Mental Health, Office of

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Agency Web Site: http://www.omh.ny.gov/

Mission

The Office of Mental Health’s (OMH) mission is to promote the mental health of all New Yorkers, with a particular focus on facilitating hope and recovery for adults and children with serious mental illness or emotional disturbances.

Organization and Staffing

The Office of Mental Health (OMH) has a Central Office in Albany, where 905 full time employees (FTEs) work to oversee State Operated and Local Programs. The State Operated Programs support 24 psychiatric facilities which employ 13,295 FTEs. The Local Programs are delivered by a combination of local government and community-based service providers; oversight is provided by OMH's Central Office program and fiscal staff, and by five regional Field Office Directors, who work with local Directors of Community Services, regional program and fiscal staff, and report to the Commissioner.

Budget Highlights

The Executive Budget provides $3.7 billion All Funds appropriations and supports a workforce of 13,847 FTEs. This is an increase of $102 million and a decrease of 353 FTEs from FY 2017, reflecting increased capital authority and the investment in community-based services and reduction in State-operated inpatient services.

The FY 2018 Budget builds on Governor Cuomo’s efforts to expand community services and transition individuals to more appropriate and cost-effective community settings. With investments in community-based services made in FY 2017, OMH has developed new mobile crisis teams, established first episode psychosis programs, provided additional peer support services, and funded the expansion of supported housing units throughout the State. The expansion in community-based capacity since FY 2015 has resulted about 20,000 new individuals receiving services and funded over 1,000 supported housing beds. Since FY 2015, the success of these community investments has resulted in the reduction of over 500 unnecessary, vacant inpatient beds. The Budget continues to improve quality, reduce unnecessary inpatient beds, and expand capacity of services in the community. Specifically, the Budget will:

• Invest $11 Million in Additional Community Services. Building upon the community investments funded in the FY 2017 Enacted Budget, this additional annual investment will be used to expand community services based on regional needs reflecting stakeholder input, and is expected to reduce the need for more costly inpatient beds in FY 2018. Once fully implemented, this additional commitment will bring the total new investments in community services since FY 2015 to $92 million annually.
• Support 280 Additional Community Beds. OMH will develop 280 community-based, scattered site supported housing units in the same geographic area by reconfiguring 140 state-operated residential beds, which are less integrated and more costly to operate. These new units, when provided in tandem with access to other existing community services, will ensure the continued support and care of all individuals transitioning into less restrictive settings while keeping them close to their families.
• Provide $10 Million to Enhance Support for Existing Residential Programs. The Budget increases funds for supported housing and single residence occupancy (SRO) programs. This investment will help preserve access and maintain existing housing capacity as the State brings new housing units online through the Empire State Supported Housing Initiative.
• Redesign Service Dollars Administration. Service Dollars are funds available to meet the service plan needs of OMH clients by supporting a variety of emergency and non-emergency expenses for which there are no other resources. The Executive Budget proposes to standardize the oversight of Service Dollars, thereby ensuring funds are used consistently with OMH spending guidelines. OMH anticipates increased oversight and monitoring of these expenditures will lead to better use of existing funds.
• Transform OMH State-Operated Outpatient Clinics. OMH will review clinic treatment services at all 85 state-operated facilities to reduce any overlap of services and ensure that clinics are operating at optimal patient capacity to address community need. This will allow each facility to redesign its clinic system and maximize its impact on the community it serves. Reductions will be targeted to low-performing facilities, which will enable remaining resources to be directed to clinics with higher productivity and capacity.
• Revamp Hutchings Children & Youth Services. OMH will evaluate and develop a plan to achieve efficiencies for the administration and care of Hutching’s Children and Youth services. The plan is anticipated to involve working closely with an Article 28 hospital that could be utilized to deliver existing OMH services, expand the current bed capacity, and improve the coordination and delivery of medical and mental health services for children in the central New York region.

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For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Mental Hygiene (PDF)

Program Highlights

New York State has a large, multi-faceted, public mental health system that serves more than 700,000 individuals each year. OMH operates psychiatric centers across the State, and also regulates, certifies and oversees more than 4,500 programs, which are operated by local governments and nonprofit agencies. These programs fall into four major categories:

State Operated Services - OMH operates two world-renowned Research Institutes and 22 psychiatric centers that provide 3,800 inpatient beds for Adult, Children and Youth, Forensic, and Sex Offender populations. The agency also runs 85 outpatient clinics, 1,400 residential beds, and a range of community programs in State prison settings. As part of their ongoing transformation efforts, OMH continues to transition individuals with mental illness to more integrated community-based settings. These efforts have allowed OMH to decrease State operated census and workforce over the last five years without compromising clinical care.

Adult Residential Programs - For individuals with mental illness, safe and affordable housing is an essential element of recovery. OMH oversees a large array of adult housing resources and residential habilitation programs in New York State, including congregate treatment, licensed apartments, single room residences, and supported housing. Each residential setting is designed to provide the supports and services necessary for individuals to live in the least restrictive setting possible.

Adult Non-Residential Programs - OMH contracts with local governments and non-profit agencies to provide community-based services and supports for individuals with mental illness. The agency oversees approximately 4,500 outpatient programs, including clinic treatment, crisis intervention, emergency services, advocacy and support, and other community services that promote recovery.

Children and Youth Programs - OMH oversees a variety of programs to support children and youth, and their families, including inpatient programs, residential treatment facilities, and community-based services and supports.

Note: Most recent estimates as of 1/17/2017