NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A3556
SPONSOR: Santabarbara TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring the
office for people with developmental disabilities to submit an updated
waitlist and placement report to the senate and assembly
PURPOSE:
This bill requires OPWDD to submit a report by January 1st, 2019 to the,
legislature, and update it every six months thereafter, providing
detailed information on the waiting list for out-of-home residential
care and a summary of placement activity relating to persons on the
waiting list for each six months period prior to the submission of the
report.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill creates a new section 13.28 of the mental hygiene
law to require that OPWDD submit a report by January 1, 2021, and update
it every six months thereafter, providing detailed information on the
waiting list for out-of-home residential care and a summary of placement
activity relating to persons on the waiting list for each six month
period prior to the submission of the report. The bill requires that
the report specify placement settings used and note the number and
reasons for those placements that did either failed or for which the
individuals, his/her parent or guardian requested an alternative place-
ment.
The bill requires that the report specify the type of placements
expected to be required to meet the needs of individuals on the waiting
list. It also requires OPWDD to list funding sources used for placement
activity including pertinent cost information. Finally, the bill
requires OPWDD to submit an updated plan every six months for meeting
the needs of persons on the waiting list.
JUSTIFICATION:
The waiting list for persons with intellectual and other developmental
disabilities who require out-of-home residential care continues to be of
great concern. Many persons remaining at home are being cared for by
parents or other caregivers who themselves are acquiring age-related
disabilities. This can be extremely problematic, especially when indi-
viduals with disabilities themselves are aging. In fact, in February
OPWDD's "Task Force on Aging". noted that a total of 27,211 persons with
developmental disabilities over age 30 continue to live at home. Of
these 27,211 people statewide, persons living at home ages 60 to 65
numbered 1,871; ages 70-75 numbered 581; and, age 80 numbered 320.
Currently, it is not clear how many of these individuals require out of
home placement. More importantly, critical information on the exact size
and needs of the statewide waiting list is not readily available making
it impossible for policy makers to plan and budget accordingly. Further-
more, placement activity appears highly sporadic and hard to track.
Placement plans seem as if they are continually changing.Increasingly,
parents who had previously been led to believe that they would have a
placement for their child find that this is no longer true.
This has left thousands of parents and families in a state of enormous
uncertainty and anxiety regarding the status of their child or, loved
one's current or future placement. This bill will give them critical
information. It will also give the Legislature and others with an inter-
est in development policy information critical to enable them to do
their jobs.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: S5809
2018: S 8378 COMRIE Same as A 4364 Ortiz
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3556
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on People with Disabilities
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring the
office for people with developmental disabilities to submit an updated
waitlist and placement report to the senate and assembly
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section
2 13.28 to read as follows:
3 § 13.28 Office for people with developmental disabilities; residential
4 waitlist and placement report.
5 The office shall submit by January first, two thousand twenty-seven,
6 and every six months thereafter, an updated waitlist and placement
7 report to the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the
8 assembly, including the following information:
9 (a) Such waitlist information shall include the statewide number of
10 individuals awaiting placement broken down into the total number of
11 individuals from within each developmental disability services office's
12 geographic area who await residential placement and are expected to
13 require such placement within the next year. Such information shall be
14 grouped by the age of the individual awaiting placement and the age of
15 their caregiver, if any. Such information shall also include:
16 1. the type of placement such individuals are expected to require
17 divided into certified out-of-home, supervised, supportive placement and
18 the number of such persons who are medically frail requiring intensive
19 medical care;
20 2. non-certified residential placement outside of the parent's or
21 parents' or other caregiver's home; and
22 3. the number of individuals expected to require home and community
23 based services waiver-funded habilitation services at-home;
24 (b) Such placement information shall include:
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05605-01-5
A. 3556 2
1 1. the total number of individuals placed within each of the settings
2 listed in paragraphs one, two and three of subdivision (a) of this
3 section during the six months preceding the date of release of the
4 report required pursuant to subdivision (c) of this section; and
5 2. the total number of individuals, who are not included on the wait-
6 list, placed within each of the settings listed in paragraphs one, two
7 and three of subdivision (a) of this section during the six months
8 preceding the date of release of the report required pursuant to subdi-
9 vision (c) of this section, and the reasons for such placements;
10 (c) The commissioner shall report the number of individuals who are
11 currently placed in a residential program, whose current living situ-
12 ation is not adequate to meet their needs and who are awaiting an alter-
13 native placement. These individuals shall be divided according to:
14 1. the number and age of such individuals;
15 2. the settings listed in paragraphs one, two and three of subdivision
16 (a) of this section; and
17 3. the number of children in residential placements expected to age
18 out of such placements within a year and plans for continuing their
19 placements as adults;
20 (d) The number of individuals whose placement failed or who have asked
21 for an alternative placement, either themselves or through their parent
22 or guardian acting on their behalf, over the six month period preceding
23 the date of release of a report, with categorical descriptions of the
24 reasons for such results and any actions taken or planned to remedy such
25 situation;
26 (e) The cost of placements made during the period of such report
27 divided into costs attributable to supervised, supportive, at-home resi-
28 dential placements or other placements;
29 (f) The appropriation authority used to fund placements made during
30 the period of the report, including the year of the original appropri-
31 ation and balance of remaining funds in such appropriation by category
32 such as OPTS, NYS-CARES or other categories;
33 (g) Projected funding requirements for individuals remaining on the
34 waiting list;
35 (h) An updated five year projection of individuals who will require
36 out-of-home residential placement and a five year projection of individ-
37 uals who require additional in-home supports;
38 (i) A plan for meeting the out-of-home residential placement needs
39 shall also be developed and shall specify the type of placements accord-
40 ing to such settings listed in paragraphs one, two and three of subdivi-
41 sion (a) of this section; and
42 (j) Any other information deemed necessary by the commissioner.
43 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
