§ 7.01 Declaration of policy.

The state of New York and its local governments have a responsibility
for the prevention and early detection of mental illness and for the
comprehensively planned care, treatment and rehabilitation of their
mentally ill citizens.

Therefore, it shall be the policy of the state to conduct research and
to develop programs which further prevention and early detection of
mental illness; to develop a comprehensive, integrated system of
treatment and rehabilitative services for the mentally ill. Such a
system should include, whenever possible, the provision of necessary
treatment services to people in their home communities; it should assure
the adequacy and appropriateness of residential arrangements for people
in need of service; and it should rely upon improved programs of
institutional care only when necessary and appropriate. Further, such a
system should recognize the important therapeutic roles of all
disciplines which may contribute to the care or treatment of the
mentally ill, such as psychology, social work, psychiatric nursing,
special education and other disciplines in the field of mental illness,
as well as psychiatry and should establish accountability for
implementation of the policies of the state with regard to the care and
rehabilitation of the mentally ill.

To facilitate the implementation of these policies and to further
advance the interests of the mentally ill and their families, a new
autonomous agency to be known as the office of mental health has been
established by this article. The office and its commissioner shall plan
and work with local governments, voluntary agencies and all providers
and consumers of mental health services in order to develop an
effective, integrated, comprehensive system for the delivery of all
services to the mentally ill and to create financing procedures and
mechanisms to support such a system of services to ensure that mentally
ill persons in need of services receive appropriate care, treatment and
rehabilitation close to their families and communities. In carrying out
these responsibilities, the office and its commissioner shall make full
use of existing services in the community including those provided by
voluntary organizations.