A New York State budget agreement will be reached in the next day or so. Opposition to a particular amendment to Kendra’s Law that was proposed by Governor Hochul has outraged advocates and allies….see attached around what and why!
PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW! https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-the-legislature-to-protect-the-rights-of-new-yorkers-with-mental-illnesses
Kendra’s Law Changes Still Being Debated In Albany. Here’s What May Change.
By Shannon Young Politico April 6, 2022
Despite Albany lawmakers’ recent progress toward reaching a public safety budget deal, mental health advocates are raising concerns about one of the proposed changes to Kendra’s Law, which created a framework for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment.
Key context: Harvey Rosenthal, CEO of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, told POLITICO that he and other advocates accept much of the language being negotiated when it comes to the law — including a five-year extension, virtual testimony for court orders and even information sharing changes. But he argued that a proposal that could allow individuals to be put back on a court order after six months should be stripped from the final budget.
What they said: “Even if somebody has satisfied the conditions of the order — done whatever the order required — and at the end of that six-month period they were released from that order, the state is asking for the ability to put that person back on an order at a much lower standard than harm,” he said in an interview.
“For example, they’ve thrown in language like ‘an increase in symptoms,’ which is very vague. And they’ve even thrown in language around ‘life activities,’ which is so broad it could mean almost anything.”
He called proposed language “a tremendous constitutional overreach,” arguing that it could jeopardize many New Yorkers’ freedom and should therefore be removed.
Where things stand: Rosenthal said his group is not fighting lawmakers on the extension or allowing psychiatrists to testify via video conference to defend their recommended court orders. The data sharing language, he said, is “more complicated, but we think we’ve modified that down.”
Rosenthal said he believes the Assembly and Senate “have been listening,” but that the issue remains up to leaders at the budget negotiating table as an agreement is now days past the March 31 deadline.
“It all comes down to the six months: That’s where the battle ends,” he said. “We’re only fighting on that front.”
A Senate source confirmed that the six-month language was holding up budget talks.
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Lawmakers Are Expected To Be Briefed Wednesday Evening On The Latest Developments
By Dennis Slattery NY Daily News April 6, 2022
Hochul’s proposed expansion to Kendra’s Law, which allows court-ordered mental health treatment, and other mental health-related changes were the main sticking points late Wednesday, according to sources.
..Advocates fear the potential expansion could be disastrous for New Yorkers struggling with mental health issues, and many believe there are better ways to address mental health and homelessness in the state.
The New York Association for Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services and the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest warned earlier this week that the changes proposed by Hochul would grant judges “the power to have people taken to hospitals for assessment and possible involuntary admission to psychiatric wards in response to unadjudicated allegations and without due process protections.”
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens) also slammed the proposals as ineffective and inefficient.
“Giving any government the right to lock up people with diagnosed or presumed mental illness, is one of the most dangerous red flags in human history,” he said in calling on his colleagues to reject the expansions. “We are better than this.”
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Kendra’s Law Expansion Remains A Final Hurdle In New York State Budget
By Nick Reisman Spectrum News April 6, 2022
…The effort to expand and extend the law was part of a broader package of proposals by Gov. Kathy Hochul to combat concerns over rising violent crime in New York — heightened after the death of a woman, Michelle Go, when she was pushed in front of a subway train.
Advocates, including Harvey Rosenthal of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, have opposed the law being extended to include provisions for court-ordered treatment.
“We again urge rejection of this provision of Kendra’s Law amendments under consideration that would permit a restoration of a court treatment order for standards that are far below the initial intent and language of the bill, which largely referred to some form of harm or dangerousness,” the group said in a statement.
Some lawmakers, including Democratic state Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, are worried the expansion of the law will have unintended consequences for vulnerable people.
“The concern that we’ve raised is that the mechanism that the governor has proposed might actually make things worse rather than better, will not help the people who are being confined and will not actually reduce the crime problem,” Abinanti said.
Abinanti is worried people on the autism spectrum could be mistaken for someone facing a mental health crisis and be swept up in the process.
“We don’t want people with autism to be mistaken for someone with a mental illness, thrown into a system and get lose,” he said. “It’s very difficult to get someone out of a mental institution and with our courts back logged, it’s very easy for people to just get lost.”
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No Deal Yet On New York Budget, 6 Days After Deadline
By Maria Villanueva Associated Press April 6, 2022
Another issue that remains unsettled: whether New York should make it easier to allow mental health professionals to seek longer involuntary hospital stays for people with mental illness who might be a danger to themselves or others.
Sen. Diane Savino, a Democrat of Queens, and Sen. George Borrello, a Republican from western New York, are sponsoring such legislation and say the existing 72-hour hospitalization period isn’t enough to stabilize patients.
But critics say such proposals violate the constitutional rights of people facing mental distress who fare better with community-based programs. New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services CEO Harvey Rosenthal, said he and others with mental illness are more likely to be victims of violence: “We’ve had a couple of high profile incidents and it’s really just unleashed a torrent of lock ’em up, sweep-them-away approaches, and it’s really reprehensible.”