Establishes residential treatment facilities as an alternative to incarceration designated by the commissioner for the care and treatment of persons with serious mental illness who are accused of at least one felony level crime.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1733
SPONSOR: Weprin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to establishing
residential treatment facilities
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill permits the creation of semi secure treatment facilities as an
Alternative to Incarceration (ATI) in state and local correctional
facilities.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Mental Hygiene Law 7.18. Section 2 is the effective
date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Some people living with untreated serious mental illness commit crimes
but are generally not excused from criminal liability unless they meet
very strict state guidelines for legal incompetency. People with
untreated serious mental illness who are caught up in the criminal
justice system struggle inside of correctional facilities and have a
higher rate of suicide than other incarcerated people. Correctional
Officers also often struggle to manage this population. Correctional
facilities are not oriented toward treatment, nor do they have the
resources to provide round-the-clock mental health staff in many cases.
People living with serious mental illness in a correctional setting also
tend to cost more to incarcerate in part because their average length of
stay in jails such as Rikers, is five times longer than people living
without mental illness.
The Greenburger Center, a private non-profit organization, has developed
an ATI diversion model for people living with serious mental illness
facing felony criminal charges. With Community Board approval, the
Center is prepared to implement the model, called Hope House on Crotona
Park, in the Bronx. Hope House will aim to provide a two-year, volun-
tary, semi-secure treatment program for people with serious mental
illness who have pled guilty to one or more felonies and who could bene-
fit from a rehabilitative treatment program.
According to the Greenburger Center, Hope House on Crotona Park is
anticipated to open in late 2021, and will offer a long-term residential
program (up to one-to-two years of stay)for 8 men and 8 women at one
time who are 18 years and older. The facility will be operated as a
transitional, congregate housing facility offering daily clinical
services and daily and evening therapeutic services with residential and
security staff on site 24 hours a day to provide continuous services and
overnight coverage in a semi-secure, therapeutic environment. To reside
at the facility, an individual would need to voluntarily and knowingly
enter into a plea agreement to reside at the facility for up to two
years and to request the imposition of a nominal bond amount pursuant to
CPL 510.10(5). Preference will be given to veterans when possible. Hope
House will be open to anyone residing in one of New York City's five
boroughs at the time of their arrest with four beds reserved for people
residing in the Bronx at the time of arrest. People accused of a sex
offense are not eligible for admission to the Hope House Crotona Park
North location. Currently, the Mental Hygiene Law does not provide for
licensure of semi-secure residential treatment facilities. Upon enact-
ment of this law, which provides for issuance of such residential treat-
ment licenses by OMH the Greenburger Center and other providers could
obtain a license to provide residential treatment for this population
based on the Hope House model anywhere in the state.
The Greenburger Center has gathered wide-spread support and funding for
this project and ATI model, but has one remaining obstacle. As
mentioned, this bill authorizes OMH to develop a license for the opera-
tion of a semi-secure residential Alternative to Incarceration (ATI)
facility for people living with serious mental illness who are accused
of a felony level crime. Passage of the law would allow service provid-
ers to divert this high cost population from local and state criminal
justice systems, where they are Medicaid ineligible and often receive
inadequate treatment, into a.Medicaid reimbursable treatment program.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None, will save the state money.
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1733
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to establishing
residential treatment facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 7.18 of the mental hygiene law, as added by chapter
2 7 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 7.18 Secure treatment facilities in the office.
4 (a) 1. There shall be in the office secure treatment facilities, as
5 defined in subdivision (o) of section 10.03 of this title, as designated
6 by the commissioner for the care and treatment of dangerous sex offen-
7 ders requiring confinement, as described in article ten of this title.
8 [(b)] 2. Such secure treatment facilities may be created on the former
9 grounds of hospitals operated by the office, but shall be considered
10 separate and distinct facilities and shall not be considered or defined
11 as hospitals.
12 (b) 1. There shall be in the office residential treatment facilities
13 as an alternative to incarceration designated by the commissioner and
14 licensed by the office of mental health for the care and treatment of
15 persons with serious mental illness, as defined in subdivision fifty-two
16 of section 1.03 of this chapter who are also accused of at least one
17 felony level crime. Such facilities may be operated by a public or
18 private non-profit organization as set forth in subdivision (d) of
19 section 7.17 of this article.
20 2. Admission to such facility will require voluntary and informed
21 consent of persons living with such serious mental illness to reside at
22 said facility and to abide by all facility rules including, but not
23 limited to, a voluntary agreement not to leave the facility without
24 wearing a global positioning system device and accompanied by staff,
25 unless otherwise authorized by the facility director. Such informed
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03677-01-5
A. 1733 2
1 consent shall be memorialized in an agreement entered into by the
2 presiding judge in the criminal matter involving such felony level
3 crime, the person living with such serious mental illness alleged to
4 have committed such felony level crime who shall be represented by coun-
5 sel, and the county prosecutor, and shall further require such person
6 living with a serious mental illness to voluntarily and knowingly
7 request the imposition of bail in a nominal amount, pursuant to subdivi-
8 sion five of section 510.10 of the criminal procedure law. To ensure
9 that consent is informed and voluntary, such presiding judge shall
10 appoint counsel if such person with a serious mental illness is not
11 otherwise represented by counsel. Such agreement shall also include an
12 agreement by the prosecuting agency that where such person successfully
13 completes the period of treatment outlined in said agreement such person
14 will not be subject to incarceration for the alleged crimes which were
15 the subject of, or which were agreed to in the agreement or which may be
16 thereafter substituted at the time of sentencing for any alleged crimes
17 related to the alleged incidents which were the subject of said agree-
18 ment.
19 3. Programs operated pursuant to this section shall provide the
20 following as needed: medication management; effective psychiatric and
21 therapeutic treatment in a safe, violence-free environment designed to
22 stabilize the underlying serious mental illness; treatment of any co-oc-
23 curring substance use disorder; and basic care and life skills training
24 related to nutrition, exercise, hygiene and mental and physical health
25 care maintenance.
26 4. Pursuant to subdivision (b) of section 7.15 of this article, the
27 commissioner shall work cooperatively with the commissioner of the
28 office of addiction services and supports to provide for the treatment
29 of co-occurring substance use disorders of residents in semi-secure
30 facilities licensed pursuant to this section.
31 5. On or within thirty days of the effective date of the chapter of
32 the laws of two thousand twenty-five that amended this section, the
33 commissioner shall take reasonably necessary actions to fully implement
34 this section, including but not limited to, promulgating rules, regu-
35 lations or guidelines regarding licensure by the office of mental health
36 of residential alternative to incarceration facilities as set forth in
37 paragraph one of this subdivision. If rules, regulations or guidelines
38 are necessary for licensure, such licensure rules, regulations or guide-
39 lines shall be determined on or within nine months of the effective date
40 of the chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-five that amended this
41 section.
42 6. On or within ninety days of the effective date of the chapter of
43 the laws of two thousand twenty-five that amended this section, the
44 commissioner shall seek federal financial participation in the Federal
45 Medical Assistance Percentage program with regard to the administration
46 and implementation of any program as provided for in paragraph three of
47 this subdivision.
48 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
