§ 41.35 Demonstration programs.

* (a) The commissioners of the offices in the department shall cause
to be developed plans for three or more time-limited demonstration
programs, the purpose of which shall be to test and evaluate new methods
or arrangements for organizing, financing, staffing and providing
services for the mentally disabled in order to determine the
desirability of such methods or arrangements. Subject to regulations
established by the commissioners and notwithstanding section one hundred
sixty-three of the state finance law and section one hundred forty-two
of the economic development law, or any other provision of law, such
programs may include but shall not be limited to comprehensive
organizational structures to serve all mentally disabled persons within
the purview of a local governmental unit, innovative financing and
staffing arrangements and specific programs to serve the mentally
disabled. Such demonstration programs shall be consistent with
established statewide goals and objectives and local comprehensive
plans, shall be developed in conjunction with the local comprehensive
planning process, and shall be submitted to the single agent jointly
designated by the commissioners of the department for review and
approval by the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction of the
services.

* NB Effective until March 31, 2024

* (a) The commissioners of the offices in the department shall cause
to be developed plans for three or more time-limited demonstration
programs, the purpose of which shall be to test and evaluate new methods
or arrangements for organizing, financing, staffing and providing
services for the mentally disabled in order to determine the
desirability of such methods or arrangements. Subject to regulations
established by the commissioners and notwithstanding any other provision
of law, such programs may include but shall not be limited to
comprehensive organizational structures to serve all mentally disabled
persons within the purview of a local governmental unit, innovative
financing and staffing arrangements and specific programs to serve the
mentally disabled. Such demonstration programs shall be consistent with
established statewide goals and objectives and local comprehensive
plans, shall be developed in conjunction with the local comprehensive
planning process, and shall be submitted to the single agent jointly
designated by the commissioners of the department for review and
approval by the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction of the
services.

* NB Effective March 31, 2024

(b) The demonstration programs required to be developed pursuant to
this section shall include at least one single system program for
comprehensive services for all mentally disabled persons or all services
to one or more of the following classes of mentally disabled: persons
with mental illness, a developmental disability; those suffering from
alcohol abuse or alcoholism; or alcoholics, alcohol abusers and
substance abusers. Such comprehensive services provided pursuant to a
single system program shall be provided by a local governmental unit or
group of local government units or an approved non-governmental agent or
a combination of providers of service and a local governmental unit or
units.

(1) A local governmental unit or group of local governmental units may
propose that such unit or units, or a non-governmental agent designated
by such unit or units, or a combination of providers of service and a
local governmental unit assume responsibility for provision of
comprehensive services. A plan embodying such a proposal shall be
submitted to the single agent jointly designated by the commissioners of
the offices of the department in accordance with regulations of the
commissioners. Such a plan shall provide that the local governmental
unit or units or a designated non-governmental agent, or a combination
of providers of service and local governmental unit or units shall be
responsible for the provision of and shall direct the operation of all
facilities and programs or portions thereof serving the class or classes
of mentally disabled in the area for whom the unit or non-governmental
agent proposes to provide comprehensive services.

(2) A proposed plan submitted in accordance with the provisions of
this subdivision shall contain at least the following with respect to
the class or classes of mentally disabled covered by the plan:

A. a commitment to provide necessary comprehensive services for all
residents, regardless of diagnostic category or severity of disability
or ability to pay, subject to availability of funds, of the local
government or local governments submitting such plan throughout the
course of their mental disability.

B. a commitment to provide comprehensive services which shall include,
but not be limited to, preventive services, emergency services, acute,
intermediate and long-term services, including both hospital and
non-hospital based inpatient and outpatient services, day care, night
care and weekend care services, diagnostic and referral services,
residential and non-residential services, vocational, educational and
training programs, staff training, consultive services, necessary
manpower and support services.

C. an assurance that comprehensive services will be provided to all
mentally disabled residents regardless of age, income or area of
residence in all age and population groups, including all such residents
receiving service irrespective of the location and auspices under which
such services are provided at the time of the plan's submission.

D. a statement describing the proposed administrative organization of
the system under which comprehensive services to mentally disabled
residents of the locality or localities are to be provided, including a
description of the respective roles and relationships of all providers,
governmental and non-governmental.

E. an inventory of all public and private resources available to the
class or classes of mentally disabled residents of the local area and a
statement of their responsibilities.

F. a proposed fiscal plan for comprehensive services during the next
local and state fiscal years, which proposed fiscal plan shall include,
but not be limited to, all projected needs; a breakdown of services to
be provided by disability and service category; estimated expenditures
by purpose; estimated revenues by source and amounts, including
estimated local, state and federal government funds; and a comparison of
proposed expenditures and revenues with those of the existing year.

