Office of Mental Health

The Enacted Budget makes the following changes to the Executive Budget (analysis March 27, 2012):

·        Adds $5 million to the All Funds appropriation, for a total appropriation of $2,046,067,000.  This includes $3.9 million in the Adult Services Program (+ $2.2 million in personal services) and $1.1 million in the Forensic Program (+ $570,000 in personal services).

·        Rejects the Executive proposal to close Kingsboro Psychiatric Center.

·        Amends the Executive proposal to authorize OMH to close, consolidate, reduce, transfer or otherwise redesign services and to implement significant service reductions by authorizing OMH to close, consolidate or merge facilities, in addition allows the reduction of up to 400 beds, including ward closures and conversion of beds to transitional placement programs.  Requires 75 days notice for a facility closure, 45 days notice for a bed reduction. Provides for the reinvestment of funds, to the extent possible, in community based services in the catchment area of the closure/bed reduction.  Provides various factors which need to be considered in determining which hospitals to close. Provides for the transfer of personnel related to a transfer of capacity or function to be accomplished pursuant to Civil Service Law §70.  Sunsets March 31, 2013.

·        Approves the proposal to restructure the New York City Children’s Psychiatric Centers (Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens) into a single appointing authority, the New York City Children’s Center.

·        Amends the Executive proposal to establish pilot programs to restructure educational programs for children and youth by eliminating the pilot programs and directly authorizing the Commissioner to enter into contracts with a local school district or BOCES for special educational services for any youth between the ages of 5 and 21 in an OMH facility. Authorizes the Commissioner of OMH to transfer funds to SED for such contracts and authorizes SED to reimburse local school districts. Requires OMH to report to the Legislature on the number of youth who received services in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years, the projected number of youth in 2014-15, the services received, the cost of such services and proposals for provision of such services. Sunsets June 310, 2015.

·        Approves Executive proposals to amend various provisions of the Sex Offender Treatment Act, but rejects the proposal to privatize the provision of treatment and security services at Secure Treatment Facilities.  Establishes a process for the transfer of sex offenders who currently reside in secure treatment facilities and are found to be disruptive to treatment programming back to the custody of the department of corrections and community supervision until maximum expiration date or until civil confinement determination hearing

·        Approves the creation of joint Behavioral Services Advisory Council and provides for a single statewide comprehensive planning process.

·        Approves the Executive proposal to authorize the Commissioners of the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services waive regulatory requirements or determine that compliance with another agency’s requirements is sufficient.

·        Rejects the proposal to cap reimbursement and executive compensation.  However, the Governor has already issued a similar Executive Order (S6256D/A9056D, Part H

·        Rejects the broad Executive Budget proposal to allow the Executive to have unlimited transfer and interchange authority over all State Operations appropriations. Instead it creates four specific transfer and interchange authorization for State Operation appropriations: OGS/Back Office, Call Center, Information Technology and Alignment/ Oversight of the care of vulnerable persons. In general this authorization allows the Executive to move appropriations between state agencies for these purposes. For additional detail please see page 5 of the Summary of the SFY 2012-13 Enacted Budget memo.

·        OMH has particular interchange authorization for:

o    Alignment Interchange and Transfer Authority which will allow the interchange, transfer, or sub-allocation of any State Operations appropriation for Office of Mental Health, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, the Department of Health, and the Office of Children and Family Services, for the purpose of planning, developing and/or implementing the alignment of (i) conducting criminal background checks, (ii) workforce training, (iii) the coordination of reports, complaints and other relevant information regarding charges of abuse and neglect committed against individuals in the care and charge of such agencies as otherwise authorized by law, (iv) audit of services and (v) certification.

The Assembly recommends the following changes to the Executive Budget (March 10, 2012):

Rejects appropriation language that would provide broad authority to interchange or transfer funds among agencies.  The Senate takes the same action

·        Rejects the suspension of the 12 month notice requirement for closures, authorization of the closure of inpatient capacity, closure of Kingsboro Psychiatric Center and restructuring of the New York City Children’s Psychiatric Centers (Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens) into a single appointing authority, the New York City Children’s Center. The Senate takes the same action (S6256C/A 9056C, Part O) The Senate further requires stakeholder input and legislative approval prior to the implementation of major service reductions that would affect those diagnosed with a mental illness or developmental disability (S6256C, Part O1).

Rejects the authorization of an agreement between OMH and SED to establish pilot programs to run through the 2014-15 school year, requiring local educational systems to provide educational programming for children in OMH facilities.(A 9056C, Part M)  The Senate accepts this proposal but requires the Commissioners of Education and Mental Health to submit a report to the Legislature on the need for additional actions to ensure that children in OMH education programs are receiving educational services comparable to their local school district (S6256, Part M).

