N.Y. Mental Hygiene Law § 19.07 – Office of alcoholism and substance abuse services; scope of responsibilities

(a) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services is charged with the responsibility for assuring the development of comprehensive plans, programs, and services in the areas of research, prevention, care, treatment, rehabilitation, including relapse prevention and recovery maintenance, education, and training of persons who abuse or are dependent on alcohol and/or substances and their families. Such plans, programs, and services shall be developed with the cooperation of the office, the other offices of the department where appropriate, local governments, consumers and community organizations and entities. The office shall provide appropriate facilities and shall encourage the provision of facilities by local government and community organizations and entities. The office is also responsible for developing plans, programs and services related to compulsive gambling education, prevention and treatment consistent with section 41.57 of this chapter.
(b) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall advise and assist the governor in improving services and developing policies designed to meet the needs of persons who suffer from an addictive disorder and their families, and to encourage their rehabilitation, maintenance of recovery, and functioning in society.
(c) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall have the responsibility for seeing that persons who suffer from an addictive disorder and their families are provided with addiction services, care and treatment, and that such services, care, treatment and rehabilitation is of high quality and effectiveness, and that the personal and civil rights of persons seeking and receiving addiction services, care, treatment and rehabilitation are adequately protected.
(d) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall foster programs for the training and development of persons capable of providing the foregoing services, including but not limited to a process of issuing, either directly or through contract, credentials for alcoholism and substance abuse counselors or gambling addiction counselors in accordance with the following:
1. (1) The office shall establish minimum qualifications for counselors in all phases of delivery of services to persons and their families who are suffering from alcohol and/or substance abuse and/or chemical dependence and/or compulsive gambling that shall include, but not be limited to, completion of approved courses of study or equivalent on-the-job experience in alcoholism and substance abuse counseling and/or counseling of compulsive gambling.
2. (i) The office shall establish procedures for issuing, directly or through contract, credentials to counselors who meet minimum qualifications, including the establishment of appropriate fees, and shall further establish procedures to suspend, revoke, or annul such credentials for good cause. Such procedures shall be promulgated by the commissioner by rule or regulation.
3. (ii) The commissioner shall establish a credentialing board which shall provide advice concerning the credentialing process.
4. (2) The establishment, with the advice of the advisory council on alcoholism and substance abuse services, of minimum qualifications for counselors in all phases of delivery of services to those suffering from alcoholism, substance and/or chemical abuse and/or dependence and/or compulsive gambling and their families that shall include, but not be limited to, completion of approved courses of study or equivalent on-the-job experience in counseling for alcoholism, substance and/or chemical abuse and/or dependence and/or compulsive gambling, and issue credentials to counselors who meet minimum qualifications and suspend, revoke, or annul such credentials for good cause in accordance with procedures promulgated by the commissioner by rule or regulation.
5. (3) For the purpose of this title, the term "credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse counselor" or "C.A.S.A.C." means an official designation identifying an individual as one who holds a currently registered and valid credential issued by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services pursuant to this section which documents an individual's qualifications to provide alcoholism and substance abuse counseling. The term "gambling addiction counselor" means an official designation identifying an individual as one who holds a currently registered and valid credential issued by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services pursuant to this section which documents an individual's qualifications to provide compulsive gambling counseling.
6. (i) No person shall use the title credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse counselor or "C.A.S.A.C." or gambling addiction counselor unless authorized pursuant to this title.
7. (ii) Failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall constitute a violation as defined in the penal law.
8. (4) All persons holding previously issued and valid alcoholism or substance abuse counselor credentials on the effective date of amendments to this section shall be deemed C.A.S.A.C. designated.
(e) Consistent with the requirements of subdivision (b) of section 5.05 of this chapter, the office shall carry out the provisions of article thirty-two of this chapter as such article pertains to regulation and quality control of chemical dependence services, including but not limited to the establishment of standards for determining the necessity and appropriateness of care and services provided by chemical dependence providers of services. In implementing this subdivision, the commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of health, shall adopt standards including necessary rules and regulations including but not limited to those for determining the necessity or appropriate level of admission, controlling the length of stay and the provision of services, and establishing the methods and procedures for making such determination.
(f) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall develop a list of all agencies throughout the state which are currently certified by the office and are capable of and available to provide evaluations in accordance with section sixty-five-b of the alcoholic beverage control law so as to determine need for treatment pursuant to such section and to assure the availability of such evaluation services by a certified agency within a reasonable distance of every court of a local jurisdiction in the state. Such list shall be updated on a regular basis and shall be made available to every supreme court law library in this state, or, if no supreme court law library is available in a certain county, to the county court library of such county.
