NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5821

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 03, 2025	referred to mental health

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2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A5484
Current Committee:: Senate Mental Health
Law Section:: Mental Hygiene
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S8820, A9452

2025-S5821 (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.

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5821

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, CEOs, 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 of the work group to include ten
statewide members, four ex office members, and twenty-eight regional
representative members. Requirements for appointments are set forth.
Appointments shall be made within sixty days of the effective date and
that vacancies are to be filled in the same manner as the original
appointments.

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.

The workgroup would be required to transmit a report with recommenda-
tions to the Governor and the Legislature no later than November 1,
2025.

Provides for severability and establishes that if certain provisions are
struck down by a court of competent jurisdictions, 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 timeframe 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 jurisdic-
tions, 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
workforce challenges; and overdose deaths.

Creating a unified planning structure that combines existing county
initiatives with the new Social Care Network entity, a nonprofit whose
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:

S.8820A of 2023-2024: Amended and Recommitted to Mental Health, Print
Number 8820A;

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5821
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 3, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens. SEPULVEDA, MAYER, PARKER -- 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  a  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  ten  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)  two  members shall be appointed by the temporary president of the
 senate, one of which must be a peer or consumer representative;
   (ii) two members shall be appointed by the speaker  of  the  assembly,
 one of which must be a peer or consumer representative;
   (iii)  one  member  shall  be  appointed by the minority leader of the
 senate;
   (iv) one member shall be appointed  by  the  minority  leader  of  the
 assembly; and
   (v) four members shall be appointed by the governor, one of which must
 be a peer or consumer representative.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08463-01-5
 S. 5821                             2

 
   (b)  Ex  officio members. The commissioners of the office of addiction
 services and supports, the office of mental health,  the  department  of
 health,  the  New York city department of health and mental hygiene, and
 the local mental hygiene directors, 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 member candidates shall be selected through a  nominat-
 ing process conducted by ex officio members of the work group in collab-
 oration  with a statewide advocacy group with knowledge and expertise in
 public policy related to enhancing treatment mental health services  and
 promoting recovery, rehabilitation, individual rights and full community
 inclusion.    Regional member candidates must have lived experience as a
 person who is currently or was previously in the shelter system, used or
 using public housing vouchers,  court-involved,  and/or  in  the  public
 health, substance use and mental health systems.
   3.  Appointments  shall  be made within one hundred twenty 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.
 Following  the  nominating process and if necessary, the nominating body
 under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of  subdivision  two  of  this
 section  shall select alternative members that will ensure the inclusion
 and equity targets described herein.
   5. 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;
   (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; and
   (d)  additional  non-voting  members may be added at the discretion of
 the work group.
 S. 5821                             3
 
   6. 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.
   7.  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.
   8. The work group shall be authorized to adopt by-laws for the manage-
 ment and regulation of its affairs.
   9. 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.
   10. 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
 soliciting  and incorporating meaningful community input into comparable
 regional plans and meet the requirements described in paragraph  (a)  of
 subdivision nine of this section.
   11.  (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.
   (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.
   12.  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
 S. 5821                             4
 
 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.
   13.  (a)  Upon consideration of factors identified in subdivision nine
 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,  2026.  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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S5821

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Mental Health Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S5821

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Mental Health Committee

co-Sponsors

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5821 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments