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Directory of Resources
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Legislative
Information pertaining to NYS Legislation (i.e. CLMHD Legislative priorities, Legislative process, bills, regulations, etc.)
Mental Hygiene Law Article 41
This article is designed to enable and encourage local governments to develop in the community preventive, rehabilitative, and treatment services offering continuity of care; to improve and to expand existing community programs for the mentally ill, the mentally retarded and the developmentally disabled, and those suffering from the diseases of alcoholism and substance abuse; to plan for the integration of community and state services and facilities for the mentally disabled; and to cooperate with other local governments and with the state in the provision of joint services and sharing of manpower resources.
Mental Hygiene Law Article 41
Title 14-Department of Mental Hygiene Rules, Codes and Regulations
Mental Hygiene Law Article 41
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Letter in Support of Amending Kendra's Law
The Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors supports A.1116, which would amend section 9.60 of the Mental Hygiene Law (Kendra’s Law) by requiring the State Office of Mental Health to provide a psychiatrist to assist during court proceedings for an Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) order in a county with less than seventy-five thousand persons.
Memorandum of Support-A.1116
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CHIPRA Parity Requirement
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued the following letter on November 4, 2009 to provide general guidance on implementation of section 502 of the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA), Public Law 111-3, which imposes mental health and substance use disorder parity requirements on all Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) State plans under title XXI of the Social Security Act (the Act). This letter also provides preliminary guidance to the extent that mental health and substance use disorder parity requirements apply to State medicaid programs under title XIX of the Act.
CMS Parity Requirement Letter
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Medicaid Regulations
From NYS OMH Counsel's Office 5/15/09:
Beginning in early 2007, CMS issued several regulations that, if implemented, would prove to be troublesome for New York State, and other State Medicaid programs. Four of these proposals are of particular interest to OMH: Clarification of Outpatient Hospital Facility (Including Outpatient Hospital Clinic) Services Definition; Medicaid Payment for Rehabilitation Services; Medicaid Payment for Targeted Case Management Services; and Medicaid Cost Limits to Public Providers. There has been recent administrative action on all of them. (See attachment below).
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Social Work/Mental Health Counselor Licensure Survey Report-May, 2009
In 2005 there was a substantial change in the licensing of Mental Health Professionals and Social Workers in New York. A new Article 163 of the Education Law licensed mental health practitioners. Also at that time Article 154 of the Education Law was amended to change the practice of social work substantially, adding a scope of practice and a hierarchy of the licensed master social worker (LMSW) and a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Both articles generally prohibit anyone from practicing these professions unless they are licensed.
Both Article 163 and 154 established exemptions and alternatives. The law established that certain people do not have to be licensed and included some grandfathering provisions.
While the law was extended in the 2009-2010 NYS Budget until June 30, 2010, the NYS Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors holds that there will be substantial harm to the public mental hygiene system if there is not a permanent exemption. In the absence of an exemption hundreds of social workers will be deemed immediately ineligible to practice, thousands of patients will lose access to treatment, continuity of care will be broken and providers will incur significant cost to replace social workers.
Also below is a PowerPoint presentation given by David Hamilton, Ph.D., LMSW, Executive Secretary for the State Board for Mental Health Practitioners, NYS Education Department Office of the Professions, providing an overview of professional regulations, particularly regulations regarding mental health practice in New York State, as well as a memo from Dr. Hamilton on the subject.
Education for Licensure and Practice as a Mental Health Counselor
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