.

The work group shall engage in dialogue  with  local  stake  holders  to
ensure community input. Lays out the rolls of 0M11-1, OASAS, DOH and NYC
Department  of health and mental hygiene in working with this group. The

work groups tasks shall be supported by an outside consulting firm to be
selected by majority vote of the group.

Establishes  the  parameters of meetings as governed by article 7 of the
public officers law. The work group shall  develop  recommendations  for
reform  of  the  state's  local  mental  health  planning to ensure it's
reflective of local needs.  The  work  group  shall  transmit  a  report
containing  these  specific  recommendations to the relevant state agen-
cies. Establishes how the work group is to  use  its  budget.  The  work
group  shall be authorized and entitled to receive grants offered pursu-
ant to section 14 of the state finance law.

Provides for severability and establishes that if certain provisions are
struck down by a court of competent iurisdictions, that remaining  parts
of this legislation will not be invalidated.

  Section 2 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The current system for allocating funds for mental health care is spread
across  multiple  state  agencies  and local jurisdictions. For example,
housing development and support, the most commonly  cited  need  in  New
York State Local Services Plan, can include federal HUD subsidies; state
HCR,  OMH  and  DSS  grants and operating subsidies; and county and city
subsidies. Organizing an effective long-term  strategy  to  address  the
housing challenges of people with mental illness in a given jurisdiction
requires  input  from  not  only  the officials overseeing these various
programs, but also a commitment from providers to a  workable  strategy,
and  from the people who need the housing about what they feel will best
aid their recovery.

Overall, the county-level, mental health planning process, outlined in
  Section 5.07 of the MHL is  unable  to  achieve  the  person-centered,
prevention-first  system  of  care  envisioned  by  state  officials for
several reasons: the counties have no control of the resources needed to
address their challenges; the annual  goal  setting  time-frame  is  too
short;  it's  impossible  to  organize  a  fully realized system of care
across 58 jurisdictions  (57  counties  and  NYC);  while  counties  are
mandated to identify needs and goals, there is no corresponding require-
ment  to  establish  measurable outcomes so that progress can be tracked
over time; and most counties lack the resources and technical  expertise
to develop a long-term strategic plan and continuous quality improvement
system to monitor and adjust the plan over time.

The moment to rework the behavioral health planning apparatus is now. In
January  2024, CMS approved New York State's latest 1115 Medicaid waiver
request to  create  region-based  planning  and  service  jurisdictions,
called Social Care Networks, to address many of the same needs that have
been  consistently  cited by officials and advocates for years: housing;
access to integrated. care;  prevention  services,  which  impacts  both
suicide and crisis care; reliable transportation; provider and CBO work-
force challenges; and overdose deaths.

Creating  a  unified  planning  structure  that combines existing county
initiatives with the new Social Care Network entity, a  nonprofit  who's
governing body must be 51% providers and include peer members

  (required  by  the 1115 waiver), is a genuine opportunity to establish
comprehensive and long-term strategic partner shims.

Notably,  instead  of 58 separate annual plans (required by section 5.07
of MHL), the state would be organized around nine geographic areas
  (required by the 1115 waiver) and  could  replace  annual  plans  with
longer-range five to ten year plans that have measurable outcomes, mile-
stones,  funding allocations that integrate health and behavioral health
budgets, and accountable performance standards.

A reformed planning system could also enforce consistent use of  metrics
and  performance  data  across  all  the SON regions, which would enable
state planners (DOH, OMR, OASAS, etc.) to compare and assess the  effec-
tiveness  of  interventions  from  region to region. The most successful
strategies could then be shared and taken to scale on a statewide basis.

Repairing a system of care that has been dysfunctional for decades  will
require  a  highly  coordinated  commitment by funders and state leaders
over an extended period of time. Such reform. cannot be achieved  within
a single election cycle, making it imperative that a comprehensive plan-
ning  apparatus  be established that promotes measurable outcomes, inno-
vation and accountability.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8820
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 15, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health
 
 AN  ACT  in  relation to establishing a statewide person-centered mental
   health services work group to improve statewide mental health planning
   and outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first integrated
   and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Statewide  person-centered  mental  health  services work
 group.   1.  There  is  hereby  created  person-centered  mental  health
 services  work  group  to  examine,  evaluate, determine, recommend, and
 oversee implementation of how to improve statewide mental  health  plan-
 ning  and  outcomes to achieve a person-centered, prevention-first inte-
 grated and tiered system of care for holistic health and wellness.
   2. The work group shall consist of twenty statewide members,  four  ex
 officio  members,  and  twenty-eight  regional  representative  members,
 appointed as follows:
   (a) Statewide members. Statewide members  shall  be  appointed  within
 sixty days of the effective date of this act:
   (i) three members shall be appointed by the temporary president of the
 senate, one of which must be a peer or consumer representative;
   (ii)  three members shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly,
 one of which must be a peer or consumer representative;
   (iii) two members shall be appointed by the  minority  leader  of  the
 senate;
   (iv)  two  members  shall  be  appointed by the minority leader of the
 assembly;
   (v) three members shall be appointed by the  governor,  one  of  which
 must be a peer or consumer representative;
   (vi)  three  members shall be appointed by the council of local mental
 hygiene directors;
   (vii) two members shall be appointed by the behavioral health services
 advisory council; and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14417-01-4

 S. 8820                             2
 
   (viii) two members shall be appointed by the most  integrated  setting
 coordinating council.
   (b)  Ex  officio members. The commissioners of the office of addiction
 services and supports, the office of mental health,  the  department  of
 health,  and  the New York city department of health and mental hygiene,
 or their designees, shall serve as ex officio members of the work group.
   (c) Regional membership and appointments. (i)  For  purposes  of  this
 act,  there  shall  be  nine  regions, consisting of the same geographic
 areas and counties as the social care networks described in the  January
 2024  New  York State Department of Health Request for Applications: New
 York Health Equity Reform: Social Care Networks:
   (1) Region 1: Capital;
   (2) Region 2: Western;
   (3) Region 3: Hudson Valley;
   (4) Region 4: New York City;
   (5) Region 5: Finger Lakes;
   (6) Region 6: Southern Tier;
   (7) Region 7: Central;
   (8) Region 8: Long Island;
   (9) Region 9: North Country.
   (ii) There shall be three members from each region,  except  New  York
 City, which shall have four.
   (iii)  Regional members shall be selected through a nominating process
 conducted by the New York alliance for rights and recovery.  A  majority
 of the candidates must have lived experience as a person who is current-
 ly or was previously in the shelter system, used or using public housing
 vouchers,  court-involved,  and/or  the  public health and mental health
 systems. The New York alliance for rights and recovery shall be  compen-
 sated  for  this  work  through a negotiated contract with the office of
 mental health.
   3. Appointments shall be made within sixty days of the effective  date
 of  this  act.  Vacancies  in the work group shall be filled in the same
 manner provided for original appointments.
   4. The work group membership shall accurately  reflect  the  race  and
 ethnicity  of  people  who use public health and mental health services.
 The minority leader of the senate and the speaker of the assembly  shall
 review  the composition of the work group following the nominating proc-
 ess and shall, if necessary, select alternative members proposed by  the
 relevant  nominating  bodies to achieve the inclusion and equity targets
 described herein.
   5. All work group members shall be required to disclose any financial,
 personal, or professional conflicts of interest related to  the  subject
 and decisions under consideration by the work group.
   6.  Participation  by  non-voting  members encourages the inclusion of
 diverse viewpoints but does not dilute the decision-making authority  of
 the  work  group  members  who  use  mental  health services. Non-voting
 members may participate in all actions afforded members but may not vote
 on any resolutions. If not otherwise selected to be a member of the work
 group, the following shall be non-voting members:
   (a) the director of recipient affairs from any local or state  govern-
 mental unit;
   (b)  representatives  of  trade  associations representing housing and
 service providers, hospital associations, and  health  insurance  compa-
 nies;
 S. 8820                             3
 
   (c) representatives of social justice and legal advocacy organizations
 with  an  established  track  record  of  public testimony and/or policy
 research related to the provision of mental health service;
   (d)  a  representative  selected  by  the  national alliance on mental
 illness of New York state; and
   (e) additional non-voting members may be added at  the  discretion  of
 the work group.
   7.  Work group members shall receive no compensation for their efforts
 and services as members for the actual and necessary  expenses  incurred
 in  the  performance  of  their  duties.  Notwithstanding the foregoing,
 however, compensation shall be provided  to  work  group  members,  both
 voting  and  non-voting,  with  lived  experiences who are not otherwise
 compensated for their  time  devoted  to  work  group  activities.  Such
 compensation shall be equivalent to the average compensation of the work
 group membership that is voted on and agreed to by the voting members of
 the  work  group.    Such  compensation shall be allocated from the work
 group operating budget. Members shall be considered public officers  for
 the purpose of section 17 of the public officers law.
   8.  A  quorum shall consist of a majority of members of the work group
 entitled to vote on the matter  under  consideration.  Approval  of  any
 matter  shall  require the affirmative vote of a majority of the members
 voting thereon. The  quorum  must  include  a  proportionate  number  of
 members  with  lived  experiences  that  is equal to or greater than the
 proportion of the work group as a whole.
   9. The work group shall be authorized to adopt by-laws for the manage-
 ment and regulation of its affairs.
   10. The statewide person-centered mental health  services  work  group
 shall develop the recommendations for:
   (a) A regional and statewide mental health planning system to:
   (i) Establish regional short and long-range strategic goals and strat-
 egies that integrate behavioral health and physical health;
   (ii) Ensure that persons with lived experiences have a leadership role
 in the development of these goals;
   (iii) Ensure adoption through a community consensus process;
   (iv) Identify measurable outcomes, accountability, and funding for the
 strategic goals; and
   (v)  Ensure  there  is  a  transparent  annual  evaluation and quality
 improvement process that is consistent across all regions.
   (b) Establishing a statewide clearinghouse of  best  practices  to  be
 posted  publicly, regularly updated, and on the office of mental health,
 the office of addiction services and supports, the department of health,
 and the New York city department of health and mental  hygiene  websites
 to  ensure  the implementation of programs that have proved effective in
 one region could be scaled up across the entire system.
   (c) Establishing an annual budgeting system to ensure regional-identi-
 fied priorities are adequately funded.
   (d) A bill, to be called the "person-centered mental  health  services
 act"  that  authorizes  the  establishment  of planning, implementation,
 funding, evaluation, and  recommendations  of  services,  supports,  and
 outcomes  for  people  who use the public behavioral health systems that
 are consistent with the recommendations of the work group.
   11. In carrying  out  its  functions,  the  work  group  shall  foster
 discussions  among,  and  conduct  formal public hearings with requisite
 public notice to solicit input from, local stakeholders'  interests.  It
 will  conduct  research  and evaluate strategic planning tools and tech-
 niques used in the public sphere that have proven  to  be  effective  in
 S. 8820                             4
 
