Requires the office of temporary and disability assistance, in conjunction with the office of mental health and the office of children and family services, to develop a mental illness training course to be utilized by providers of temporary housing assistance to focus on recognizing signs and symptoms of mental illness.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6523A
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to mental illness
training in temporary housing
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill will establish a training course for homeless shelter profes-
sionals that will provide employees with leading practices for identify-
ing signs of mental illness so that they can connect incoming recipients
with appropriate services.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends article 2-A of the social services law by adding a
new title 3.
Section two establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Homelessness and housing insecurity continue to be significant issues in
New York State, and have been exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19
public health emergency. Research indicates that among the main reasons
for homelessness among single adults are mental illness and addiction.
An increase access to mental health services, including psychiatric
consultations and preventative health care will lead to a reduction in
hospitalizations, allow for emergency intervention through case manage-
ment professionals, increase the possibility for obtaining needed
psychiatric treatment which secures the safety of other shelter users,
and will lead to an overall reduction in shelter re-entry population,
reducing homeless figures.
Those wide ranges of social and psychiatric services are only available
to those who are placed in supportive permanent housing, which restricts
the individual's ability to build long-term stable housing solutions.
Because of this, this bill is crucial for establishing an intake process
that will connect homeless from the beginning with appropriate services.
This bill intends to standardize the training process for shelter intake
professionals that will meditate the issue relating to inappropriate
staff response or handling of individuals with psychiatric disabilities.
It will also further instruct individuals on how to properly identify
the symptoms relating to psychiatric condition, which will greatly
improve the client's ability to receive the needed treatment, reduce the
longevity of shelter use, and more accurately vet those individuals
to-connect there with proper services in a more efficient manner
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6523--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 13, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, DE LOS SANTOS -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Social Services -- reported and referred
to the Committee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to mental illness
training in temporary housing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 2-A of the social services law is amended by adding
2 a new title 3 to read as follows:
3 TITLE 3
4 MENTAL ILLNESS TRAINING IN TEMPORARY HOUSING
5 Section 47. Training to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental
6 illness.
7 § 47. Training to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illness.
8 1. The office of temporary and disability assistance, in conjunction
9 with the office of mental health and the office of children and family
10 services, shall develop a training course to be utilized by providers of
11 temporary housing assistance. Such training course shall focus on iden-
12 tifying best practices to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental
13 illness and providing referrals, as appropriate, to individuals who may
14 be suffering from a mental illness.
15 2. Providers of temporary housing assistance shall include, but are
16 not limited to, a family shelter, a shelter for adults, a hotel, an
17 emergency apartment, a domestic violence shelter, a runaway and homeless
18 youth shelter, or a safe house for refugees operating in the state.
19 3. Such training shall be provided to all employees and volunteers
20 working or volunteering at a provider of temporary housing assistance.
21 4. Providers of temporary housing assistance shall ensure at least one
22 employee or volunteer who provides intake services and has received such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00514-02-4
A. 6523--A 2
1 training is at the facility at all times, when applicable law, regu-
2 lation, code, or operating plan approved by a social services district
3 or the commissioner otherwise requires employees or volunteers to be at
4 the premises.
5 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
