ALBANNY—The state budget, due to be finalized this week, includes a number of policies aimed at addressing the struggling mental health sector. This is the stated policy goal of Democratic leaders this year as New York grapples with labor shortages and post-pandemic repercussions. in the industry.
Gaps in the state’s historically underfunded mental health system have been a priority for Gov. Kathy Hochol and have remained relatively intact through ongoing budget negotiations. It announced a budget framework and touted a $1 billion investment in the sector.
“Today our state’s approach has been reversed and a monumental change has occurred,” said Ho-Chol, pointing to plans for additional psychiatric beds and increased outpatient services.
But advocates for the welfare department said they were disappointed with the state’s investment in the workforce. increase. These workers provide many of the same services as state workforce-operated facilities and are licensed and regulated through state agencies.
Hochul’s original budget proposal included a 2.5% adjustment. But many workers in the mental health sector and other human services industries denounced the proposal, flocking to the Capitol in recent weeks to demand a much loftier target of his 8.5%.
Glenn Liebman, who heads the New York State Mental Health Association, said the final agreement frustrated advocates. He said their original demand was to keep worker funding in line with inflation challenging the maintenance of the workforce.
“We are concerned about their support,” Liebman said of Congress, which had included a much higher COLA in the House of Representatives budget than what was ultimately agreed. It leads to people leaving our system and getting other jobs, why pay people with complex needs when you can go to a job in the service industry and make just as much money with much less pressure? Are you going to stay at work to deal with?”
Proponents also point to potential inequality issues. Women of color make up a large portion of the mental health workforce. COLA provides direct care work through other state agencies that serve the state’s most vulnerable residents, such as those with disabilities and those struggling with substance abuse, such as the Department of Addiction Services and Support, and the Department of Developmental Disabilities. also affect people.
Liebman pointed to some positive developments, including provisions requiring insurance companies to reimburse school-based mental health clinics that provide outpatient treatment to school-aged children.
Some Democrats have also called for a pilot program for the “Daniels Act,” which would allow mental health responders, rather than police, to respond to emergency calls when people are experiencing mental health or substance abuse crises. Welcome to include.
The budget has allocated $10 million to establish a 10-member task force to study the development of legislation. Members will solicit feedback statewide over the next two and a half years before submitting a report to the Governor’s Office with final recommendations on whether to implement the system statewide.
Named after a Rochester man who died during a police encounter in 2020 while he was experiencing a mental health crisis, the law aims to break the country’s dependence on the police for emergency calls. It is intended to This measure has been strengthened in recent weeks by the publicity of incidents involving police during non-emergency calls.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Samra Brooke (D-Rochester), emphasized the law’s relevance to Ho-Chol’s public safety and mental health efforts, highlighting the relationship between people with mental illness and police responders. It is a logical approach to reduce the likelihood of violent interactions between
The budget also calls for another pilot program to study maternal mental health, including postpartum depression and anxiety. Lawmakers have previously drawn attention to the state’s high maternal mortality rate. The State Department of Health ranks mental health as the third leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths.
