Section 7.01. Declaration of policy

The  state of New York and its local governments have a responsibility
  for the prevention and early detection of mental  illness  and  for  the
  comprehensively  planned  care,  treatment  and  rehabilitation of their
  mentally ill citizens.
    Therefore, it shall be the policy of the state to conduct research and
  to develop programs which further  prevention  and  early  detection  of
  mental  illness;  to  develop  a  comprehensive,  integrated  system  of
  treatment and rehabilitative services  for  the  mentally  ill.  Such  a
  system  should  include,  whenever  possible, the provision of necessary
  treatment services to people in their home communities; it should assure
  the adequacy and appropriateness of residential arrangements for  people
  in  need  of  service;  and  it  should  rely  upon improved programs of
  institutional care only when necessary and appropriate. Further, such  a
  system   should   recognize  the  important  therapeutic  roles  of  all
  disciplines which may  contribute  to  the  care  or  treatment  of  the
  mentally  ill,  such  as  psychology,  social work, psychiatric nursing,
  special education and other disciplines in the field of mental  illness,
  as   well   as   psychiatry  and  should  establish  accountability  for
  implementation of the policies of the state with regard to the care  and
  rehabilitation of the mentally ill.
    To  facilitate  the  implementation  of  these policies and to further
  advance the interests of the mentally ill  and  their  families,  a  new
  autonomous  agency  to  be known as the office of mental health has been
  established by this article. The office and its commissioner shall  plan
  and  work  with  local governments, voluntary agencies and all providers
  and  consumers  of  mental  health  services  in  order  to  develop  an
  effective,  integrated,  comprehensive  system  for  the delivery of all
  services to the mentally ill and  to  create  financing  procedures  and
  mechanisms  to support such a system of services to ensure that mentally
  ill persons in need of services receive appropriate care, treatment  and
  rehabilitation  close to their families and communities. In carrying out
  these responsibilities, the office and its commissioner shall make  full
  use  of  existing  services in the community including those provided by
  voluntary organizations.