PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
Repeal of Part 815; and addition of new Part 815 to Title 14 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Mental Hygiene Law, sections 19.09(b), 19.20, 19.20-a, 19.40 and 32.02; Executive Law, section 296(15) and (16); Corrections Law, art. 23-A; Civil Service Law, section 50; and Protection of People with Special Needs Act, L. 2012, ch. 501
Finding of necessity for emergency rule:
Preservation of public health, public safety and general welfare.
Specific reasons underlying the finding of necessity:
The immediate adoption of these amendments is necessary for the preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of individuals receiving services.
In December, 2012 Governor Andrew Cuomo signed the Protection of People with Special Needs Act (PPSNA; chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012); the statute created the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs (Justice Center) establishing various protections for vulnerable persons, i.e., a new system for incident management in services operated or certified by OASAS; and new requirements for pre-employment background checks in OASAS certified and operated service providers, persons credentialed by the Office, and applicants for new operating certificates.
The repeal and addition of Part 815 related to Patient Rights, effective June 30, 2013 and subsequently September 25, 2013, is necessary to implement the criminal history background check provisions as this is a new process for OASAS and to make patients aware of additional rights. Additionally, by statute (Mental Hygiene Law sections 19.20 and 19.20-a) requires OASAS, rather than the Justice Center, to conduct reviews of criminal history information and to make recommendations regarding hiring, credentialing and certification.
The promulgation of these regulations is essential to preserve the health, safety and welfare of individuals receiving services within the OASAS treatment system. If OASAS did not promulgate regulations on an emergency basis, the processes for OASAS, its providers and service recipients would not be implemented or would be implemented ineffectively. Further, protections for individuals receiving services would be threatened by the confusion resulting from requirements differing for other agencies covered by the Justice Center.
OASAS was not able to use the regular rulemaking process established by the State Administrative Procedure Act because there was not sufficient time to develop and promulgate regulations within the necessary timeframes.
Subject:
Patient Rights.
Purpose:
To enhance protections for service recipients in the OASAS system.
Substance of emergency rule:
The Proposed Rule would Repeal the current Part 815 and Replace it with a new Part 815. The new Part incorporates amendments related to rights and obligations of patients in OASAS certified programs consistent with statutory requirements, definitions and procedures of the Justice Center, pursuant to the Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012).
The Proposed Rule also makes technical amendments to standardize formatting and language for all Office regulations. Amendments related to the Justice Center include:
Section 815.1 sets forth the background and intent and adds language consistent with statutory requirements, definitions and procedures of the Justice Center, pursuant to the Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012).
§ 815.2 sets forth the statutory authority for the promulgation of the rule by the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (“Office”); adds The Protection of People with Special Needs Act; removes repealed statutes; adds the Vulnerable Persons Central Register in § 492 of the social services law.
§ 815.3 amends applicability of this Part to be consistent with Justice Center statute and regulations.
§ 815.4 adds to “provider requirements” language consistent with statutory requirements, definitions and procedures of the Justice Center, pursuant to the Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012; requires posting of the toll-free hotline to the Vulnerable Persons Central Registry; requires policies and procedures for, and implementation of, training for all “custodians” related to requirements of the Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012) including the Code of Conduct.
§ 815.5 adds language which explicitly requires provider compliance with the amended Patient Rights as a condition of receiving and maintaining an operating certificate to operate an Office service program.
§ 815.10 amends reference to a “strip search” as a reportable incident to be referenced as a “significant incident” pursuant to Justice Center definitions.
A copy of the full text of the regulatory proposal is available on the OASAS website at: http://www.oasas.ny.gov/regs/index.cfm
This notice is intended
to serve only as a notice of emergency adoption. This agency intends to adopt this emergency rule as a permanent rule and will publish a notice of proposed rule making in the State Register at some future date. The emergency rule will expire December 21, 2013.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Sara Osborne, Senior Attorney, NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Svcs. (OASAS), 1450 Western Ave., Albany, NY 12203, (518) 485-2317, email: Sara.Osborne@oasas.ny.gov
Regulatory Impact Statement
1. Statutory Authority:
(a) Protection of People with Special Needs Act, Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012, which added Article 20 to the Executive Law and Article 11 to the Social Services Law as well as amended other laws.
(b) Section 19.09(b) of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the Commissioner to adopt regulations necessary and proper to implement any matter under his or her jurisdiction.
(c) Section 19.20 of the MHL authorizes the Office to receive and review criminal history information related to employees or volunteers of treatment facilities certified, licensed, funded or operated by the Office.
(d) Section 19.20-a of the MHL authorizes the Office to receive and review criminal history information related to persons seeking to be credentialed by the Office or applicants for an operating certificate issued by the Office.
