Assemblymember Millman Announces New Bill to Finance More In-State Residential Facilities For Mentally Disabled

April 10, 2006

Brooklyn NY – Assemblywoman Joan Millman (D/WFP-Brooklyn) announced the introduction of a new assembly bill this past week that will allow the Dormitory Authority to build more youth residential facilities in New York. The proposed legislation was introduced after the New York State interagency out-of-state work group found that the state pays $200 million and sends 1,400 children to facilities outside New York every year. The work group report was a requirement of “Billy’s Law” also authored by Assemblymember Millman last year.

“It is hard to believe that we spend so much money sending our children to facilities that are not subject to New York’s laws and standards,” said Assemblymember Millman. “We should save that money to upgrade and create more facilities in New York so our children can be treated closer to home.”

Currently, the Dormitory Authority is only allowed to issue $30 million in bonds to fund its capital programs. The costs of renovating and building new facilities would largely be offset by the money saved from not spending nearly $250,000 on each child sent out of state.

The law builds upon legislation Millman has introduced to address the safety of children sent to state sponsored residential treatment facilities.

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