Provides for definitions of mental health and family and youth peer advocates and requires the office of mental health to establish peer service qualification programs.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7395
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 19, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DARLING -- (at request of the Office of Mental
Health) -- read once and referred to the Committee on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to providing defi-
nitions of mental health and family and youth peer and requires the
office of mental health to establish peer service qualification
programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 7.03 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding
2 six new subdivisions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 to read as follows:
3 3. "Mental health peer" or "MHP" means an individual with lived-exper-
4 ience who is actively in recovery from a mental health condition and has
5 self-disclosed their mental health journey.
6 4. "Family peer advocate" or "FPA" means an individual with lived-ex-
7 perience as the biological, foster, or adoptive parent or primary care-
8 giver of a child or youth with a social, emotional, behavioral, mental
9 health, or developmental disability.
10 5. "Youth peer advocate" or "YPA" means an individual who self-identi-
11 fies as a person with first-hand experience with mental health and/or
12 co-occurring behavioral challenges as a young person or has received
13 services in any one of the child-serving systems or programs pursuant to
14 this chapter.
15 6. "New York state certified peer specialist" or "NYCPS" means a
16 mental health peer who has specialized training and holds a credential
17 from a certifying authority recognized by the commissioner.
18 7. "Credentialed family peer advocate" or "CFPA" means an individual
19 verified to have met the criteria for a family peer advocate as defined
20 in subdivision four of this section and who holds a credential from a
21 certifying authority recognized by the commissioner.
22 8. "Credentialed youth peer advocate" or "CYPA" means an individual
23 verified to have met the criteria for a youth peer advocate as defined
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07364-01-3
A. 7395 2
1 in subdivision five of this section and who holds a credential from a
2 certifying authority recognized by the commissioner.
3 § 2. Subdivision (d) of section 7.07 of the mental hygiene law, as
4 added by chapter 978 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
5 (d) The office of mental health shall foster programs for the training
6 and development of persons capable of providing the foregoing services,
7 and for the qualification of persons capable of providing peer services
8 as defined in subdivisions three, four, five, six, seven, and eight of
9 section 7.03 of this article and in accordance with criteria established
10 by the commissioner.
11 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
12 it shall have become a law.
