Alliance Note: The next Daniel’s Law Task Force Meeting will be this Wednesday, July 24th, from 11am to 1pm and will be streamed live. We encourage everyone to view the meeting where the Task Force members will begin discussing the input from the community and start their efforts to submit recommendations to the state. There is still time to submit testimony to the Task Force through the NYSTEC surveys and an online public comment form. See below for more information on these opportunities, including links to the NYSTEC surveys and details on Wednesday’s Task Force meeting.
Submit Public Comment to Daniel’s Law Task Force
The Daniel’s Law Task Force and the State of New York, they are looking to gather information on crisis services from people who have experienced a behavioral health crisis or supported another person through one. The Daniel’s Law Task Force was established to identify potential operational and financial needs to support trauma-informed, community and public health-based crisis responses for anyone in the state experiencing a mental health, alcohol use, and/or substance use crisis. You can learn more about Daniel’s Law here.
NYSTEC, an independent (non-state) consulting company, is coordinating the distribution and analysis of three surveys for people with lived experience with crisis support services, we’re sharing three surveys to gather information on crisis services from 1) people who have experienced a behavioral health crisis, 2) people who supported another person through one, and 3) organizations working to improve crisis responses. One survey is from the perspective of someone who experienced a behavioral health crisis, and the other survey is from the perspective of someone who supported another through a crisis. Input is also requested from people who experienced a behavioral health crisis but chose to manage the crisis on their own without contacting crisis services. The information gathered from the surveys will be aggregated and shared with the Task Force to inform their final report and recommendations.
Please complete the survey by July 31, 2024, and share it with others in your who are willing to help shape how we respond to people in crisis in New York State.
Links to the Surveys
- Person who experienced the behavioral health crisis: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WithLivedExperience
- Person who supported another through a behavioral health crisis: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SocialSupports
Advocacy, Legal, Community, and Professional Organizations: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DLTFResearch
| James Plastiras Director of Public Information New York State Office of Mental Health 518-474-6540 james.plastiras@omh.ny.gov July 18, 2024 |
| NEW YORK STATE ANNOUNCES DANIEL’S LAW TASK FORCE MEETING Task Force Members to Discuss Input Gathered Over the Past Year During Meeting on Wednesday, July 24 |
| The Daniel’s Law Task Force will conduct a meeting from 11 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24. The meeting will be streamed live and will provide an opportunity for task force members to begin synthesizing the information gathered since their inaugural meeting in August 2023. NYSTEC, the consulting firm retained by the task force, will provide members with findings from their research to inform that conversation. Additional information about the meeting and the task force is available on its website. Established in response to the death of 41-year-old Daniel Prude in 2020, the task force is charged with developing recommendations to guide behavioral health crisis response and explore avenues for related diversion services. Following its inaugural meeting last summer, the task force has hosted several stakeholder listening sessions and has continued gathering comments from participants. Last month, the task force reviewed presentations from the New York City Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health, along with other city departments, including the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the New York City Fire Department. In May, the task force heard a presentation from the Gerstein Crisis Centre in Toronto that could be used in developing a crisis response system. Additionally, the task force has conducted several virtual listening sessions, which have provided an opportunity for members to hear directly from New Yorkers about their views on enhancing behavioral health crisis responses. These sessions have also provided and to solicit the best practices for engaging individuals in crisis, with a specific emphasis on equity. In-person listening sessions were conducted at the state University of New York at Stony Brook on Jan. 11, at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan on Jan. 18, and at the Central Library of Rochester and Monroe County on May 8. Virtual listening sessions were also conducted in November and April. “The task force appreciates the tremendous input received from stakeholders across the state,” Office of Mental Health Commissioner and task force Chair Dr. Ann Sullivan said. “We look forward to working together to identify approaches that will best serve New York’s communities.” |