The Department of Mental Hygiene (DMH) is a component of the New York state government composed of three autonomous offices:
the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) the Office of Mental Health (OMH) the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)
These offices are headed up by a commissioner who also serves on a council that performs inter-office coordination. Their regulations are compiled in title 14 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
Mental health
The majority of the public mental health system is in voluntary outpatient programs, the largest and most used being clinic treatment services. Inpatient care is provided mainly by state psychiatric centers, supplemented by homeless shelters, the general hospital network, and jails. 45–57% of New York mental health consumers use Medicaid, which is the largest single source of funding.
The Office of Mental Health (OMH) is responsible for assuring the development of comprehensive plans, programs, and services in the areas of research, prevention, and care, treatment, rehabilitation, education, and training of the mentally ill. Programs include inpatient, outpatient, partial hospitalization, day care, emergency, and rehabilitative treatments and services. OMH regulates and licenses private mental health services, such private psychiatric centers, clinics, and treatment facilities, including those in hospitals and schools. OMH also regulates residential treatment facilities for children and youth operated by nonprofit corporations. The public hospitals in the department are listed below, though there are many other private facilities; the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research are medical research institutes.
OMH provides funding for eligible workforce development initiatives of licensed providers. Funding comes from federal Community Mental Health Services Block Grants and the enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentages program, more recently from e.g. the CRRSAA and American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (COVID-19 stimuli packages), for targeted rate increases and recruitment and retention funds. The state FY 2024 budget also included funding for cost-of-living adjustments and expanded loan forgiveness for social workers and technicians. Many essential workers are still earning far below a living wage even after the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York State Incident Management and Reporting System (NIMRS) is used by providers for reportable incidents. NYSDOL oversees the operation of local WIOA career centers (one-stop centers) that offer a range of employment and training services, including job search assistance, resume writing help, and access to job training programs.
The Behavioral Health Services Advisory Council (BHSAC) is responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and evaluating the adequacy of services.
Addiction
The Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) provides funding, technical assistance, and oversight to a network of over 1,300 community-based addiction treatment programs, as well as 12 state-operated addiction treatment centers.
History
The department was founded in 1926 with the original name being Office of mental hygiene; as part of a restructuring of the New York state government, and was given responsibility for people diagnosed with mental retardation, mental illness or epilepsy. Dr. Frederick W. Parsons was appointed the first department commissioner in January, 1927. He was replaced by Dr. William J. Tiffany in 1937, who then resigned in 1943 over an investigation into handling of an outbreak of amoebic dysentery at Creedmoor State Hospital. By 1950, the department had grown into the largest agency of the New York state government, with more than 24,000 employees and an operating cost exceeding a third of the state budget. The state acceded to the Interstate Compact on Mental Health in 1956.
The Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse was transferred from the New York State Department of Health to the Department of Mental Hygiene in 1962. In 1972 the Mental Hygiene Law was revised and reenacted. In 1978, the Department of Mental Hygiene was reorganized into the autonomous Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, and the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). These three offices are headed up by a commissioner who also serves on a council that performs inter-office coordination. In 2010 the OMRDD became the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). In 2019 the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse became the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS).