Section 41.55. Community mental health support and workforce reinvestment program

(a) Community mental health support and workforce  reinvestment  funds
  shall be annually allocated by the commissioner based upon the following
  criteria:
    (1)  the efficiency and effectiveness of the use of funding within the
  local governmental unit for the delivery of  services  to  persons  with
  serious  mental  illness  in  order  to  assure  that resources are made
  available to fund mental health services to persons discharged into  the
  community; and
    (2)  other  relevant  factors that require the maintenance of existing
  mental  health  services  and  the  development  of  new  mental  health
  services.
    (b)  Amounts  provided  pursuant to this section shall only be used to
  fund mental health workforce related activities,  including  recruitment
  and  retention  initiatives  and  training  programs,  and other general
  programmatic activities to help ensure a stable  mental  health  system.
  Such  grants  and  other  funds  shall  not  be  used  for capital costs
  associated with the development of community mental health  support  and
  workforce reinvestment services.
    (c)  Prior  to  entering  into contracts for the provision of services
  funded pursuant to subdivision (b) of this section, the office of mental
  health and any  local  governmental  unit  receiving  such  funds  shall
  consider the following:
    (1)  the  service  needs  of  persons  with  serious  mental  illness,
  including children and adolescents with serious emotional  disturbances,
  in  the  geographical  area in which the community mental health support
  and workforce reinvestment program operates;
    (2) the capacity of the program to meet identified service  needs  and
  specified  performance standards related to access, admission, referral,
  and service coordination and delivery;
    (3) the extent to which community mental health support and  workforce
  reinvestment  services  authorized  by  the  contract are consistent and
  integrated with the plan prepared and approved pursuant to section 41.16
  of this article and other applicable provisions of this article; and
    (4) the reliability and capability  of  the  provider,  including  its
  expertise,   prior   experience,  financial  responsibility,  record  of
  adherence to law, record of providing quality  care  and  services,  and
  ability   to  deliver  appropriate  services  in  a  cost-effective  and
  efficient  manner  to  persons  with   serious   mental   illness.   The
  commissioner  is  authorized  to  promulgate  regulations  to  establish
  minimum contractual obligations in accordance  with  the  provisions  of
  this subdivision.
    (d)  The  commissioner is authorized and empowered to make inspections
  and examine records of a local governmental  unit  receiving  state  aid
  under  this  section  or  a  provider  of  services  funded  pursuant to
  subdivision (b) of this section.  Such  examination  shall  include  all
  medical,   service   and  financial  records,  receipts,  disbursements,
  contracts, loans and other moneys relating to the financial operation of
  the provider.
    (e) The amount  of  community  mental  health  support  and  workforce
  reinvestment  funds  for the office of mental health shall be determined
  in the annual budget and  shall  include  the  amount  of  actual  state
  operations  general  fund  appropriation  reductions, including personal
  service  savings  and  other  than  personal  service  savings  directly
  attributed  to each child and adult non-geriatric inpatient bed closure.
  For the purposes of this section a bed shall be considered to be  closed
  upon  the  elimination of funding for such beds in the executive budget.

