N.Y. MHY Law § 7.01

§ 7.01 Declaration of policy.\n The state of New York and its local governments have a responsibility\nfor the prevention and early detection of mental illness and for the\ncomprehensively planned care, treatment and rehabilitation of their\nmentally ill citizens.\n Therefore, it shall be the policy of the state to conduct research and\nto develop programs which further prevention and early detection of\nmental illness; to develop a comprehensive, integrated system of\ntreatment and rehabilitative services for the mentally ill. Such a\nsystem should include, whenever possible, the provision of necessary\ntreatment services to people in their home communities; it should assure\nthe adequacy and appropriateness of residential arrangements for people\nin need of service; and it should rely upon improved programs of\ninstitutional care only when necessary and appropriate. Further, such a\nsystem should recognize the important therapeutic roles of all\ndisciplines which may contribute to the care or treatment of the\nmentally ill, such as psychology, social work, psychiatric nursing,\nspecial education and other disciplines in the field of mental illness,\nas well as psychiatry and should establish accountability for\nimplementation of the policies of the state with regard to the care and\nrehabilitation of the mentally ill.\n To facilitate the implementation of these policies and to further\nadvance the interests of the mentally ill and their families, a new\nautonomous agency to be known as the office of mental health has been\nestablished by this article. The office and its commissioner shall plan\nand work with local governments, voluntary agencies and all providers\nand consumers of mental health services in order to develop an\neffective, integrated, comprehensive system for the delivery of all\nservices to the mentally ill and to create financing procedures and\nmechanisms to support such a system of services to ensure that mentally\nill persons in need of services receive appropriate care, treatment and\nrehabilitation close to their families and communities. In carrying out\nthese responsibilities, the office and its commissioner shall make full\nuse of existing services in the community including those provided by\nvoluntary organizations.\n