Greetings and happy new year from all of us at the New York State Office of Mental Health!
My sincerest thanks to all of you, our partners statewide, for the invaluable work you do every day for New Yorkers. Your partnership is critical to our joint mission to provide hope, recovery, and resilience to the communities we all serve.
This is a time for renewal and reflection – a moment to pause and look back on all that has been accomplished over the past year and what challenges lay ahead. As we kick off 2024, it’s also important to recognize the monumental accomplishments we’ve achieved together in the short time that has elapsed since Governor Hochul’s multi-year plan to strengthen our mental health care system was officially adopted in the State Budget last May.
Today, we announced our progress in implementing this plan, providing a summary of the fantastic work that has been undertaken in a short period of time. If you have a moment, please take a moment to read and share with others.
During these past eight months, we’ve issued procurements and made funding awards in numbers that are unprecedented for this agency. These investments will truly transform our system of care from prevention for youth to the needed services for those dealing with the most serious mental health challenges.
As a starting point, we hosted dozens of community engagement sessions statewide and gathered feedback from roughly 1,700 New Yorkers on challenges they face and measures that can be taken to improve the mental health care system. Based on this input, we developed an ambitious schedule to begin aggressively building out this vision to strengthen our mental healthcare system.
I’m pleased to report that we are on track to build out early intervention and youth programs, expand access to all levels of care, and provide employment incentives to grow and strengthen the mental healthcare workforce. In the coming months, we will continue our work to improve insurance coverage for those requiring mental health services, develop additional inpatient and Comprehensive Psychiatric Emergency Program capacity, and help make sure hospital-based frontline practitioners have the information and resources they need to ensure all New Yorkers in crisis receive appropriate inpatient and post-discharge care.
None of this would be possible without the strong partnership that exists between the state and the community. And as we begin this new year, I hope you share my excitement over the impact these services will have for New Yorkers. We have a tremendous opportunity to bridge many of the gaps in services that have existed now for decades and truly have a tremendous impact on the lives of those who need our help the most.
In the months ahead, we look forward to partnering with you as we fully implement the components of this landmark plan. While reaching this point has been exciting, there is still much more work to be done. We look forward to seeing all the components of this plan in place and watching the positive impact each will have toward ensuring all New Yorkers can access the mental healthcare services and supports to live successfully in their community.
As this New Year begins, I look forward to working with all of you and again thank you for your tremendous commitment to the individuals and families we serve. Keep an eye out for more detailed information on the progress we have made in future communications.
We wish you all a healthy, prosperous, and peaceful New Year!
Sincerely,
Ann Sullivan, M.D.
Commissioner