(e) Section 19.40 of the Mental Hygiene Law authorizes the Commissioner to issue operating certificates for the provision of chemical dependence services.
(f) Subdivisions (15) and (16) of Section 296 of the Executive Law identify unlawful discriminatory practices with regard to the employment and the issuance of licenses.
(g) Civil Service Law § 50 authorizes the Department of Civil Service to request criminal history checks for applicants for state employment.
(h) Article 23-A of the Corrections Law provides the factors to be considered concerning a person’s previous criminal convictions in making a determination regarding employment and the issuance of a license.
2. Legislative Objectives:
The legislative objectives are the establishment of comprehensive protections for vulnerable persons against abuse, neglect and other harmful conduct. The Act created a Justice Center with responsibilities for effective incident reporting and investigation systems, fair disciplinary processes, informed and appropriate staff hiring procedures, and strengthened monitoring and oversight systems.
The Justice Center operates a 24/7 hotline for reporting allegations of abuse, neglect and significant incidents in accordance with Chapter 501’s provisions for uniform definitions, mandatory reporting and minimum standards for incident management programs. Working in collaboration with the relevant state oversight agencies, the Justice Center is charged with developing and delivering appropriate training for caregivers, their supervisors and investigators.
A vulnerable persons’ central register contains the names of individuals found to have committed substantiated acts of abuse or neglect using a preponderance of evidence standard. All persons found to have committed such acts have the right to a hearing before an administrative law judge to challenge those findings Persons having committed egregious or repeated acts of abuse or neglect are prohibited from future employment caring for vulnerable persons, and may be subject to criminal prosecution. Less serious acts of misconduct are subject to progressive discipline and retraining. Applicants with criminal records who seek employment serving vulnerable persons will be individually evaluated as to suitability for such positions.
3. Needs and Benefits:
This regulation governs the rights and responsibilities of patients in OASAS certified treatment programs. The regulation incorporates provisions of Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012 to the extent they relate to patients’ rights to report allegations of abuse and neglect or other significant incidents to the Vulnerable Persons Hotline. The requirement for staff, operators, volunteers and contractors, if appropriate, to have completed criminal history information reviews is incorporated as a right of patients to receive treatment in an environment that is therapeutic and free from concerns about harm from staff.
OASAS is proposing to adopt the following regulation because criminal history information reviews conducted on each prospective treatment provider, operator, employee, contractor, or volunteer of treatment facilities certified by the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (“OASAS” or “Office”) who will have the potential for, or may be permitted, regular and substantial unsupervised or unrestricted physical contact with the clients in such treatment facilities and any individual seeking to be credentialed by the Office will be sufficiently screened before such contact with patients, ensuring a safe and therapeutic environment.
The legislation is intended to enable providers of services to persons seeking treatment for substance use disorders to secure appropriate and properly trained individuals to staff their facilities and programs, by verifying criminal history information received for individuals seeking employment or volunteering their services and those credentialed by the Office.
4. Costs:
The Office anticipates no fiscal impact on providers or local governments, job creation or loss, because the Office will subsidize applicants and prospective employees/volunteers in not for profit providers for the cost of fingerprint production.
5. Paperwork:
The proposed regulation will require some additional information to be reported to the agency by applicants for employment or management contractors. To the extent feasible, such reporting shall be made electronically to avoid unnecessary paperwork costs. No additional paperwork will be required as it applies to patients.
6. Local Government Mandates:
To the extent local governments already conduct criminal history information reviews on municipal employees, there are no new local government mandates if a local government was to apply for certification. Municipalities that are program operators will also need to comply with the same rights of their patients as any other certified operator.
7. Duplications:
This proposed rule does not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any State or federal statute or rule.
8. Alternatives:
The Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012) requires the adoption of this proposed regulation.
9. Federal Standards:
These amendments do not conflict with federal standards.
10. Compliance Schedule:
The regulations will be effective on June 30, 2013 and subsequently September 25, 2013 to ensure compliance with Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012.
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
1. Effect of the rule:
OASAS services are provided by programs of varying size in every county in New York State; some counties are also certified service providers. The proposed Rule has been reviewed by OASAS in consideration of its impact on service providers of all sizes and on local governments, whether or not they are certified operators; additionally this regulation has been reviewed by the OASAS Advisory Council which consists of providers and stakeholders of all sizes and municipalities.
2. Compliance requirements:
The proposed regulation implements provisions of The Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012) for the purpose of ensuring persons who receive services from OASAS certified providers are assured of receiving treatment from custodians who have been appropriately trained and screened for any prior abusive behavior. The proposed regulation incorporates provisions from this Act into the OASAS Patient Rights regulation which applies to all programs throughout the state in all geographic locations. Because the regulation applies only to the rights and responsibilities of patients in certified programs, there is no different application in any geographic location.
