STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6782 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. JACKSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to persons with serious mental illness residing in adult homes The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 2 461-v to read as follows: 3 § 461-v. Persons with serious mental illness residing in an adult 4 home. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law or regulation to the 5 contrary, the commissioner shall not limit the census of persons with 6 serious mental illness residing in an adult home as defined in section 7 two of this chapter, provided that the adult home meets the following 8 requirements: 9 (a) it is organized as a not-for-profit corporation; 10 (b) it is operated by an organization that also operates a continuum 11 of housing and residential services, including supportive housing and 12 independent housing; 13 (c) it assesses each adult home resident on a periodic basis to ensure 14 that the resident is living in the most integrated setting appropriate 15 to the resident's needs; and 16 (d) it actively addresses the needs of the adult home residents with 17 serious mental illness by: 18 i. fostering the development of independent living skills; 19 ii. ensuring access to and quality of mental health services; 20 iii. encouraging community involvement and integration; and 21 iv. fostering a homelike atmosphere. 22 2. For purposes of this section "persons with serious mental illness" 23 means individuals who meet criteria established by the commissioner of 24 mental health, which shall be persons who have a designated diagnosis of 25 mental illness under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD06615-01-5S. 6782 2 1 Disorders (DSM-IV-TR, American Psychiatric Association, July 2000), and 2 whose severity and duration of mental illness results in substantial 3 functional disability. 4 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.