  The appropriation reductions as a result of inpatient bed closures shall
  be no less than seventy thousand dollars per bed on a full annual basis,
  as annually recommended by the commissioner, subject to the approval  of
  the director of the budget, in the executive budget request prior to the
  fiscal  year  for  which  the  executive  budget is being submitted. The
  commissioner shall report to the governor, the  temporary  president  of
  the  senate and the speaker of the assembly no later than October first,
  two thousand three, and annually thereafter, with an explanation of  the
  methodologies  used  to  calculate  the  per  bed  closure  savings. The
  methodologies shall be developed by the commissioner and the director of
  the budget. In no event shall the full annual value of community  mental
  health  support and workforce reinvestment programs attributable to beds
  closed as a result of net inpatient census  decline  exceed  the  twelve
  month value of the office of mental health state operations general fund
  reductions  resulting from such census decline. Such reinvestment amount
  shall be made available in the same proportion by which  the  office  of
  mental health's state operations general fund appropriations are reduced
  each  year  as  a  result of child and adult non-geriatric inpatient bed
  closures due to census decline.
    (f) Additional  reinvestment  amounts  shall  be  made  available  for
  appropriation in the executive budget based upon state operation general
  fund appropriations directly attributed to the co-location or closure of
  psychiatric  centers  made  pursuant  to  law. Such amount shall be made
  available at the same proportion by which the office  of  mental  health
  state  operations general fund appropriations are reduced each year as a
  result of facility co-locations and closures.
    (g)  The  annual  community  mental  health  support   and   workforce
  reinvestment  appropriation shall reflect the amount of state operations
  general fund appropriation reductions resulting  from  subdivisions  (e)
  and  (f)  of  this  section.  Within any fiscal year where appropriation
  increases are recommended for the community mental  health  support  and
  workforce  reinvestment  program,  insofar as projected inpatient census
  decline or facility co-locations or closures do not occur as  estimated,
  and  state  operations  general  fund  savings  do  not result, then the
  reinvestment appropriations shall be  made  available,  as  needed,  for
  transfer from the office of mental health general fund-aid to localities
  account  to  the  office  of  mental  health general fund-state purposes
  account to pay for any necessary inpatient expenses. The total community
  mental health support and workforce reinvestment appropriation also  may
  include  such  additional  appropriations,  as shall be determined to be
  needed and approved by the legislature, to fund all  the  provisions  of
  this section.
    (h)  The  commissioner  shall  report  to  the governor, the temporary
  president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, no  later  than
  October  first,  two thousand four, and annually thereafter, with a long
  term capital plan for  the  future  uses  of  all  state  mental  health
  facilities,  and  shall include recommendations of the state interagency
  council on mental hygiene property utilization and local  facility  task
  forces  on  future  uses  of  local state-operated hospital property, as
  established  pursuant   to   sections   twenty-two   and   twenty-three,
  respectively,  of  chapter  seven  hundred  twenty-three  of the laws of
  nineteen hundred ninety-three. Such  plan  shall,  consistent  with  the
  provisions  of  section 5.07 of this chapter, include any proposed state
  mental health facility closures or consolidations.  Further,  such  plan
  shall  include  the  amount  of  actual  state  operation  general  fund
  appropriation reductions anticipated to  be  directly  related  to  each
  proposed facility closure or consolidation approved by the legislature.

    (i)  Amounts made available to the community mental health support and
  workforce reinvestment program of the office of mental health  shall  be
  subject  to annual appropriations therefor. Up to fifteen percent of the
  amounts so appropriated shall be made available for  staffing  at  state
  mental  health  facilities  and  at least seven percent of the remaining
  funds may be allocated for state operated community services pursuant to
  this section.
    (j) For purposes of this section, the term "state  operations  general
  fund"  shall  mean  the office of mental health state operations general
  fund  appropriations  before  any  offset  from  the   special   revenue
  funds-other miscellaneous special revenue fund or mental hygiene patient
  income account.
    (k)  No  provision in this section shall create or be deemed to create
  any right, interest or entitlement to services or  funds  that  are  the
  subject  of  this  act,  or  to  any other services or funds, whether to
  individuals,  localities,   providers   or   others,   individually   or
  collectively.
    (l)  The  commissioner  of mental health shall report to the governor,
  the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of  the  assembly,
  no later than October first, two thousand four, and annually thereafter,
  with  a  long-term plan for state employee utilization and their role in
  the provision of an integrated and comprehensive system of treatment and
  rehabilitation for persons with mental illness.
    (m)  All  appropriations  for  community  mental  health  support  and
  workforce  reinvestment  services  shall  be  adjusted  in the following
  fiscal year to reflect the variance  between  the  initial  and  revised
  estimates of census decline.
    * NB Repealed March 31, 2010