Department of Mental Hygiene
Department overview
Formed1927
JurisdictionNew York
Key document

The Department of Mental Hygiene (DMH) is a component of the New York state government composed of three autonomous offices:

These offices are headed up by a commissioner who also serves on a council that performs inter-office coordination.[2] Their regulations are compiled in title 14 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.

Mental health

The majority of the public mental health system is in voluntary outpatient programs, the largest and most used being clinic treatment services.[3] Inpatient care is provided mainly by state psychiatric centers, supplemented by homeless shelters, the general hospital network, and jails.[4] 45–57% of New York mental health consumers use Medicaid, which is the largest single source of funding.[5]

The Office of Mental Health (OMH) is responsible for assuring the development of comprehensive plans, programs, and services in the areas of research, prevention, and care, treatment, rehabilitation, education, and training of the mentally ill.[6] Programs include inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, day care, emergency, and rehabilitative treatments and services.[7] OMH regulates and licenses private mental health services, such private psychiatric centers, clinics, and treatment facilities, including those in hospitals and schools.[citation needed] OMH also regulates residential treatment facilities for children and youth operated by nonprofit corporations.[8][9] The public hospitals in the department are listed below, though there are many other private facilities; the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research are medical research institutes.[10] The state Mental Hygiene Legal Service (MHLS) provides legal representation, advice, and assistance to mentally disabled persons under the care or jurisdiction of state-operated or licensed facilities concerning their admission, retention, care, or treatment.[11][12][13] The New York State Incident Management and Reporting System (NIMRS) is used by providers for reportable incidents.

Bellevue Hospital is sometimes used as a metonym for psychiatric hospitals
Hospital County Region
Greater Binghamton Health Center Broome Southern Tier
Bronx Psychiatric Center Bronx New York City
Buffalo Psychiatric Center Erie Western New York
Capital District Psychiatric Center Albany Capital District
Central New York Psychiatric Center Oneida Mohawk Valley
Creedmoor Psychiatric Center Queens New York City
Elmira Psychiatric Center Chemung Southern Tier
Kingsboro Psychiatric Center Kings New York City
Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center New York New York City
Manhattan Psychiatric Center New York New York City
Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center Orange Mohawk Valley
Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center Oneida Mohawk Valley
Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research Rockland Hudson Valley
New York State Psychiatric Institute New York New York City
Pilgrim Psychiatric Center Suffolk Long Island
Richard H. Hutchings Psychiatric Center Onondaga Central New York
Rochester Psychiatric Center Monroe Finger Lakes
Rockland Psychiatric Center Rockland Hudson Valley
St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center St. Lawrence North Country
South Beach Psychiatric Center Richmond New York City
New York City Children's Center New York City
Rockland Children's Psychiatric Center Rockland Hudson Valley
Sagamore Children's Psychiatric Center Suffolk Long Island
Western New York Children's Psychiatric Center Erie Western New York

OMH provides funding for eligible workforce development initiatives of licensed providers. Funding comes from federal Community Mental Health Services Block Grants and the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages program, more recently from e.g. the CRRSAA and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (COVID-19 stimuli packages), for targeted rate increases and recruitment and retention funds.[14][15] The state FY 2024 budget also included funding for cost-of-living adjustments and expanded loan forgiveness for social workers and technicians.[16] Many essential workers are still earning far below a living wage even after the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] NYSDOL oversees the operation of local WIOA career centers (one-stop centers) that offer a range of employment and training services, including job search assistance, resume writing help, and access to job training programs. The Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council (BHSAC) is responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and evaluating the adequacy of services.[17][18]

Addiction

The Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) provides funding, technical assistance, and oversight to a network of over 1,300 community-based addiction treatment programs, as well as 12 state-operated addiction treatment centers.

History

The department was founded in 1926 with the original name being Office of mental hygiene; as part of a restructuring of the New York state government, and was given responsibility for people diagnosed with mental retardation, mental illness or epilepsy.[19][20][2] Dr. Frederick W. Parsons was appointed the first department commissioner in January, 1927.[21] He was replaced by Dr. William J. Tiffany in 1937, who then resigned in 1943 over an investigation into handling of an outbreak of amoebic dysentery at Creedmoor State Hospital.[22] By 1950, the department had grown into the largest agency of the New York state government, with more than 24,000 employees and an operating cost exceeding a third of the state budget.[23] The state acceded to the Interstate Compact on Mental Health in 1956.

The Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse was transferred from the New York State Department of Health to the Department of Mental Hygiene in 1962.[24] In 1972 the Mental Hygiene Law was revised and reenacted.[25] In 1978, the Department of Mental Hygiene was reorganized into the autonomous Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, and the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD).[26][2] These three offices are headed up by a commissioner who also serves on a council that performs inter-office coordination.[2] In 2010 the OMRDD became the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).[27][28][29] In 2019 the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse became the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).[30][31][32]