 soliciting  and incorporating meaningful community input into comparable
 regional plans and meet the requirements described in paragraph  (a)  of
 subdivision ten of this section.
   12.  (a)  The commissioners of the office of mental health, the office
 of addiction services and supports, the department of  health,  and  the
 New  York city department of health and mental hygiene shall designate a
 sufficient number of employees of their offices as are reasonably neces-
 sary to provide support services to the statewide  work  group  and  its
 efforts. The work group may employ additional staff and consultants, who
 shall be paid from amounts available to the work group for that purpose.
   (b)  The  commissioners  of the office of mental health, the office of
 addiction services and supports, the department  of  health,  and  local
 county  health  care  agencies  shall  appoint  representatives of their
 respective offices to serve as a liaison between their offices  and  the
 work  group.  All  state agencies, public authorities and public benefit
 corporations  shall  provide  such  assistance  as  may  be   reasonably
 requested.
   13.  The  work  group's  tasks  shall  be  supported by an independent
 outside consulting firm that  possesses  the  requisite  experience  and
 expertise   in   human-centered  design,  design  thinking,  or  related
 concepts. The firm shall be selected by a  majority  vote  of  the  work
 group  from  a list of three candidates identified through a request for
 proposal process overseen by the department of health.
   14. Deliberations, meetings and other proceedings of the  work  group,
 and any committees thereof, shall be governed by article 7 of the public
 officers  law. Any one or more members of the work group may participate
 in a meeting by means of a conference  telephone,  conference  video  or
 similar  communications  equipment allowing all persons participating in
 the meeting to hear each other at the same time. Participation  by  such
 means  shall constitute presence in person at a meeting. At any meetings
 of the work group conducted by means of a conference telephone,  confer-
 ence  video  or  similar  communications equipment, other than executive
 sessions, the public shall be given an opportunity  to  listen.    If  a
 meeting other than an executive session is to be conducted by means of a
 conference  telephone, conference video or similar communications equip-
 ment, the public notice for the meeting shall  inform  the  public  that
 such  equipment  will be used and identify the means by which the public
 may listen to such meeting.
   15. (a) Upon consideration of factors identified in subdivision ten of
 this section, the work group shall develop recommendations for reform of
 the state's local  mental  health  planning  process  to  ensure  it  is
 informed by consumers and reflective of local needs.
   (b)  The  work group shall transmit a report containing these specific
 recommendations to the governor and the legislature on or before  Novem-
 ber  1,  2025.  The  report  and recommendations shall simultaneously be
 posted on the websites of the office of mental  health,  the  office  of
 addiction  services  and supports, and the department of health, as well
 as distributed to the  public  via  the  same  media  channels  used  to
 announce major program or policy changes, or procurement opportunities.
   16. The work group's annual budget is five million dollars, subject to
 an  appropriation  therefor.  In the furtherance of its duties, the work
 group shall be authorized to expend not more than  the  approved  annual
 budget  for  reasonable and standard consulting and research fees, tech-
 nology devices, travel and lodging, compensation of members eligible  as
 described  in  subdivision  seven  of  this section, and any other items
 S. 8820                             5
 
 considered essential for its work. The work group may make a request for
 additional funding to the office of mental health, as needed.
   17.  The  work  group  shall be authorized and entitled to receive any
 grants offered pursuant to section 54 of the state finance law.
   18. (a) If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision,  section,  or
 part  of  this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdic-
 tion to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair,  or  invali-
 date  the  remainder  thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to
 the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section  or  part  thereof
 directly  involved  in the controversy in which such judgment shall have
 been rendered.
   (b) It is hereby declared to be the intent  of  the  legislature  that
 this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not
 been included herein.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S8820

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Mental Health Committee

co-Sponsors

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8820

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Luis R. Sepúlveda

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Mental Health Committee

co-Sponsors

Shelley B. Mayer

Kevin S. Parker

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S8820 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments