N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law § 9.51

§ 9.51 Residential treatment facilities for children and youth;\n admissions.\n (a) The director of a residential treatment facility for children and\nyouth may receive as a patient a person in need of care and treatment in\nsuch a facility who has been certified as needing such care by the\npre-admission certification committee serving the facility and in\naccordance with priorities for admission established by such committee,\nas provided by this section. Subject to the provisions of this section,\nthe provisions of this article shall apply to admission and retention of\npatients to residential treatment facilities for children and youth.\n (b) Persons admitted as in-patients to hospitals operated by the\noffice of mental health upon the application of the director of the\ndivision for youth pursuant to section five hundred nine of the\nexecutive law or 353.4 of the family court act who are not subject to a\nrestrictive placement pursuant to section 353.5 of the family court act,\nmay, if appropriate, and subject to the provisions of subdivision (d) of\nthis section, be transferred to a residential treatment facility for\nchildren and youth. The director of the division for youth shall be\nnotified of any such transfer. When appropriate, the director of the\nresidential treatment facility may arrange the return of a patient so\ntransferred to the hospital or the transfer of a patient to another\nhospital or, in accordance with subdivision four of section five hundred\nnine of the executive law, to the division for youth.\n (c) The commissioner shall designate pre-admission certification\ncommittees for defined geographic areas to evaluate each person proposed\nfor admission or transfer to a residential treatment facility for\nchildren and youth. When designating persons to serve on pre-admission\ncertification committees, the commissioners shall assure that the\ninterests of the people residing in the area to be served by each\ncommittee are represented. Such committees shall include a person\ndesignated by the office of mental health, a person designated by the\nstate commissioner of social services and a person designated by the\nstate commissioner of education. The commissioner of mental health shall\nconsult with the conference of local mental hygiene directors and the\ncommissioner of social services shall consult with county commissioners\nof social services in the area to be served by a committee prior to\ndesignating persons to serve on a committee. The commissioners may\ndesignate persons who are not state employees to serve on pre-admission\ncertification committees. Membership of pre-admission certification\ncommittees shall be limited to persons licensed in accordance with the\neducation law to practice medicine, nursing, psychology, or licensed\nclinical social work. In the event the persons originally designated to\na committee by the commissioners do not include a physician, the\ncommissioner shall designate a physician to serve as an additional\nmember of the committee. Each pre-admission certification committee\nshall designate five persons representing local governments, voluntary\nagencies, parents and other interested persons who shall serve as an\nadvisory board to the committee. Such board shall have the right to\nvisit residential treatment facilities for children and youth served by\nthe committee and shall have the right to review clinical records\nobtained by the pre-admission certification committee and shall be bound\nby the confidentiality requirements of section 33.13 of this chapter.\n (d) All applications for admission or transfer of an individual to a\nresidential treatment facility for children and youth shall be referred\nto a pre-admission certification committee for evaluation of the needs\nof the individual and certification of the individual's need for\ntreatment in a residential treatment facility for children and youth.\nApplications shall include an assessment of the individual's\npsychiatric, medical and social needs prepared in accordance with a\nuniform assessment method specified by the regulations of the\ncommissioner. The committee may at its discretion refer an applicant to\na hospital or other facility operated or licensed by the office for an\nadditional assessment. In the event of such an additional assessment of\nthe individual's needs, the facility conducting the assessment shall\nattempt to receive all third party insurance or federal reimbursement\navailable as payment for the assessment. The state shall pay the balance\nof the fees which may be charged by the provider in accordance with\napplicable provisions of law. In addition, if necessary, in accordance\nwith section four thousand five of the education law, the pre-admission\ncertification committee shall obtain an evaluation of the educational\nneeds of the child by the committee on special education of the school\ndistrict of residence. The pre-admission certification committee shall\nreview all requests for evaluation and certification within thirty days\nof receipt of a complete application and any additional assessments it\nmay require and, using a uniform assessment method specified by\nregulation of the commissioner, evaluate the psychiatric, medical and\nsocial needs of the proposed admittee and certify: (i) the individual's\nneed for services in a residential treatment facility for children and\nyouth and (ii) the immediacy of that need, given the availability of\nsuch services in the area and the needs of other children evaluated by\nthe committee and certified as eligible for admission to a residential\ntreatment facility for children and youth who have not yet been admitted\nto such a facility. A pre-admission certification committee shall not\ncertify an individual for admission unless it finds that:\n (1) Available ambulatory care resources and other residential\nplacements do not meet the treatment needs of the individual;\n (2) Proper treatment of the individual's psychiatric condition\nrequires in-patient care and treatment under the direction of a\nphysician; and\n (3) Care and treatment in a residential treatment facility for\nchildren and youth can reasonably be expected to improve the\nindividual's condition or prevent further regression so that services\nwill no longer be needed, provided that a poor prognosis shall not in\nitself constitute grounds for a denial of certification if treatment can\nbe expected to effect a change in prognosis. All decisions of the\ncommittee to recommend admission or priority of admission shall be based\non the unanimous vote of those present. The decision of the committee\nshall be reported to the applicant. In the event a committee evaluates a\nchild who is the subject of a proceeding currently pending in the family\ncourt, the committee shall report its decision to the family court.\n No residential treatment facility for children and youth shall admit a\nperson who has not been certified as suitable for such admission by the\nappropriate pre-admission certification committee. Residential treatment\nfacilities shall admit children in accordance with priorities for\nadmission of children most immediately in need of such services\nestablished by the pre-admission certification committee serving the\nfacility in accordance with standards established by the commissioner.\n (e) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, no government\nagency shall make payments pursuant to title nineteen of the federal\nsocial security act or articles five and six of the social services law\nto a residential treatment facility for children and youth for service\nto a person whose need for care and treatment in such a facility was not\ncertified pursuant to this section.\n (f) No person shall be admitted to a residential treatment facility\nfor children and youth who has a mental illness which presents a\nlikelihood of serious harm to others; "likelihood of serious harm" shall\nmean a substantial risk of physical harm to other persons as manifested\nby recent homicidal or other violent behavior by which others are placed\nin reasonable fear of serious physical harm.\n (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, pre-admission\ncertification committees shall be entitled to review clinical records\nmaintained by any person or entity which pertain to an individual on\nwhose behalf an application is made for admission to a residential\ntreatment facility for children and youth. Any clinical records received\nby a pre-admission certification committee and all assessments submitted\nto the committee shall be kept confidential in accordance with the\nprovisions of section 33.13 of the mental hygiene law, provided,\nhowever, that the commissioner may have access to and receive copies of\nsuch records for the purpose of evaluating the operation and\neffectiveness of the committee.\n Confidentiality of clinical records of treatment of a person in a\nresidential treatment facility for children and youth shall be\nmaintained as required in section 33.13 of this chapter. That portion of\nthe clinical record maintained by a residential treatment facility for\nchildren and youth operated by an authorized agency specifically related\nto medical care and treatment shall not be considered part of the record\nrequired to be maintained by such authorized agency pursuant to section\nthree hundred seventy-two of the social services law and shall not be\ndiscoverable in a proceeding under section three hundred fifty-eight-a\nof the social services law or article ten-A of the family court act\nexcept upon order of the family court; provided, however, that all other\ninformation required by a local social services district or the office\nof children and family services for purposes of sections three hundred\nfifty-eight-a, four hundred nine-e and four hundred nine-f of the social\nservices law and article ten-A of the family court act shall be\nfurnished on request, and the confidentiality of such information shall\nbe safeguarded as provided in section four hundred sixty-e of the social\nservices law.\n