Testimony on Regional Centers of Excellence

Presented Before: New York State Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Chair, Senator Carlucci & New York State Committee on Chair, Senator Hannon & New York State Assembly Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Chair, Assemblymember Gunther

September 9, 2013 Albany, NY

Testimony Presented by Legislative and Political Action Department

1 CSEA welcomes the opportunity to discuss Governor Cuomos plan to reconfigure mental health services. It is apparent that the Governors intent is to devastate needed mental health services across the state, to leave the communities with no state support, and to economically cripple communities further by imposing financial burdens on families and local taxpayers. There is no evidence that the Regional Centers of Excellence plan will meet the needs of real people and communities. Too many individuals and families have been left without the help they need and all this plan does is exacerbate the problem. I am here today to express our strong disappointment with regard to this plan and ask for your help in beating back a proposal embraced by Governor Cuomo that will devastate New Yorks ability to treat the mentally ill. The Office of Mental Health (OMH) released a three year plan that will reduce the number of state psychiatric centers and shift treatment to community-based programs. Under the Plan, OMH will shift from long term inpatient treatment provided at over 24 hospitals to 15 Regional Centers of Excellence. This proposal would close and merge various inpatient programs without bringing up community programs in a reasonable geographic proximity to where families live. The Cuomo administration is purposely misleading the public about the impact of this policy by packaging this proposal with a nice sounding name without providing any real detail about how services will be provided or supported. For the past 20 years, the State of New York has been reducing access to mental health services. Years ago, CSEA was strongly supportive of the Community Reinvestment Act to ensure those who need mental health services would have reliable access to quality care in the event of a state institution closing. The law intended to protect existing programs and bring up new services where they are needed. Unfortunately this never happened and the state has never fulfilled its promises, thus shortchanging community mental health. There is now a lack of intervention and overall community mental health options available. At the same time, there is absolutely no evidence that the Regional Centers of Excellence plan will meet the needs of real people in the communities. This plan is just another example of empty promises. Without any real detail or any dedicated source of funds, its impossible to put any faith in the administrations claim that this proposal will make things better. Access to long term inpatient care has eroded over the last twenty years resulting in treatment for the mentally ill being

2 provided in state prisons and county jails. Local taxpayers will continue to foot the bill for the states failure to ensure appropriate services in what amounts to an unfunded mandate. There has never been available community resources for the mentally ill and under this plan, there never will be. The States lack of commitment to the mentally ill has turned our county jails into county psychiatric centers. This has become the new treatment model for the mentally ill. County jails are expanding rapidly to keep up with mental health inmates at the expense of local property taxpayers. That means the burden is on local government taxpayers while the State walks away with the promise of community services that never materialize. By some estimates, more than half the inmates in county jails and correctional facilities have some form of mental illness. Many of these individuals wouldnt even be incarcerated if they could get the help and care they need in their community. The state has emptied out the state psychiatric centers but has failed to follow the individuals who leave these institutions to ensure appropriate and needed services are available. If the past two decades of mental health reinvestment are any indication of the commitment to community reinvestment of these services, there will surely be no new services established in our communities. Ignoring the reality of seriously ill people in need of intensive help ending up on the street or in county jails at local taxpayer expense because the state has shirked its responsibility and no other appropriate care is available is not making things better. The people of New York would be far better served by an actual plan detailing how service gaps will be addressed community by community. This plan must include a recognition of the States obligation to provide appropriate long term and intensive care for people with serious and persistent mental illness. Perhaps the most disturbing part of the Regional Centers of Excellence plan is that Governor Cuomo would consolidate childrens services far from home. Forcing families to travel long distances to other communities for access to care isnt a step forward. CSEA feels that it is disingenuous for this administration to allow youths who have committed serious crimes to be sent Close to Home for treatment, yet those in need of mental health services have to be shipped all over the state. People who need mental health services must have access to services in close proximity to where they live. We need a blueprint, not press releases and sound bites, for building a new, modern mental health care system that will ensure access for all of New Yorks citizens who need it.

3 In addition, this mental health plan is further eroding the financial health of our local communities by shedding middle class jobs and forcing families to leave their communities, small businesses to close their doors and contributing to the decline of financial vitality in our communities. The spiral of declining economies continues in this state under this administrations empty promises and failed strategies. We cannot ignore the economic impact that these public sector job losses have had and continue to have on small businesses throughout the state. Governor Cuomos insistence on gutting the state workforce has impeded the ability of local governments to rebound financially from the Great Recession and has negatively impacted the quality of service people receive. Removing any money from the economy is hurtful to our communities and our struggling localities. It is apparent that this plan is not a well thought out model for delivering mental health services but rather a continuation of a budget policy with misplaced priorities. Despite the fact that our communities are continuing to lose good middle-class jobs and the State is expected to have a budget deficit of $1.7 billion, this administration will still push for a tax cut next year that will result in less services to the most vulnerable and less revenue in the community. This Legislature should not stand by and let this happen. In closing, CSEA is well aware of the Governors unilateral authority in determining what state services will be provided but we ask you to stand and fight with us for our communities who face the lack of services and increasing burden of unfunded mandates. The budget presents opportunities for negotiations and for all of our elected officials to take a stand for their communities. We can either take the route presented, which would further eliminate any semblance of the services all New Yorkers rely on or we can embrace our commitment to good jobs with good wages and benefits. I strongly urge you to examine the impact that Governor Cuomos Regional Centers of Excellence plan will have on the communities you represent and the state as a whole. This is not the time to walk away from our commitments to our most vulnerable populations. To allow a decrease of these services without a definitive plan in place is irresponsible in light of past promises made but not kept.