§ 41.35 Demonstration programs.

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* (a) The commissioners of the offices in the department shall cause to be developed plans for three or more time-limited demonstration programs, the purpose of which shall be to test and evaluate new methods or arrangements for organizing, financing, staffing and providing services for the mentally disabled in order to determine the desirability of such methods or arrangements. Subject to regulations established by the commissioners and notwithstanding § 163 of the state finance law and § 142 of the economic development law, or any other provision of law, such programs may include but shall not be limited to comprehensive organizational structures to serve all mentally disabled persons within the purview of a local governmental unit, innovative financing and staffing arrangements and specific programs to serve the mentally disabled. Such demonstration programs shall be consistent with established statewide goals and objectives and local comprehensive plans, shall be developed in conjunction with the local comprehensive planning process, and shall be submitted to the single agent jointly designated by the commissioners of the department for review and approval by the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction of the services.

* NB Effective until March 31, 2024

* (a) The commissioners of the offices in the department shall cause to be developed plans for three or more time-limited demonstration programs, the purpose of which shall be to test and evaluate new methods or arrangements for organizing, financing, staffing and providing services for the mentally disabled in order to determine the desirability of such methods or arrangements. Subject to regulations established by the commissioners and notwithstanding any other provision of law, such programs may include but shall not be limited to comprehensive organizational structures to serve all mentally disabled persons within the purview of a local governmental unit, innovative financing and staffing arrangements and specific programs to serve the mentally disabled. Such demonstration programs shall be consistent with established statewide goals and objectives and local comprehensive plans, shall be developed in conjunction with the local comprehensive planning process, and shall be submitted to the single agent jointly designated by the commissioners of the department for review and approval by the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction of the services.

* NB Effective March 31, 2024

(b) The demonstration programs required to be developed pursuant to this section shall include at least one single system program for comprehensive services for all mentally disabled persons or all services to one or more of the following classes of mentally disabled: persons with mental illness, a developmental disability; those suffering from alcohol abuse or alcoholism; or alcoholics, alcohol abusers and substance abusers. Such comprehensive services provided pursuant to a single system program shall be provided by a local governmental unit or group of local government units or an approved non-governmental agent or a combination of providers of service and a local governmental unit or units.

(1) A local governmental unit or group of local governmental units may propose that such unit or units, or a non-governmental agent designated by such unit or units, or a combination of providers of service and a local governmental unit assume responsibility for provision of comprehensive services. A plan embodying such a proposal shall be submitted to the single agent jointly designated by the commissioners of the offices of the department in accordance with regulations of the commissioners. Such a plan shall provide that the local governmental unit or units or a designated non-governmental agent, or a combination of providers of service and local governmental unit or units shall be responsible for the provision of and shall direct the operation of all facilities and programs or portions thereof serving the class or classes of mentally disabled in the area for whom the unit or non-governmental agent proposes to provide comprehensive services.

(2) A proposed plan submitted in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision shall contain at least the following with respect to the class or classes of mentally disabled covered by the plan:

A. a commitment to provide necessary comprehensive services for all residents, regardless of diagnostic category or severity of disability or ability to pay, subject to availability of funds, of the local government or local governments submitting such plan throughout the course of their mental disability.

B. a commitment to provide comprehensive services which shall include, but not be limited to, preventive services, emergency services, acute, intermediate and long-term services, including both hospital and non-hospital based inpatient and outpatient services, day care, night care and weekend care services, diagnostic and referral services, residential and non-residential services, vocational, educational and training programs, staff training, consultive services, necessary manpower and support services.

C. an assurance that comprehensive services will be provided to all mentally disabled residents regardless of age, income or area of residence in all age and population groups, including all such residents receiving service irrespective of the location and auspices under which such services are provided at the time of the plan's submission.

D. a statement describing the proposed administrative organization of the system under which comprehensive services to mentally disabled residents of the locality or localities are to be provided, including a description of the respective roles and relationships of all providers, governmental and non-governmental.

E. an inventory of all public and private resources available to the class or classes of mentally disabled residents of the local area and a statement of their responsibilities.

F. a proposed fiscal plan for comprehensive services during the next local and state fiscal years, which proposed fiscal plan shall include, but not be limited to, all projected needs; a breakdown of services to be provided by disability and service category; estimated expenditures by purpose; estimated revenues by source and amounts, including estimated local, state and federal government funds; and a comparison of proposed expenditures and revenues with those of the existing year.