Commissioners

DMH

OMH

OPWDD

OASAS

See also

References

  1. ^ Mental Hygiene Law § 5.01
  2. ^ a b c d Ward, Robert B. (2006). New York State government. Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series (2nd ed.). SUNY Press. pp. 328–329. ISBN 1-930912-16-1.
  3. ^ Statewide Comprehensive Plan 2016–2020, pp. 5, 12.
  4. ^ Eide, Stephen (November 2018). Systems Under Strain: Deinstitutionalization in New York State and City (Report). Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. pp. 5, 8, 10, 11–12.
  5. ^ SAMHSA (25 June 2021). "2020 Uniform Reporting System (URS) Table For New York".
  6. ^ Mental Hygiene Law § 7.07
  7. ^ Mental Hygiene Law § 7.15
  8. ^ Mental Hygiene Law § 31.26
  9. ^ NYS Executive Department (31 July 1981), New York State bill jackets - L-1981-CH-0947, New York State Library
  10. ^ Mental Hygiene Law § 7.17
  11. ^ Mental Hygiene Law § 47.01
  12. ^ "An Act to amend the mental hygiene law…". Laws of the State of New York Passed at the Sessions of the Legislature. 208th sess.: III: 3110–3132. 1985. hdl:2027/nyp.33433107706321. ISSN 0892-287X. Chapter 789, enacted 1 August 1985, effective 1 April 1986.
  13. ^ New York State bill jackets - L-1985-CH-0789 (PDF), New York State Library, 1 August 1985
  14. ^ a b "Staffing: Increasing the mental health care workforce in New York State" (PDF). OMH News. No. Winter 2022. NYS Office of Mental Health. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  15. ^ Guidance on Eligible Workforce Funding Activities (Enhanced FMAP) (PDF) (Report). NYS Office of Mental Health. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  16. ^ "Governor Hochul Highlights $1 Billion Plan to Overhaul New York State's Continuum of Mental Health Care" (Press release). Albany, NY: Governor of New York. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  17. ^ 42 U.S.C. § 300x-3
  18. ^ Mental Hygiene Law § 5.06 et seq. Chapter 56, enacted 30 March 2012, effective 26 September 2012. Assembly Bill A9056-D.
  19. ^ "An Act to amend the insanity law…". Laws of the State of New York Passed at the Sessions of the Legislature. 150th sess.: I-II: 981–1082. 1927. hdl:2027/uc1.b4378095. ISSN 0892-287X. Chapter 426, enacted 30 March 1927, effective 30 March 1927. See also L.1909 c.32 and L.1972 c.251.
  20. ^ NYS Executive Department (30 March 1927), New York State bill jackets - L-1927-CH-0426, New York State Library
  21. ^ a b "Frederick W. Parsons—An appreciation". Psychiatric Quarterly. 11 (4): 694–696. 1937. doi:10.1007/BF01562891. S2CID 9924134.
  22. ^ a b Castellani, Paul J. (2005). From snake pits to cash cows: politics and public institutions in New York. SUNY Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-7914-6439-3.
  23. ^ Pressman, Jack D. (2002). Last Resort: Psychosurgery and the Limits of Medicine. Cambridge Studies in the History of Medicine. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52459-8.
  24. ^ Pecorella, Robert F.; Stonecash, Jeffrey M. (2006). Governing New York State (5th ed.). SUNY Press. pp. 335–336. ISBN 0-7914-6691-4.
  25. ^ NYS Executive Department (9 May 1972), New York State bill jackets - L-1972-CH-0251, New York State Library
  26. ^ NYS Executive Department (11 August 1977), New York State bill jackets - L-1977-CH-0978, New York State Library
  27. ^ "Governor Paterson Announces OMRDD to Become Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)" (Press release). Albany, NY: Governor of New York. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  28. ^ L. 2010, c. 168, enacted 13 July 2010. A11197, 2009-2010 legislative session.
  29. ^ Counsel to the Governor (13 July 2010), NYS Bill and Veto Jackets: 2010, Chapter 168, New York State Archives
  30. ^ "NYS OASAS Announces Name Change From the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to the Office of Addiction Services and Supports" (Press release). OASAS. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  31. ^ L. 2019, c. 281, enacted 13 September 2019. A7347, 2019-2020 legislative session.
  32. ^ Counsel to the Governor (13 September 2019), NYS Bill and Veto Jackets: 2019, Chapter 281, New York State Archives
  33. ^ Brooks, Clayton McClure (2008). A legacy of leadership: governors and American history. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-8122-4094-8.
  34. ^ "Newton Bigelow, 87, Mental Health Official". The New York Times. February 9, 1991. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  35. ^ "In memoriam, Paul H. Hoch, M.D.". Psychiatric Quarterly. 39 (1): 140–141. 1965. doi:10.1007/BF01569455. S2CID 20999071.
  36. ^ "Alan D. Miller, M.D., M.P.H.". Psychiatric Quarterly. 40 (1): 394. 1966. doi:10.1007/BF01562768. S2CID 11966048.
  37. ^ Carey, Benedict (October 28, 2006). "Lawrence C. Kolb, 95, Leader In Mental Health Movement". The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  38. ^ "James A. Prevost, 58, Mental Health Leader". The New York Times. June 3, 1993. Retrieved 2011-05-19.
  39. ^ Chira, Susan (11 June 1983). "Cuomo said to choose 2 as mental health chiefs". New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  40. ^ Barbanel, Josh (22 February 1988). "System to treat mental patients is overburdened". New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  41. ^ "Mental Health chief nominated". New York Times. 15 August 1995. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  42. ^ "Michael Hogan". The Action Alliance=. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  43. ^ "About Our Executive Team". Office of Mental Health. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  44. ^ a b c d e f "Milestones in OMRDD's History". Minnesota Department of Administration. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  45. ^ "OMRDD chief quits for new transit job". New York Times. 3 July 2010. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  46. ^ "Mental Health Committee Nominates OPWDD Commissioner". NY Sentate. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  47. ^ a b "Head of NY agency for the disabled resigns". The Saratogian. 4 June 2014. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  48. ^ a b "New York Governor Hochul launching purge of Cuomo officials". New York Times. 25 September 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  49. ^ "Marguerite Saunders Obituary". Albany Times Union. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  50. ^ "Message from the Chair". NYS Assembly. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  51. ^ "Former Commissioner to head national addiction group". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  52. ^ "Arlene González-Sánchez". Schneps Media. 3 December 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2023.
  53. ^ "Meet the Executive Staff". NY Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse. Retrieved February 27, 2023.

Further reading

External links

New York state government departments
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