New York State Highlights Key Accomplishments to Expand Access to Mental Health Care in 2025

Funding Increased for Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative; Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Tripled; More Inpatient Capacity Added

New Consumer Protections in Effect to Improve Access to Behavioral Health Care; Youth and Teen Mental Health First Aid, Clubhouses and Youth Safe Spaces Expanded

The New York State Office of Mental Health today announced key benchmarks achieved to expand access to mental health care in 2025, including additional funding for supportive services, tripling the number of certified behavioral health clinics, and adding more inpatient capacity at community-based hospitals and state-operated psychiatric centers. As the New Year approaches, the agency also highlighted some of the accomplishments secured through the FY 2026 Enacted Budget, including a statewide expansion of youth and teen Mental Health First Aid, adding Youth Safe Spaces; and enacting new consumer protections to ensure New Yorkers have timely access to behavioral health care.

"From adding inpatient capacity to building new community-based supports, the FY 2026 Budget and the previous two spending plans are helping to significantly expand access to critical mental health care services statewide," Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. "This work is helping people when they experience a behavioral health crisis, while also ensuring they have support for their recovery once they return to their community. Under Governor Kathy Hochul's leadership and unprecedented investments, we are ushering in a stronger, more inclusive public mental health system that is responsive to the needs of all New Yorkers."

Expanding Capacity

Investments delivered through this year's budget landed $45.9 million for the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative, a 53-percent increase in funding for the program that has provided awards to nearly 10,300 units of supportive housing since 2016. The program's ninth round of funding was conditionally awarded this fall and will provide supportive services and operating expenses for up to 8,389 additional units of supportive housing to serve older adults, survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, veterans and chronically homeless families, and individuals with a mental illness or substance use disorder.

FY 2026 Enacted Budget also provided $6.6 million for OMH to expand the 'clubhouse' model, which are member-driven voluntary programs that provide individuals living with serious mental health conditions access to social support, life skills training, and employment resources. Earlier this month, OMH solicited proposals to establish up to eight new programs in areas of the state outside of New York City.

Also in 2025, OMH and the state Office of Addiction Services and Supports designated 13 new Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, tripling the number of these programs existing statewide. New York now has 39 statewide to collectively provide walk-in, immediate integrated mental health and substance use disorder services for an estimated 187,000 individuals annually.

OMH and OASAS continued work on developing a comprehensive behavioral health crisis system, making available $6 million for communities statewide to build a health-led crisis response system. The funding will help establish or expand at least three teams - including one in a rural, one in a suburban, and one in an urban community - that use trained behavioral health professionals and include peer support to provide a safe, compassionate response for New Yorkers in crisis.

Under Governor Hochul's leadership, New York State has now added 1,000 psychiatric beds, including 642 beds at article 28 hospitals -610 reopened and 32 new ones -and 358 beds at state-operated psych centers. The Office of Mental Health is also in the planning stages to add 75 beds at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens to double the size of the successful Transition to Home program, which is helping to successfully treat and stabilize chronically homeless individuals living with mental illness in New York City.

Governor Hochul secured $160 million in the FY 2026 Budget to construct 100 new forensic inpatient psychiatric beds to help restore justice-involved individuals to competency to stand trial in New York City. The Governor also secured $28.3 million to hire 300 new psychiatric workers and increase staff-to-patient ratios at the agency's forensic hospitals over the next two years.

Supporting Youth

OMH expanded Youth and Teen Mental Health First Aid training to high schools statewide to help both young people and adults who work with teens to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health and substance use challenges, including the impacts of bullying and school violence. Last summer, OMH awarded $10 million over five years to provide these training and certification programs.

This year, OMH also took measures to expand Youth Safe Spaces programs, which provide a place for young people between the ages of 12 and 24 to access behavioral health and wellness resources, foster positive relationships with their peers, and receive support in a comfortable setting. To support the initiative developed with input from the Governor's Youth Mental Health Advisory Board, the agency awarded $7.5 million to establish four sites this fall and is soliciting proposals for additional locations to be awarded early next year.

Regulatory and Statutory Changes

In July, regulatory changes to the state's network adequacy standards went into effect, providing New Yorkers with qualifying health insurance plans access to an initial outpatient appointment for behavioral health care within 10 business days of the request or seven calendar days after a hospital or emergency room discharge. The new consumer protections also included a requirement that these plans post up-to-date and accurate lists of in-network providers on their websites to help eliminate inaccurate or misleading directories.

In August, a statutory change went into effect authorizing homeless and runaway youth to consent to behavioral health treatment, absent a caregiver. Prior to this change, these youth could consent to their own medical, dental, health, and hospital services, but not substance use or mental health treatment.

The state also made changes to Mental Hygiene Law to include new requirements for improved care coordination, discharge planning, and aftercare services. These changes built upon hospital admission and discharge regulations that were designed to improve care for individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis and ensure that thoughtful plans are crafted to connect them with community-based support once they leave emergency or inpatient care.

The state also enacted changes to the involuntary commitment lawdefinition to include individuals at substantial risk of physical harm because their mental illness makes them unable or unwilling to provide for their own essential needs such as food, clothing, necessary medical care, personal safety, or shelter. Adopted as part of the state budget process, this change addressed gaps in the existing standard, bringing New York into alignment with 43 other states with similar standards.

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