Imposes a duty to protect upon mental health practitioners; requires reasonable efforts to modify aspects of treatment in order to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm, initiating procedures for hospitalization, notifying the intended victim or victims, or notifying law enforcement officials when a person directly communicates a threat of serious, imminent harm to self or against a readily identifiable person or persons, and the threat includes both a serious intent to act and the ability to carry out the threat; does not require a mental health practitioner to take any action which, in the exercise of reasonable professional judgment, would endanger such mental health practitioner or increase the danger to a potential victim or victims.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A994
SPONSOR: Steck TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the protection of
mental health practitioners
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To amend the Mental Hygiene Law to allow mental health practitioners
working in private practice to make efforts to reduce or eliminate the
risk of harm to an individual or individuals where a patient has made a
threat or expressed a desire to harm an individual or individuals.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 9.42 to the Mental Hygiene Law which would
impose a duty on mental health practitioners to make reasonable efforts
to reduce or eliminate the risk of harm where a client directly communi-
cates a threat of serious, imminent harm to self or against an identifi-
able person or persons. Reasonable efforts, for purposes of this stat-
ute, would include modifying the aspects of treatment in order to reduce
or eliminate the risk of harm, initiating procedures for hospitaliza-
tion, notifying the intended victim or victims, or notifying law
enforcement officials. This section also immunizes a mental health prac-
titioner from civil or criminal liability where he or she determines a
need to disclose information that is normally protected by patient or
client confidentiality rules.
Section 2 sets forth an immediate effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Psychologists are often the first to learn about the imminent threat of
harm to a person or group of people, and can serve an important, front-
line function in keeping the public safe. This legislation would provide
psychologists with clear requirements for when and how they must deal
with patients that make a threat of harm to a specific person, while
being protected from liability.
Under current law, psychologists working in programs licensed by the
Office of Mental Health and the Office for Persons with Developmental
Disabilities are subject to this duty to protect where a patient has
conveyed a threat of harm. This legislation would extend that duty to
practitioners in the private sector where a threat includes a serious
intent to act and the patient has the ability to carry out that threat,
making it more likely that a practitioner will take rapid, effective
action to protect the public.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2015-16: A9484- mental health
2017-18: A755A- mental health
2019-20: A4847- mental health
2021/22: A272 -mental health
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to state.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
