New York Laws
Article 13 - Office for People With Developmental Disabilities
13.21 - Directors of State Operations Offices and Developmental Disabilities Regional Offices in the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities.

(a) The directors of both the state operations offices and
developmental disabilities regional offices in the office for people
with developmental disabilities shall be appointed by the commissioner.
Each such director shall be in the non-competitive class and designated
as confidential as defined by subdivision two-a of section forty-two of
the civil service law and shall serve at the pleasure of the
commissioner. He or she shall in exercising his or her appointing
authority take, consistent with article twenty-three-A of the correction
law, all reasonable and necessary steps to insure that any such person
so appointed has not previously engaged in any act in violation of any
law which indicates a propensity to act in a manner that would
compromise the health and safety of patients in the facility of which he
or she is director. He or she shall manage the state operations office
or developmental disabilities regional office and administer its
personnel system subject to applicable law, the regulations of the
commissioner, and the rules of the state civil service commission. The
directors of the developmental disabilities regional offices and state
operations offices shall maintain effective supervision of all parts of
their respective offices. The directors of state operations offices
shall generally provide for the administration of supports and services
to individuals with developmental disabilities in state operated
programs. Directors of regional offices shall generally oversee the
administration of supports and services to individuals with
developmental disabilities in settings outside the state operated
programs.
(b) Such directors shall have the responsibility of seeing that there
is humane treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities
receiving services in settings operated, licensed, certified, funded or
approved by this office and shall investigate, or cause to be
investigated, every reportable incident in accordance with article
eleven of the social services law. Also in accordance with article
eleven of the social services law, the director shall require
allegations of reportable incidents to be reported to the vulnerable
persons' central register, which shall screen and immediately forward
reports that appear to allege crimes to the appropriate law enforcement
agency. The vulnerable persons' central register shall notify
immediately, and in any event within three working days, the board of
visitors of the facility and the mental hygiene legal service located in
the same judicial department as the state operations office of every
complaint of patient abuse or mistreatment and shall inform the board
and the mental hygiene legal service of the results of his or her
investigation.
(c) In any investigation into the treatment and care of individuals
with developmental disabilities or the conduct, performance, or neglect
of duty of officers or employees, the commissioner or his or her
designee shall be authorized to subpoena witnesses, compel their
attendance, administer oaths to witnesses, examine witnesses under oath,
and require the production of any books or papers deemed relevant to the
inquiry or investigation. A subpoena issued under this section shall be
regulated by the civil practice law and rules.
(d) The director of a state operations office shall be responsible for
the provision of state operated community developmental disabilities
services in those areas that the commissioner may assign. Such
responsibility shall, consistent with article forty-one of this chapter,
include the operation of state operated facilities and the development

of needed facilities. The director of a developmental disabilities
regional office shall be responsible for the provision of community
developmental disabilities services to individuals in settings other
than state operated programs. Such regional director's responsibility
shall, consistent with article forty-one of this chapter, include the
oversight of facilities and programs other than those operated by the
state.
(e) Each state operations director of the office shall, upon notice
from the commissioner or upon knowledge that programs of such facility
may be contracted or terminated, implement procedures to ensure timely
notification to affected employees. Such procedures shall include, but
not be limited to:
(1) dissemination and posting of all decisions, policies and
procedures with respect to all aspects of such actions and their impact
on facility staff; and
(2) compliance with all requirements and protection of employee rights
pursuant to collective bargaining agreements with the designated legal
representative of the employees and the civil service law.