·        Rejects all of the Executive’s proposals regarding the treatment of Sex Offenders including the privatization of Sex Offender treatment and security services at OMH Secure Treatment Facilities ($4.8 million is restored in the Adult Services program as maintenance undistributed appropriation which can be used for personal and non-personal services,

A. 9056C, Part P).  The Senate modifies this proposal by only denying the Commissioner of Mental Health the ability to privatize these services. (S6256C, Part P)

Provides a restoration of $1.4 million for personal and non-personal services in the Forensics Services Program to reject a proposal to include local correctional facilities as “appropriate institutions” for incapacitated defendants awaiting trial. The Senate also denies this proposal and restores $1.5 million in non-personal services funding for the Forensics Services Program. (A 9056 Part P, S 6256 Part P)

·        Modifies the Executive proposal to cap administrative expenses and executive compensation for entities that receive state funds to add due process provisions (A.9056C, Part H). The Senate rejects the Executive’s proposal and instead proposes a system would limit executive’s pay to Level I of the federal government's rates of basic pay for the executive schedule and would allow executive compensation to exceed this level under certain circumstances (S6256C Part H)

·        Modifies the Executive proposal to create an integrated Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council to require an annual report to the Legislature (A.9056C, Part N). The Senate modifies the Executive’s recommendation to replace the Mental Health Services Council and the Advisory Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services with a new Behavioral Health Services Council. (S6256C, Part N)

The Senate recommends the following changes to the Executive Budget (March 14, 2012):

·        Makes minor modifications to the Executive’s recommendation to allow the Commissioners of the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Services, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Department of Health to establish joint operating, reporting and construction requirements. (S6256C, Part N, the Assembly accepted the Executive’s proposal).

According to Assembly analysis the Executive Budget includes (analysis February 2, 2012):

·        A $20.9 million increase related to program growth in the SOMTA/forensic program, offset by a decrease of $4,800,000 related to amendments to SOMTA statute which governs the treatment of civilly confined sex offenders and a decrease of $1,400,000 related to amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law related to the treatment of civilly confined sex offenders.

The Executive Budget recommends (analysis January 17, 2012):

·        A FY 2012-13 workforce of 15,660 FTEs, no net change in FTEs from the adjusted FY 2011-12 FTE level. However, the adjusted FTE level for 2011-12 is a decrease of 343 FTEs from the level projected in last year’s Executive Budget, reflecting facility closures that were not accounted for in the 2011-12 Executive Budget’s workforce totals for OMH. 

·        Provides for the closure of Kingsboro and other potential reductions but does not attribute any layoffs to these actions.

·        An All Funds appropriation of $2.04 billion, an increase of $315,000 from FY 2011-12.  The Personal Services appropriation decreases by $5.6 million (-0.5%) from SFY 2011-12.

·        OMH employed an estimated 1,056 employees under consultant contracts in SFY 2011-12 (or approximately 539 FTEs) at a cost of $51.7 million.  It is estimated that 790 consultant employees (or approximately 392 FTEs) will be employed in SFY 2012-13 at an estimated cost of $37.7 million. The expenditures may include more than personal service costs and is inconsistent with Office of State Comptroller data on consultant spending so it is difficult to draw conclusions about the cost per consultant employee.

·        Article VII legislation:

o   Suspends the 12 month notice requirement for closures, and allows the Commissioner the flexibility to reduce inpatient capacity with 30 (for bed reductions) or 60 days (for facility closures) notice and implement other actions including the closure of Kingsboro Psychiatric Center and reinvestment of resources to community services in Brooklyn and inpatient capacity at South Beach PC.  Establishes criteria for bed reductions.  Restructures the New York City Children’s Psychiatric Centers (Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens) into a single appointing authority, the New York City Children’s Center. (Part O)

o   Provides for a combined comprehensive planning process for OMH, OPWDD and OASAS. Creates a Behavioral Health Advisory Council for OMH and OASAS to replace and assume the responsibilities of the existing advisory bodies. (Part N)

o   Authorizes an agreement between OMH and SED to establish pilot programs to run through the 2014-15 school year, requiring local educational systems to provide educational programming for children in OMH facilities. This programming will begin with the 2012-13 school year in New York City and the 2013-14 school year at all other facilities. Authorizes BOCES to provide educational services at OMH hospitals.(Part M)

o   Amends the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act to allow for the provision of treatment and security services at Secure Treatment Facilities by individuals other than employees of OMH or OPWDD.  Allows DOCCS to maintain custody of sex offenders who have not yet found to be in need of civil confinement and encourages participation in treatment.  Provides for biennial examinations and petitions for discharge of sex offenders.  Authorizes parole revocations and criminal penalties for violations of Strict and Intensive Supervision and Treatment. (Part P)

o   Sets caps for reimbursement for administration and executive compensation for the following agencies that operate, license, certify, or fund providers of services: OPWDD, OMH, OASAS, OCFS, OTDA, DOH, SOFA, DCJS, OVS, and SED. Reimbursement for executive compensation is limited to $199,000 per year, with the discretion of the commissioner to adjust this salary but not to exceed Level 1 of the federal government’s Rates of Basic Pay for the Executive Schedule promulgated by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  (Health and Mental Hygiene, Part H)

o   Permits the Commissioners of the Department of Health, the Office of Mental Health, the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities and the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to integrate health and behavioral health services among these agencies.  Authorizes these agencies to waive regulatory requirements or determine that compliance with another agency’s requirements is sufficient.  This bill is intended to facilitate implementation of the Health Homes initiative (Part L)