G. a projected utilization rate of services and programs of facilities
of the offices of the department including any planned expansion or
contraction of such services and programs.

H. a plan, developed in consultation with the recognized
representative of employees of the offices of the department, for the
retraining and continuation of employment of persons whose employment in
a program of a facility of an office may be terminated because of
planned contraction of such program, and for the continuation of all
employment-related benefits vested by contract, by state or local law,
or by rule or regulation in the persons employed by the offices in the
department in facilities to be transferred to the control of the local
governmental unit or units or the non-governmental agent of such unit or
units, as long as those persons shall continue to be employed pursuant
to the single system plan or until such employment-related benefits are
modified or superseded pursuant to law or successor agreements.

I. a commitment that all facilities will comply with all applicable
state and federal standards, including accreditation standards and
standards required to be met as a condition for eligibility for federal
funds.

J. a statement of the mechanisms to be utilized in evaluating the
effectiveness of comprehensive services to the mentally disabled and
describing the conditions and procedures under which responsibility for
programs and services of facilities in the offices of the department at
the time of submission of the plan shall revert to the state.

(3) Each commissioner of an office in the department shall review the
portion of the single system plan for comprehensive services to the
mentally disabled over which his office has jurisdiction and approve or
disapprove such portion of the plan. In acting upon such portion of the
plan, each commissioner shall consider whether it offers a reasonable
expectation of improved services to the particular class of the mentally
disabled over which his office has jurisdiction; whether the plan as a
whole assures comprehensive services to mentally disabled persons who
suffer from more than one disability; whether the plan provides for the
efficient use of available funds and existing services; and whether such
plan adequately meets the conditions set forth in paragraph two of this
subdivision.

(4) Each commissioner of an office in the department who has approved
a single system plan is authorized to take such actions as may be
necessary, in accordance with applicable state law, including, but not
limited to, the delegation of administrative responsibility to a
director of community services in order to facilitate the implementation
of the approved single system plan. If a commissioner of an office in
the department and one or more local governmental units mutually agree,
state facilities of such office may, in whole or in part, be used by,
leased, or rented, to such local governmental unit or units, to an
approved non-governmental agent, or to a combination of providers of
service and the local governmental unit or units in accordance with
applicable state law, for operation by or through it pursuant to the
single system plan approved in accordance with the provisions of this
article. Such local governmental unit or units or an approved
non-governmental agent or combination of providers of service and the
local governmental unit or units may lease a facility or facilities from
an office in the department, if the program to be housed in such
facility is part of the single system plan for comprehensive services to
the mentally disabled approved in accordance with the provisions of this
article.

(5) Each commissioner of an office in the department shall conduct
evaluation studies of approved single system plans, or portions thereof,
over which his office has jurisdiction to determine the relative costs
and effectiveness of different types and patterns of services being
provided under such plans. The results of such studies shall be used to
determine standards for statewide program requirements and priorities.

(c) Upon approval of a plan for a demonstration program by a
commissioner or commissioners of the office having jurisdiction over the
services, said commissioner or commissioners shall, in cooperation with
the appropriate representative or representatives of the local
governmental unit or units, prepare for submission to the director of
the budget for inclusion in the executive budget, a request for the
appropriations of funds and authorization for implementation of the
demonstration program.

(d) Quarterly reviews and evaluations of the program shall be
undertaken and a final report shall be developed by representatives of
the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction over the services
and the local governmental unit assessing the program, indicating its
potential for continuation or use elsewhere, and making any further
recommendations related to the program. Copies of such quarterly
evaluations and final reports shall be sent no later than November
fifteenth to the director of the division of the budget, and the
chairmen of the senate finance committee and the assembly committee on
ways and means and such final reports shall be included in the relevant
commissioner or commissioners statewide comprehensive plan pursuant to
section 5.07 of this chapter.

(e) A local governmental unit may file a notice of intent to submit a
single system plan with the single agent jointly designated by the
commissioners of the offices. The commissioner or commissioners having
jurisdiction of the services are authorized to make grants of funds,
from appropriations specifically made for such purpose, to any such
local governmental unit in an amount not to exceed seventy-five
percentum of the local government costs approved by the commissioner and
the director of the budget, of preparing a single system plan; provided,
however, that in the case of a local government receiving state aid at
the rate of seventy-five percent of its approved net operating costs,
such grant of funds may not exceed ninety percent of the approved local
government's costs of preparing the single system plan.