The New York State Assembly and Senate have each released their One House budgets which will serve as their starting point for negotiations with the Governor for the final budget. The legislature’s proposals offered a mixed bag of provisions for the people who use services for mental health, substance use, and trauma related challenges. While many of The Alliance’s priorities, which hundreds of our members came to fight for last week were included in the budgets, items such as the proposed 3.2% Cost-of-Living Adjustment need tweaks to satisfy what the field needs.
Thank you to everyone who has joined our advocacy efforts to date, including our regional forums and last week’s Legislative Day! We are calling on your continued support in advocating for our priorities as we near the finish line for the budget. Continue to monitor this email for ways you can join our advocacy campaigns, which will be released throughout the week. See below for a breakdown on the priorities we were able to get included in the NYS Legislature’s proposals.
3.2% Cost of Living Adjustment
While both the Assembly and Senate included the desired 3.2% COLA, we are disappointed to see the provision does not allow for flexibility to support agencies as well as the workforce. Agencies need a flexible increase in funding to pay for rising costs which directly affect their ability to provide services and pay workers, including increased costs for food, health and property insurance, and other needs which keep their doors open. The Alliance joins other statewide advocates in urging both the Assembly and Senate to eliminate the Article 7 language and include the 3.2% COLA without any contingency language.
Daniel’s Law Pilots
We are very pleased to see both houses have included $2 million for Daniel’s Law pilots. This has been a major push from the Alliance and the Daniel’s Law coalition to guarantee people in crisis get the appropriate response. These pilots will support the State’s Daniel’s Law Task Force by providing data on how the program works in New York, including best practices for implementation which will be critical for statewide expansion.
Fund INSET Alternatives to Coercion
The Assembly provided $1 million for additional Intensive and Sustained Engagement Team (INSET) programs in the state. The Senate did not include this in their one house bill. We are working to have this critical alternative to coercive treatment included in the final budget.
Fund Peer Bridger Pilots
The Assembly One House bill included $1 million dollars for additional Peer Bridger programs in the state. The Senate did not include funding for Peer Bridgers. The Alliance will continue to advocate for the funding of additional Bridger programs to support effective transition to the community for people leaving hospitals.
Restore Cuts to Adult Home EQUAL Program
Both houses of the State Legislature rejected the Governor’s proposal to eliminate the Enhanced Quality of Adult Living (EQUAL) Program. They each restored the $6.5 million program to support quality of life improvements for the nearly 13,000 people living in Adult Care Facilities in New York.
Increase Commercial Insurance Reimbursement Rates
We are thankful the Assembly and Senate included a mandate to require commercial insurance providers to pay at least the Medicaid rate for mental health and substance use services provided by organizations which are licensed by the state to provide services. The state will set a yearly minimum rate to go into effect on January 1st each year starting January 2025. This mandate will create more access to services for people with commercial insurance and provide agencies with additional funding to recruit and retain more workers.
Treatment Not Jail
While neither house included the Treatment not Jail Act in their bills, each included $34 million for “problem solving courts,” including mental health courts. We will continue to work with mental health and criminal justice advocates to push the Governor and Legislature to expand these courts in line with the Treatment not Jail legislation.
Priorities not Included in One House Budgets
We are deeply disappointed that neither the Assembly nor the Senate included funding for Peer Run Crisis respites and Upstate Clubhouses in their budget proposals. We know how much the public wants and needs these services and we will be working with other advocates, champions in the legislature, and the Governor’s office to have these essential programs included in the final budget.