3. Professional services:
Providers will be required to retain documentation of fingerprint requests for employees, contractors of volunteers they ultimately employ; this will not be a significant additional recordkeeping requirement for personnel records they are already required to retain. Every region of the state has resources for gathering fingerprints, the history information collection is done electronically from a central state or federal database, and communicated electronically, so any additional recordkeeping will be minimal regardless of geographic location. No new professional services are required; no professional services will be lost.
4. Compliance costs:
Because every region of the state has resources for gathering fingerprints, and the history information collection is done electronically from a central state or federal database, smaller providers or municipal providers will not be affected in any way. Many municipalities already conduct criminal history information reviews on prospective employees.
Although providers will be required to retain documentation of fingerprint requests for employees, contractors, or volunteers they ultimately employ, this will not be a significant additional recordkeeping requirement because providers are already required to retain records related to such relationships. No additional professional services will be required of as a result of these amendments; nor will the amendments add to the professional service needs of local governments. Because of the electronic nature of the transactions, minimal paperwork will be involved on the part of business or local governments.
The Office will subsidize applicants for all prospective employees or volunteers of not-for-profit providers, regardless of geographic location; there will be no disparate impact on providers based on location, size of business or municipality.
5. Economic and technological feasibility:
Implementation of the rule will require computer and email capability; all providers in all regions of the state, both private and public sector, already have such capability. No upgrades of hardware or software will be required. Also because every region of the state has resources for gathering fingerprints, and the history information collection is done electronically from a central state or federal database, and increasingly communicated electronically any additional recordkeeping will be minimal regardless of geographic location.
6. Minimizing adverse impact:
The application of the rule will not impose additional costs or operating requirements on providers on local governments or small businesses; therefore, it is designed on its face to minimize adverse impact.
7. Small business and local government participation:
The proposed rule is posted on the agency website; agency review process involves input from trade organizations representing providers in both public and private sectors, of all sizes and in diverse geographic locations. The Office has prepared webinars and guidance documents for provider use and for training of agency administration.
Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
1. Rural areas in which the rule will apply (types and estimated number of rural areas):
OASAS services are provided in every county in New York State. 44 counties have a population less than 200,000: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Columbia, Cortland, Delaware, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Montgomery, Ontario, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Putnam, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, Sullivan, Tioga, Tompkins, Ulster, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates. 9 counties with certain townships have a population density of 150 persons or less per square mile: Albany, Broome, Dutchess, Erie, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga and Orange.
2. Reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance requirements; and professional services:
The proposed regulation implements provisions of The Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012) for the purpose of ensuring persons who receive services from OASAS certified providers are assured of receiving treatment from custodians who have been appropriately trained and screened for any prior abusive behavior. The proposed regulation incorporates provisions from this Act into the OASAS Patient Rights regulation which applies to all programs throughout the state in all geographic locations. Because the regulation applies only to the rights and responsibilities of patients in certified programs, there is no different application in any geographic location.
3. Costs:
No additional costs will be incurred for implementation by providers because no additional capital investment, personnel or equipment is needed. Also, the Office will subsidize the cost of fingerprinting for all applicants for employment in not-for-profit providers; all other applicants will pay for their own processing regardless of geographic.
4. Minimizing adverse impact:
The application of the rule will not impose additional costs or operating requirements on providers in rural areas; therefore, it is designed on its face to minimize adverse impact.
5. Rural area participation:
The proposed rule is posted on the agency website; agency review process involves input from trade organizations representing providers in diverse geographic locations. The Office has prepared webinars and guidance documents for provider use and for training of agency administration.
Job Impact Statement
OASAS is not submitting a Job Impact Statement for these amendments because OASAS does not anticipate a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities.
The proposed regulation implements provisions of The Protection of People with Special Needs Act (Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012) for the purpose of ensuring persons who receive services from OASAS certified providers are assured of receiving treatment from custodians who have been appropriately trained and screened for any prior abusive behavior. This regulation incorporates any relevant provisions into the OASAS Patient Rights regulation.
The proposed regulation will not have an adverse impact on existing jobs or the development of new employment opportunities for New York residents because it is narrowly related to the rights and obligations of patients while they are in OASAS certified programs. It is anticipated that the proposed regulation will not have an adverse impact on existing employees in the field of substance use disorder treatment, nor affect any reduction or increase in the number of positions available in the future.
The proposed regulation does not have an adverse impact on jobs or employment opportunities anywhere in the State, therefore, no region is disproportionately affected by the proposed regulation.
The proposed regulation will have no adverse impact on existing jobs or the development of new employment opportunities. It is not anticipated that the proposed rule will affect the number of persons applying for employment.
