Mental Health, Office of
skip breadcrumbsAgency Web Site: https://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, which oversees State Operated and Local Programs, and the State directly operates 24 psychiatric facilities. 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. The overall workforce is projected to decrease by 446 FTEs to 13,246.
Budget Highlights
The Executive Budget provides $4.4 billion in All Funds appropriations, a net decrease of $31.9 million (less than 1%) from FY 2021, reflecting savings from State Operations efficiencies and service conversions offset by minimum wage increases and continued investment in community-based services.
The Executive Budget builds on Governor Cuomo’s efforts to expand OMH community services and transition individuals to more appropriate and cost-effective community settings. OMH has continued to enhance its service offerings in recent years by expanding supported housing units throughout the State, providing additional peer support services, and developing new services such as mobile crisis teams. Since FY 2015, the expansion in community-based services has resulted in nearly 90,000 previously unserved individuals receiving services and funded over 1,985 additional supported housing beds. The success of these community investments has resulted in the reduction of nearly 750 unnecessary, vacant inpatient beds over the same period.
The Budget continues efforts that improve quality and expand capacity of services in the community. Specifically, the Budget will:
- Establish Crisis Stabilization Centers. The Budget authorizes the launch of Behavioral Health Crisis Stabilization centers. On average, more than 100,000 individuals per year benefit from crisis intervention services. These centers will be open 24/7/365 and accept all admissions without referral, including direct drop-offs by law enforcement and other first responders. This effort will streamline stabilization and reintegration for individuals in crisis.
- Continue Support for Existing Residential Programs. The Budget continues the $20 million investment from FY 2021 for existing community-based residential programs. This investment helps preserve access to housing, a critical component of recovery. Since FY 2015, annual funding to enhance support for these existing housing programs has increased by $70 million.
- Convert Rockland Children’s Psychiatric Center (PC) to a Comprehensive Children’s Center. The FY 2022 Executive Budget includes a plan to develop an innovative, voluntary-operated center for children and youth in need of brief, intensive community-based care, including residential treatment. This will provide much-needed community-based and home-based care for youth in this region.
- Support High-Need Individuals. The Budget provides an additional $9.7 million annually for individuals living in transitional adult homes in New York City who wish to transition to more integrated settings in the community.
- Invest in Infrastructure. The Budget also includes $60 million to maintain and preserve community-based residential facilities that allow people with mental illness to live in the most integrated setting possible. More than 47,000 individuals with serious mental illness live in a residential setting overseen by OMH.
- Create the Office of Addiction and Mental Health Services. To better serve people with addiction and mental illness, the Executive Budget integrates the Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) and OMH into a new Office of Addiction and Mental Health Services (OAMHS). This continues the collaborative work OASAS and OMH have undertaken over the past eight years to better coordinate and ensure access to care for individuals served, including establishing integrated outpatient programs; establishing Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) projects focused on integrating care; and including screening requirements in all settings to ensure addiction and mental health needs are identified and treated or referred for treatment.
- Strengthen Research Activities: In FY 2022, the Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities (IBR) will combine with the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI) as a new Division of Developmental Disabilities Research Program, to strengthen and enhance the State’s research capabilities in brain development and disorders, furthering the work done by both institutions and establishing the State as a world leader in this important area. The research conducted by these institutions not only furthers society’s understanding, but also advances therapies and treatments that improve the quality of life for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mental illness.
- Reduce Local Assistance Payments to Reflect the Fiscal Crisis. As a result of the fiscal crisis caused entirely by the pandemic, OMH non-residential local assistance payments will be reduced by 5 percent. These spending reductions may be restored if the State receives requested Federal COVID relief funds.
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 800,000 individuals each year. OMH operates psychiatric centers across the State, and 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 over 3,370 inpatient beds for Adult, Children and Youth, Forensic, and Sex Offender populations. The agency also runs over 80 outpatient clinics, roughly 1,300 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 not-for-profit agencies to provide community-based services and supports for individuals with mental illness. The agency supports 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.
