New York Laws
Article 41 - Local Services
41.55 - Community Mental Health Support and Workforce Reinvestment Program.

(a) Community mental health support and workforce reinvestment funds
shall be annually allocated by the commissioner based upon the following
criteria:
(1) the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of funding within the
local governmental unit for the delivery of services to persons with
serious mental illness in order to assure that resources are made
available to fund mental health services to persons discharged into the
community; and
(2) other relevant factors that require the maintenance of existing
mental health services and the development of new mental health
services.
(b) Amounts provided pursuant to this section shall only be used to
fund mental health workforce related activities, including recruitment
and retention initiatives and training programs, and other general
programmatic activities to help ensure a stable mental health system.
Such grants and other funds shall not be used for capital costs
associated with the development of community mental health support and
workforce reinvestment services.
(c) Prior to entering into contracts for the provision of services
funded pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, the office of mental
health and any local governmental unit receiving such funds shall
consider the following:
(1) the service needs of persons with serious mental illness,
including children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances,
in the geographical area in which the community mental health support
and workforce reinvestment program operates;
(2) the capacity of the program to meet identified service needs and
specified performance standards related to access, admission, referral,
and service coordination and delivery;
(3) the extent to which community mental health support and workforce
reinvestment services authorized by the contract are consistent and
integrated with the plan prepared and approved pursuant to section 41.16
of this article and other applicable provisions of this article; and
(4) the reliability and capability of the provider, including its
expertise, prior experience, financial responsibility, record of
adherence to law, record of providing quality care and services, and
ability to deliver appropriate services in a cost-effective and
efficient manner to persons with serious mental illness. The
commissioner is authorized to promulgate regulations to establish
minimum contractual obligations in accordance with the provisions of
this subdivision.
(d) The commissioner is authorized and empowered to make inspections
and examine records of a local governmental unit receiving state aid
under this section or a provider of services funded pursuant to
subdivision (b) of this section. Such examination shall include all
medical, service and financial records, receipts, disbursements,
contracts, loans and other moneys relating to the financial operation of
the provider.
(e) The amount of community mental health support and workforce
reinvestment funds for the office of mental health shall be determined
in the annual budget and shall include the amount of actual state
operations general fund appropriation reductions, including personal
service savings and other than personal service savings directly
attributed to each child and adult non-geriatric inpatient bed closure.
For the purposes of this section a bed shall be considered to be closed
upon the elimination of funding for such beds in the executive budget.

The appropriation reductions as a result of inpatient bed closures shall
be no less than one hundred ten thousand dollars per bed on a full
annual basis, as annually recommended by the commissioner, subject to
the approval of the director of the budget, in the executive budget
request prior to the fiscal year for which the executive budget is being
submitted. The methodologies used to calculate the per bed closure
savings shall be developed by the commissioner and the director of the
budget. In no event shall the full annual value of community mental
health support and workforce reinvestment programs attributable to beds
closed as a result of net inpatient census decline exceed the twelve
month value of the office of mental health state operations general fund
reductions resulting from such census decline. Such reinvestment amount
shall be made available in the same proportion by which the office of
mental health's state operations general fund appropriations are reduced
each year as a result of child and adult non-geriatric inpatient bed
closures due to census decline.
(f) Additional reinvestment amounts shall be made available for
appropriation in the executive budget based upon state operation general
fund appropriations directly attributed to the co-location or closure of
psychiatric centers made pursuant to law. Such amount shall be made
available at the same proportion by which the office of mental health
state operations general fund appropriations are reduced each year as a
result of facility co-locations and closures.
(g) The annual community mental health support and workforce
reinvestment appropriation shall reflect the amount of state operations
general fund appropriation reductions resulting from subdivisions (e)
and (f) of this section. Within any fiscal year where appropriation
increases are recommended for the community mental health support and
workforce reinvestment program, insofar as projected inpatient census
decline or facility co-locations or closures do not occur as estimated,
and state operations general fund savings do not result, then the
reinvestment appropriations shall be made available, as needed, for
transfer from the office of mental health general fund-aid to localities
account to the office of mental health general fund-state purposes
account to pay for any necessary inpatient expenses. The total community
mental health support and workforce reinvestment appropriation also may
include such additional appropriations, as shall be determined to be
needed and approved by the legislature, to fund all the provisions of
this section.
(h) Amounts made available to the community mental health support and
workforce reinvestment program of the office of mental health shall be
subject to annual appropriations therefor. Up to fifteen percent of the
amounts so appropriated shall be made available for staffing at state
mental health facilities and at least seven percent of the remaining
funds may be allocated for state operated community services pursuant to
this section.
(i) For purposes of this section, the term "state operations general
fund" shall mean the office of mental health state operations general
fund appropriations before any offset from the special revenue
funds-other miscellaneous special revenue fund or mental hygiene patient
income account.
(j) No provision in this section shall create or be deemed to create
any right, interest or entitlement to services or funds that are the
subject of this act, or to any other services or funds, whether to
individuals, localities, providers or others, individually or
collectively.
(k) All appropriations for community mental health support and
workforce reinvestment services shall be adjusted in the following

fiscal year to reflect the variance between the initial and revised
estimates of census decline.
* NB Repealed March 31, 2024

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