STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1350 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 17, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER, COLTON, SANTABARBARA, WALSH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the development of comprehensive autism assessment centers The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 2801 of the public health law, as 2 amended by section 1 of part Z of chapter 57 of the laws of 2019, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 1. "Hospital" means a facility or institution engaged principally in 5 providing services by or under the supervision of a physician or, in the 6 case of a dental clinic or dental dispensary, of a dentist, or, in the 7 case of a midwifery birth center, of a midwife, for the prevention, 8 diagnosis or treatment of human disease, pain, injury, deformity or 9 physical condition, including, but not limited to, a general hospital, 10 public health center, diagnostic center, treatment center, dental clin- 11 ic, dental dispensary, rehabilitation center other than a facility used 12 solely for vocational rehabilitation, nursing home, tuberculosis hospi- 13 tal, chronic disease hospital, maternity hospital, midwifery birth 14 center, lying-in-asylum, out-patient department, out-patient lodge, 15 dispensary and a laboratory or central service facility serving one or 16 more such institutions, a comprehensive autism assessment center, but 17 the term hospital shall not include an institution, sanitarium or other 18 facility engaged principally in providing services for the prevention, 19 diagnosis or treatment of mental disability and which is subject to the 20 powers of visitation, examination, inspection and investigation of the 21 department of mental hygiene except for those distinct parts of such a 22 facility which provide hospital service. The provisions of this article 23 shall not apply to a facility or institution engaged principally in 24 providing services by or under the supervision of the bona fide members 25 and adherents of a recognized religious organization whose teachings EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04175-01-3A. 1350 2 1 include reliance on spiritual means through prayer alone for healing in 2 the practice of the religion of such organization and where services are 3 provided in accordance with those teachings. No provision of this arti- 4 cle or any other provision of law shall be construed to: (a) limit the 5 volume of mental health, substance use disorder services or develop- 6 mental disability services that can be provided by a provider of primary 7 care services licensed under this article and authorized to provide 8 integrated services in accordance with regulations issued by the commis- 9 sioner in consultation with the commissioner of the office of mental 10 health, the commissioner of the office of alcoholism and substance abuse 11 services and the commissioner of the office for people with develop- 12 mental disabilities, including regulations issued pursuant to subdivi- 13 sion seven of section three hundred sixty-five-l of the social services 14 law or part L of chapter fifty-six of the laws of two thousand twelve; 15 (b) require a provider licensed pursuant to article thirty-one of the 16 mental hygiene law or certified pursuant to article sixteen or article 17 thirty-two of the mental hygiene law to obtain an operating certificate 18 from the department if such provider has been authorized to provide 19 integrated services in accordance with regulations issued by the commis- 20 sioner in consultation with the commissioner of the office of mental 21 health, the commissioner of the office of alcoholism and substance abuse 22 services and the commissioner of the office for people with develop- 23 mental disabilities, including regulations issued pursuant to subdivi- 24 sion seven of section three hundred sixty-five-l of the social services 25 law or part L of chapter fifty-six of the laws of two thousand twelve. 26 § 2. Section 2801 of the public health law is amended by adding a new 27 subdivision 15 to read as follows: 28 15. "Comprehensive autism assessment center" means a comprehensive 29 autism assessment center under section twenty-eight hundred thirty-one 30 of this article. 31 § 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2831 to 32 read as follows: 33 § 2831. Comprehensive autism assessment centers. 1. Definitions. For 34 the purposes of this section, unless the context clearly requires other- 35 wise: 36 (a) "Autism spectrum disorder" means any of a group of neurodevelop- 37 mental disorders including: autism; pervasive developmental disorder - 38 not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS); Rett's syndrome; Asperger's disorder; 39 and childhood disintegrative disorder. Autism spectrum disorders may 40 include characteristics such as language disturbance, social disturb- 41 ance, and restrictive and repetitive patterns of play with a rigid 42 adherence to sameness. Additional co-occurring impairments in those 43 severely affected may include sensory problems such as auditory hyper- 44 sensitivity, temperature regulation issues, seizure disorders, abnormal 45 pain threshold, gastrointestinal problems, and psychiatric conditions 46 such as obsessive compulsive disorder, depression and anxiety. 47 (b) "Comprehensive autism assessment center" or "center" means a 48 center designated by the commissioner under this section. 49 2. Comprehensive autism assessment centers established. (a) The 50 commissioner shall facilitate the development and establishment of, and 51 designate, four comprehensive centers for the assessment of children 52 primarily between the ages of five and eighteen diagnosed with autism 53 spectrum disorders and development of appropriate short-term inter- 54 ventions and individual treatment plans which are designed to manage and 55 improve functioning. The commissioner shall establish procedures andA. 1350 3 1 criteria for the designation of such centers consistent with this 2 section. 3 (b) The centers shall utilize an array of disciplines which may 4 include but not be limited to: physical, medical and psychiatric; neuro- 5 behavioral; nutrition; gastroenterology; motor and fitness; sleep analy- 6 sis; communication and social; and psycho-educational. Services provided 7 by the centers may include but not be limited to the following compo- 8 nents: 9 (i) Intensive assessment services, including integrated, interdisci- 10 plinary analysis of a resident's functional characteristics and disabil- 11 ities. Utilizing a comprehensive framework such as international classi- 12 fication of functioning disability and health-children and youth 13 (ICF-CY)(World Health Organization 2007), centers shall comprehensively 14 assess the range of functioning and development of children with autism 15 spectrum disorders including but not limited to: communication; sociali- 16 zation; general, behavioral, neurological, psychiatric, body and medical 17 functioning; child-environmental interactions; activity limitations; and 18 participation restrictions. 19 (ii) Development of appropriate short-term interventions and individ- 20 ual treatment plans which are designed to manage and improve functioning 21 for the children assessed by the center. 22 (iii) Residential services that provide short-term residential support 23 for children admitted to the center who require a short stay for the 24 period in which the assessment is conducted. These services are intended 25 to provide support for the assessment activities and are not to be long- 26 term nor are they to be provided in a general hospital or nursing home 27 as defined in this article nor in the capacity of permanent housing. 28 (iv) Educational services approved by the state education department. 29 Such education services provided shall be consistent with the child's 30 home school district's curriculum and the educational needs of the 31 child, and appropriate to the child's short-term stay in the center. The 32 center shall consult with the child's home school district to develop an 33 appropriate educational plan. 34 (v) Medical clinical services. Each center shall have the capacity 35 on-site or readily accessible to provide for the resident's medical and 36 clinical needs. These services shall be available to provide medical 37 services to address general, chronic and ongoing medical conditions. 38 3. Grants for development of comprehensive autism assessment centers. 39 Within amounts appropriated, the commissioner shall provide funding, 40 pursuant to a request for proposals, to aid in the development of 41 comprehensive autism assessment centers. 42 4. Reporting/research requirements. (a) Each recipient of funding 43 pursuant to this section shall provide the following information and 44 such other information as the department may reasonably require with 45 respect to the center to the department, annually as required by the 46 department: 47 (i) The annual number of children receiving services pursuant to this 48 section; 49 (ii) The average length of stay of those children who receive services 50 at the center; and 51 (iii) The type of programs and interventions that children received. 52 (b) The department shall annually compile such reports on the centers' 53 activities and findings and annually report on the centers to the gover- 54 nor and legislature. 55 (c) The commissioner shall assist in and encourage the development of 56 research collaborations between the centers and relevant state agencyA. 1350 4 1 facilities, colleges and universities and, where appropriate, private 2 research entities. 3 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.