| Category | Available FY 2021 |
Appropriations Recommended FY 2022 |
Change From FY 2021 |
Reappropriations Recommended FY 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Operations | 2,276,233,000 | 2,217,733,000 | (58,500,000) | 2,738,000 |
| Aid To Localities | 1,651,757,000 | 1,683,367,000 | 31,610,000 | 57,414,500 |
| Capital Projects | 539,472,000 | 534,472,000 | (5,000,000) | 2,374,762,000 |
| Total | 4,467,462,000 | 4,435,572,000 | (31,890,000) | 2,434,914,500 |
| Program | FY 2021 Estimated FTEs 03/31/21 |
FY 2022 Estimated FTEs 03/31/22 |
FTE Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administration and Finance | |||
| General Fund | 265 | 230 | (35) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Internal Service Funds | 10 | 10 | 0 |
| Adult Services | |||
| General Fund | 7,587 | 7,300 | (287) |
| Capital Planning | |||
| Capital Projects Funds - Other | 683 | 683 | 0 |
| Children and Youth Services | |||
| General Fund | 1,393 | 1,275 | (118) |
| Forensic Services | |||
| General Fund | 2,709 | 2,709 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness | |||
| General Fund | 399 | 393 | (6) |
| Secure Treatment | |||
| General Fund | 635 | 635 | 0 |
| Total | 13,692 | 13,246 | (446) |
| Fund Type | Available FY 2021 |
Recommended FY 2022 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Funds | 8,606,000 | 8,606,000 | 0 |
| General Fund | 2,245,035,000 | 2,184,035,000 | (61,000,000) |
| Internal Service Funds | 2,597,000 | 2,597,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 2,513,000 | 5,013,000 | 2,500,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 17,482,000 | 17,482,000 | 0 |
| Total | 2,276,233,000 | 2,217,733,000 | (58,500,000) |
| Program | Available FY 2021 |
Recommended FY 2022 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administration and Finance | |||
| Enterprise Funds | 8,606,000 | 8,606,000 | 0 |
| General Fund | 89,067,000 | 85,369,000 | (3,698,000) |
| Internal Service Funds | 2,597,000 | 2,597,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 2,513,000 | 5,013,000 | 2,500,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 4,402,000 | 4,402,000 | 0 |
| Adult Services | |||
| General Fund | 1,401,105,000 | 1,363,071,000 | (38,034,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 5,850,000 | 5,850,000 | 0 |
| Children and Youth Services | |||
| General Fund | 248,263,000 | 234,652,000 | (13,611,000) |
| Forensic Services | |||
| General Fund | 331,957,000 | 328,901,000 | (3,056,000) |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | |||
| General Fund | 89,742,000 | 87,867,000 | (1,875,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 7,230,000 | 7,230,000 | 0 |
| Secure Treatment | |||
| General Fund | 84,901,000 | 84,175,000 | (726,000) |
| Total | 2,276,233,000 | 2,217,733,000 | (58,500,000) |
| Program | Total | Personal Service Regular (Annual Salaried) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 35,562,000 | (3,398,000) | 34,554,000 | (3,322,000) |
| Adult Services | 685,111,000 | (34,934,000) | 636,176,000 | (33,348,000) |
| Children and Youth Services | 124,888,000 | (12,611,000) | 113,744,000 | (11,708,000) |
| Forensic Services | 194,699,000 | (3,056,000) | 162,820,000 | (3,056,000) |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 46,641,000 | (1,775,000) | 45,717,000 | (1,758,000) |
| Secure Treatment | 46,074,000 | (726,000) | 38,662,000 | (726,000) |
| Total | 1,132,975,000 | (56,500,000) | 1,031,673,000 | (53,918,000) |
| Program | Temporary Service (Nonannual Salaried) |
Holiday/Overtime Pay | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 772,000 | (58,000) | 236,000 | (18,000) |
| Adult Services | 3,643,000 | (118,000) | 45,292,000 | (1,468,000) |
| Children and Youth Services | 2,279,000 | (185,000) | 8,865,000 | (718,000) |
| Forensic Services | 2,396,000 | 0 | 29,483,000 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 76,000 | (1,000) | 848,000 | (16,000) |
| Secure Treatment | 1,000,000 | 0 | 6,412,000 | 0 |
| Total | 10,166,000 | (362,000) | 91,136,000 | (2,220,000) |
| Program | Total | Supplies and Materials | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 49,807,000 | (300,000) | 992,000 | (11,000) |
| Adult Services | 677,960,000 | (3,100,000) | 86,989,000 | (1,302,000) |
| Children and Youth Services | 109,764,000 | (1,000,000) | 12,522,000 | (451,000) |
