SUBJECT:

PURPOSE:

New York City
Friday
June 17, 2005
10:00 AM
Assembly Hearing Room
250 Broadway
Room 1923, 19th Floor

New York State and its local governments have a statutory obligation to provide comprehensive care and treatment to citizens with mental disabilities (Mental Hygiene Law §7.01 and §13.01). It has been nearly 30 years since the State broadly examined the effectiveness of the mental hygiene service delivery system and reorganized the Department of Mental Hygiene. In November 2003, the Assembly Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities formed a task force, comprised of over 50 stakeholders, to examine the current mental hygiene service delivery system and to propose recommendations on restructuring the system. After 15 months of work, the Mental Hygiene Task Force issued a report, "An Evaluation of the Delivery of Mental Hygiene Services in New York State," which provides a catalyst for public discussion on improving the services provided to persons with mental disabilities.

To effectuate a thorough evaluation, four Task Force committees were formed: the Committee on Intergovernmental and Strategic Planning, the Committee on Continuum of Services, the Committee on Underserved Populations, and the Committee on Resources. This hearing will focus on the recommendations provided by two Committees of the Task Force, including the Committee on Continuum of Services, which considered the service delivery constructs that need to be addressed in order to better serve persons with mental disabilities in a consumer and family centered system. Additionally, the hearing will consider the proposals of the Committee on Underserved Populations, which focused on identifying those populations of the State that are in need of both service and care, their respective unmet needs, and the service barriers that hinder the development and provision of appropriate services. A copy of the Task Force report is available online at www.assembly.state.ny.us/comm/Mental/20050303/.

Please see the reverse side for a list of subjects to which witnesses may direct their testimony, and for a description of the bills which will be discussed at the hearing.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes’ duration. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses will be scheduled in the order in which reply forms are postmarked.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee’s interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

SELECTED ISSUES TO WHICH WITNESSES MAY DIRECT THEIR TESTIMONY:

1. Are there specific regulatory barriers that prevent service coordination between state agencies and state and local agencies? What measures could the State implement to improve service coordination? How could improved coordination among human service agencies impact on public resources?

2. The Committee on Continuum of Services recommended incorporating mental health screenings as part of medical visits as one measure to encourage integration between behavioral health and primary health care. What other proposals could lead to the development of improved service integration?

3. Is the Single Point of Access (SPOA) process effective in prioritizing access to services based upon level of need? What have been the unintended consequences, both positive and negative, of the SPOA process?

4. Access to appropriate care is a critical component of the mental hygiene service delivery system. Should the Legislature consider developing a physicians’ extender workforce, such as psychiatric physician assistants and psychiatric nurse practitioners, as a means for increasing the availability of care in certain areas?

5. What funding mechanisms or incentives could the State employ to encourage localities to increase access to behavioral health care?

6. Has the State successfully identified underserved populations and their respective unmet needs?

7. Does the current service delivery system adequately address the needs of the multiply disabled?

8. Does the current system of residential services adequately meet the needs of persons with mental disabilities?

9. The Committee on Underserved Populations included numerous recommendations to address the cultural and linguistic barriers that prevent many individuals from seeking or receiving appropriate mental health services. Given the limited availability of public resources, what measures would most likely reduce those barriers?

10. The Committee on Continuum of Services and the Committee on Underserved Populations proposed numerous recommendations to improve the delivery of mental hygiene services. What specific initiatives would likely foster the most improvements to the current system? Conversely, which recommendations, if any, may not produce the desired outcome?

PUBLIC HEARING REPLY FORM

Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on Restructuring the Delivery of Mental Hygiene Services in New York State are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail it to:

Jennifer Best
Committee Assistant
Assembly Committee on Mental Health, Mental
Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Room 522 Capitol
Albany, New York 12248
Email: bestj@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: (518) 455-4371
Fax: (518) 455-4693

I will address my remarks to the following subjects:

I will require assistance and/or handicapped accessibility information. Please specify the type of assistance required: