Improving Mental Health Services

Governor Kathy Hochul today recognized May as Mental Health Awareness Month throughout New York, issuing a proclamation and highlighting the unprecedented investments made into strengthening the state’s system of care since she launched her landmark $1 billion mental health initiative in 2023. This funding has resulted in the largest expansion of capacity at state-operated psychiatric centers in years, the availability of more beds at community-based hospitals, and a dramatic expansion of outpatient and prevention services.

“Our historic investments into mental health have dramatically improved our system of care, allowing more New Yorkers to access treatment and positioning our state as a national leader.” Governor Hochul said. “As we recognize the start of Mental Health Awareness Month today, we stand proudly committed to providing services and supports responsive to the needs of all individuals and families throughout our state.”

Governor Hochul’s investments into mental health have resulted in more than $105 million in operating funding and $831 million in capital awards. These investments extend to all facets of the mental health system and include the largest expansion of inpatient capacity in decades, stronger regulations to connect New Yorkers with treatment when they leave inpatient and emergency settings, more outpatient supports to help individuals live safely in their community, thousands of new units of specialized housing dedicated to individuals living with mental illness and sweeping insurance reforms to improve access to care.

Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, “Governor Hochul’s unprecedented investments into mental health over the past three years has created a more effective and accessible system of care statewide, helping more people get the treatment when and where they need it most. Mental Health Awareness Month is an opportunity for us to engage in conversations about mental illness, champion stories of recovery, and help every New Yorker understand that help is available.”

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, OMH is posting a video to social media each week in May to highlight individual stories of recovery from mental illness. The agency also posted a short message to New Yorkers from Commissioner Sullivan, compiled a list of public events taking place statewide to raise mental health awareness and is encouraging all New Yorkers to be mindful of their own mental wellbeing, offering tips for self-care at Be Well, a state-funded website dedicated to improving mental wellness.

Since Governor Hochul took office, New York State has added 875 psychiatric beds, including 550 that were brought back online at community-based hospitals, and 325 — 125 since December — at state-operated psychiatric centers, marking the largest expansion at these facilities in years. In addition, the state has funded 109 new beds now under development at community based hospitals and is preparing to build a new 75-bed Transition to Home unit at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens.

Under Governor Hochul’s direction, the State Office of Mental Health and Department of Health recently adopted new regulations now in effect to ensure individuals needing inpatient and emergency psychiatric care are provided with connections to outpatient care once they are discharged from inpatient and emergency psychiatric care. These regulations standardize admission and discharge criteria, require facilities to schedule follow-up appointments, screen for suicide risk, and coordinate discharge details with care managers.

State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, “Mental health awareness month is an important time to remember that good mental health is a vital component to good physical health. These investments under the leadership of Governor Hochul will give more New Yorkers access to treatment and expanded services at all levels across New York’s health system while reducing stigma surrounding mental health conditions.”

As part of this effort, the state has established 13 new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics statewide, with another 13 expected to be licensed this summer, bringing the total to 39. These clinics provide mental health and substance use disorder services to anyone who walks in the door, regardless of whether they have insurance, and now serve more than 38,000 Medicaid-enrolled New Yorkers.

OMH is also establishing 50 Critical Time Intervention teams in all areas of the state to provide care management services and support to help individuals during transitions in care, such as leaving inpatient settings. With the first 31 now funded, these teams will have the capacity to serve 3,480 New Yorkers.

Governor Hochul’s mental health initiative has also established four new Intensive and Sustained Engagement or INSET teams, which are peer-led and provide support services for individuals with complex mental health needs and who have difficulty connecting with traditional forms of care. Teams are now operating in New York City, the Rochester area, Westchester, and on Long Island, collectively serving more than 300 individuals.

This investment also funded 43 new Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams, with the capacity to provide services to 1,836 individuals living with mental illness within their community rather than a more restrictive hospital setting.

The mental health initiative greatly expanded the Safe Options Support program, which has now helped permanently house more than 1,000 individuals, including 147 in OMH-licensed housing. With the first teams launched in Spring 2022, the SOS program now has 28 teams, including ones canvassing all five boroughs of New York City, both counties on Long Island, and 19 additional counties across the state.

This funding has also helped open 1,296 units of specialized housing, with an additional 2,204 housing units that are under development. The units under development include community residence-single room occupancy units, supportive housing-single room occupancy units and short term transitional residential units.

Under Governor Hochul’s direction, the state has also adopted new regulations to establish network adequacy standards for behavioral health services for insurers. Set to go in effect on July 1, these regulations give commercial and Medicaid managed care plans 10 days to connect New Yorkers with in-network mental health or substance use disorder services, or else allow the individual to access an out-of-network provider at no additional cost.

The mental health initiative has also greatly expanded services for children and youth, establishing more than 1,200 school-based mental health clinic satellites to provide mental health services at school districts statewide. Additionally, the state now funds 30 Youth Assertive Community Treatment teams in 38 counties, providing support for young New Yorkers with serious emotional disturbances who are either at risk of entering or are returning home from an inpatient or residential setting.

As part of Mental Health Awareness Month, Governor Hochul directed that 15 state buildings and landmarks be illuminated in green – the color that has come to symbolize mental health awareness — at dusk tonight, Thursday, May 1. This includes:

• 1WTC
• Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge
• Kosciuszko Bridge
• The H. Carl McCall SUNY Building
• State Education Building
• Alfred E. Smith State Office Building
• Empire State Plaza
• State Fairgrounds – Main Gate & Expo Center
• Niagara Falls
• The “Franklin D. Roosevelt” Mid-Hudson Bridge
• Albany International Airport Gateway
• Lake Placid Olympic Center
• MTA LIRR - East End Gateway at Penn Station
• Fairport Lift Bridge over the Erie Canal
• Moynihan Train Hall