G. a projected utilization rate of services and programs of facilities of the offices of the department including any planned expansion or contraction of such services and programs.

H. a plan, developed in consultation with the recognized representative of employees of the offices of the department, for the retraining and continuation of employment of persons whose employment in a program of a facility of an office may be terminated because of planned contraction of such program, and for the continuation of all employment-related benefits vested by contract, by state or local law, or by rule or regulation in the persons employed by the offices in the department in facilities to be transferred to the control of the local governmental unit or units or the non-governmental agent of such unit or units, as long as those persons shall continue to be employed pursuant to the single system plan or until such employment-related benefits are modified or superseded pursuant to law or successor agreements.

I. a commitment that all facilities will comply with all applicable state and federal standards, including accreditation standards and standards required to be met as a condition for eligibility for federal funds.

J. a statement of the mechanisms to be utilized in evaluating the effectiveness of comprehensive services to the mentally disabled and describing the conditions and procedures under which responsibility for programs and services of facilities in the offices of the department at the time of submission of the plan shall revert to the state.

(3) Each commissioner of an office in the department shall review the portion of the single system plan for comprehensive services to the mentally disabled over which his office has jurisdiction and approve or disapprove such portion of the plan. In acting upon such portion of the plan, each commissioner shall consider whether it offers a reasonable expectation of improved services to the particular class of the mentally disabled over which his office has jurisdiction; whether the plan as a whole assures comprehensive services to mentally disabled persons who suffer from more than one disability; whether the plan provides for the efficient use of available funds and existing services; and whether such plan adequately meets the conditions set forth in paragraph two of this subdivision.

(4) Each commissioner of an office in the department who has approved a single system plan is authorized to take such actions as may be necessary, in accordance with applicable state law, including, but not limited to, the delegation of administrative responsibility to a director of community services in order to facilitate the implementation of the approved single system plan. If a commissioner of an office in the department and one or more local governmental units mutually agree, state facilities of such office may, in whole or in part, be used by, leased, or rented, to such local governmental unit or units, to an approved non-governmental agent, or to a combination of providers of service and the local governmental unit or units in accordance with applicable state law, for operation by or through it pursuant to the single system plan approved in accordance with the provisions of this article. Such local governmental unit or units or an approved non-governmental agent or combination of providers of service and the local governmental unit or units may lease a facility or facilities from an office in the department, if the program to be housed in such facility is part of the single system plan for comprehensive services to the mentally disabled approved in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(5) Each commissioner of an office in the department shall conduct evaluation studies of approved single system plans, or portions thereof, over which his office has jurisdiction to determine the relative costs and effectiveness of different types and patterns of services being provided under such plans. The results of such studies shall be used to determine standards for statewide program requirements and priorities.

(c) Upon approval of a plan for a demonstration program by a commissioner or commissioners of the office having jurisdiction over the services, said commissioner or commissioners shall, in cooperation with the appropriate representative or representatives of the local governmental unit or units, prepare for submission to the director of the budget for inclusion in the executive budget, a request for the appropriations of funds and authorization for implementation of the demonstration program.

(d) Quarterly reviews and evaluations of the program shall be undertaken and a final report shall be developed by representatives of the commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction over the services and the local governmental unit assessing the program, indicating its potential for continuation or use elsewhere, and making any further recommendations related to the program. Copies of such quarterly evaluations and final reports shall be sent no later than November fifteenth to the director of the division of the budget, and the chairmen of the senate finance committee and the assembly committee on ways and means and such final reports shall be included in the relevant commissioner or commissioners statewide comprehensive plan pursuant to section 5.07 of this chapter.

(e) A local governmental unit may file a notice of intent to submit a single system plan with the single agent jointly designated by the commissioners of the offices. The commissioner or commissioners having jurisdiction of the services are authorized to make grants of funds, from appropriations specifically made for such purpose, to any such local governmental unit in an amount not to exceed seventy-five percentum of the local government costs approved by the commissioner and the director of the budget, of preparing a single system plan; provided, however, that in the case of a local government receiving state aid at the rate of seventy-five percent of its approved net operating costs, such grant of funds may not exceed ninety percent of the approved local government's costs of preparing the single system plan.