(g) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall develop and maintain a list of the names and locations of all licensed agencies and alcohol and substance abuse professionals, as defined in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one of section eleven hundred ninety-eight-a of the vehicle and traffic law, throughout the state which are capable of and available to provide an assessment of, and treatment for, alcohol and substance abuse and dependency. Such list shall be provided to the chief administrator of the office of court administration and the commissioner of motor vehicles. Persons who may be aggrieved by an agency decision regarding inclusion on the list may request an administrative appeal in accordance with rules and regulations of the office.
(h) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall monitor programs providing care and treatment to incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities operated by the department of corrections and community supervision who have a history of alcohol or substance abuse or dependence. The office shall also develop guidelines for the operation of alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs in such correctional facilities in order to ensure that such programs sufficiently meet the needs of incarcerated individuals with a history of alcohol or substance abuse or dependence and promote the successful transition to treatment in the community upon release. No later than the first day of December of each year, the office shall submit a report regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of alcohol and substance abuse treatment programs operated by the department of corrections and community supervision to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chairman of the senate committee on crime victims, crime and correction, and the chairman of the assembly committee on correction.
(i) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services shall periodically, in consultation with the state director of veterans' services: (1) review the programs operated by the office to ensure that the needs of the state's veterans who served in the U.S. armed forces and who are recovering from alcohol and/or substance abuse are being met and to develop improvements to programs to meet such needs; and (2) in collaboration with the state director of veterans' services and the commissioner of the office of mental health, review and make recommendations to improve programs that provide treatment, rehabilitation, relapse prevention, and recovery services to veterans who have served in a combat theatre or combat zone of operations and have a co-occurring mental health and alcoholism or substance abuse disorder.
(j) The office, in consultation with the state education department, shall identify or develop materials on problem gambling among school-age youth which may be used by school districts and boards of cooperative educational services, at their option, to educate students on the dangers and consequences of problem gambling as they deem appropriate. Such materials shall be available on the internet website of the state education department. The internet website of the office shall provide a hyperlink to the internet page of the state education department that displays such materials.
(k) Heroin and opioid addiction awareness and education program. The commissioner, in cooperation with the commissioner of the department of health, shall develop and conduct a public awareness and educational campaign on heroin and opioid addiction. The campaign shall utilize public forums, social media and mass media, including, but not limited to, internet, radio, and print advertising such as billboards and posters and shall also include posting of materials and information on the office website. The campaign shall be tailored to educate youth, parents, healthcare professionals and the general public regarding: (1) the risks associated with the abuse and misuse of heroin and opioids; (2) how to recognize the signs of addiction; and (3) the resources available for those needing assistance with heroin or opioid addiction. The campaign shall further be designed to enhance awareness of the opioid overdose prevention program authorized pursuant to section thirty-three hundred nine of the public health law and the "Good Samaritan law" established pursuant to sections 220.03 and 220.78 of the penal law and section 390.40 of the criminal procedure law, and to reduce the stigma associated with addiction.
(l) The office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, in consultation with the state education department, shall develop or utilize existing educational materials to be provided to school districts and boards of cooperative educational services for use in addition to or in conjunction with any drug and alcohol related curriculum regarding the misuse and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, prescription medication and other drugs with an increased focus on substances that are most prevalent among school aged youth as such term is defined in section eight hundred four of the education law. Such materials shall be age appropriate for school age children, and to the extent practicable, shall include information or resources for parents to identify the warning signs and address the risks of substance abuse.
(m)
1. (1) The office shall report on the status and outcomes of initiatives created in response to the heroin and opioid epidemic to the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chairs of the assembly and senate committees on alcoholism and drug abuse, the chair of the assembly ways and means committee and the chair of the senate finance committee.
2. (2) Such reports shall include, to the extent practicable and applicable, information on:
3. (i) The number of individuals enrolled in the initiative in the preceding quarter;
4. (ii) The number of individuals who completed the treatment program in the preceding quarter;
5. (iii) The number of individuals discharged from the treatment program in the preceding quarter;
6. (iv) The age and sex of the individuals served;
7. (v) Relevant regional data about the individuals;
8. (vi) The populations served; and
9. (vii) The outcomes and effectiveness of each initiative surveyed.
10. (3) Such initiatives shall include opioid treatment programs, crisis detoxification programs, 24/7 open access centers, adolescent club houses, family navigator programs, peer engagement specialists, recovery community and outreach centers, regional addiction resource centers and the state implementation of the federal opioid state targeted response initiatives.
11. (4) Such information shall be provided quarterly, beginning no later than July first, two thousand nineteen.
(n) The office in consultation with the office of mental health, the department of health, the division of housing and community renewal and any other agency that may oversee an appropriate program or service shall monitor and ensure funds appropriated pursuant to section ninety-nine-nn of the state finance law are expended for services and programs in accordance with such section.