| Forensic Services | 134,202,000 | 0 | 11,579,000 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 41,226,000 | (100,000) | 3,756,000 | (31,000) |
| Secure Treatment | 38,101,000 | 0 | 4,498,000 | 0 |
| Total | 1,051,060,000 | (4,500,000) | 120,336,000 | (1,795,000) |
| Program | Travel | Contractual Services | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 868,000 | (10,000) | 23,327,000 | (271,000) |
| Adult Services | 2,347,000 | (35,000) | 115,680,000 | (1,731,000) |
| Children and Youth Services | 656,000 | (24,000) | 13,720,000 | (495,000) |
| Forensic Services | 600,000 | 0 | 6,900,000 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 30,000 | 0 | 7,958,000 | (67,000) |
| Secure Treatment | 69,000 | 0 | 1,620,000 | 0 |
| Total | 4,570,000 | (69,000) | 169,205,000 | (2,564,000) |
| Program | Equipment | General State Charges | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 710,000 | (8,000) | 22,788,000 | 0 |
| Adult Services | 2,152,000 | (32,000) | 447,671,000 | 0 |
| Children and Youth Services | 834,000 | (30,000) | 78,182,000 | 0 |
| Forensic Services | 1,000,000 | 0 | 108,767,000 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 298,000 | (2,000) | 27,814,000 | 0 |
| Secure Treatment | 421,000 | 0 | 29,887,000 | 0 |
| Total | 5,415,000 | (72,000) | 715,109,000 | 0 |
| Program | Special Departmental Charges | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 1,122,000 | 0 |
| Adult Services | 23,121,000 | 0 |
| Children and Youth Services | 3,850,000 | 0 |
| Forensic Services | 5,356,000 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 1,370,000 | 0 |
| Secure Treatment | 1,606,000 | 0 |
| Total | 36,425,000 | 0 |
| Program | Total | Personal Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 20,618,000 | 2,500,000 | 4,885,000 | 1,841,000 |
| Adult Services | 5,850,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 7,230,000 | 0 | 1,915,000 | 0 |
| Total | 33,698,000 | 2,500,000 | 6,800,000 | 1,841,000 |
| Program | Nonpersonal Service | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | |
| Administration and Finance | 15,733,000 | 659,000 |
| Adult Services | 5,850,000 | 0 |
| Research in Mental Illness and Developmental Disabilities | 5,315,000 | 0 |
| Total | 26,898,000 | 659,000 |
| Fund Type | Available FY 2021 |
Recommended FY 2022 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | 1,587,556,000 | 1,569,166,000 | (18,390,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 56,421,000 | 106,421,000 | 50,000,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 7,780,000 | 7,780,000 | 0 |
| Total | 1,651,757,000 | 1,683,367,000 | 31,610,000 |
| Program | Available FY 2021 |
Recommended FY 2022 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Services | |||
| General Fund | 1,340,239,000 | 1,323,589,000 | (16,650,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 48,905,000 | 89,525,000 | 40,620,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 7,780,000 | 7,780,000 | 0 |
| Children and Youth Services | |||
| General Fund | 247,317,000 | 245,577,000 | (1,740,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 7,516,000 | 16,896,000 | 9,380,000 |
| Total | 1,651,757,000 | 1,683,367,000 | 31,610,000 |
| Comprehensive Construction Program | Available FY 2021 |
Recommended FY 2022 |
Change | Reappropriations FY 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Community Mental Health Facilities | ||||
| Capital Projects Fund | 6,000,000 | 6,000,000 | 0 | 49,588,000 |
| MH Capital Improvements - Authority Bonds | 65,722,000 | 65,722,000 | 0 | 589,287,000 |
| Executive Direction | ||||
| Capital Projects Fund | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2,445,000 |
| Maintenance and Improvements of Existing Facilities | ||||
| Capital Projects Fund | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,389,000 |
| MH Capital Improvements - Authority Bonds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 147,291,000 |
| Non-Bondable Projects | ||||
| Capital Projects Fund | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | 0 | 6,045,000 |
| State Mental Health Facilities | ||||
| Capital Projects Fund | 91,750,000 | 86,750,000 | (5,000,000) | 146,114,000 |
| MH Capital Improvements - Authority Bonds | 375,000,000 | 375,000,000 | 0 | 1,432,603,000 |
| Total | 539,472,000 | 534,472,000 | (5,000,000) | 2,374,762,000 |
Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/19/2021