New York State Announces $2.4 Million For Diversion Programs Serving New Yorkers with Behavioral Health Issues

Funding to Help Providers Establish Community-Based Diversion Programs in Warren, Washington, Oneida, and Cayuga Counties

Program Allows Adults with Behavioral Health Issues to Divert from the Criminal Justice System into Treatment

The New York State Office of Mental Health today announced that $2.4 million was awarded to help four counties divert individuals with behavioral health issues from the criminal justice system by connecting them with timely treatment and services. The funding will help three non-profit service providers offer community-based diversion programs in Warren, Washington, Oneida, and Cayuga counties, helping reduce strain on local courts, jails, and public safety departments.

"From our robust crisis services to ongoing funding for diversion programs, we are ensuring that individuals can receive services and support in appropriate, community-based settings while continuing on the path to recovery," OMH Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said. "Thanks to Governor Kathy Hochul's record investments in strengthening the entire spectrum of mental health services, we are better able to support individuals confronting mental health challenges that may put them at risk of an unnecessary involvement with the criminal justice system."

OMH provided individual awards of $600,000 over three years to fund diversion programs operated by Helio Health in Oneida County and Nick's Ride 4 Friends in Cayuga County. The agency also provided two grants totaling $1.2 million over three years to fund diversion programs operated by ASCEND Wellness in Washington and Warren counties.

Diversion programs help individuals with complex or chronic behavioral health issues connect with timely treatment and support, which improves outcomes, promotes effective uses of resources, and is better for community stability overall. The target population is individuals at least 18 years of age with complex or chronic behavioral health issues and who have at least one prior intersection with the criminal justice system.

The funding will help Helio Health hire two peer specialists to provide peer-aligned outreach to rural courts in Oneida County. The peer specialists will engage adults with mental illness at the earliest point in the court process to assist in making connections to mental health, substance use, and social determinants services.

Nick's Ride 4 Friends will use the award to hire one part-time peer and two full-time peer specialists to explore early court diversion opportunities and provide rapid connections to services from arraignment through reentry. These peer specialists will target centralized arraignment courts and Cayuga County Jail to identify individuals who can benefit from rapid connection to services.

ASCEND Mental Wellness will use the funding to add outreach and peer specialists to enhance its Law Enforcement Addiction and Mental Health Referral System in Warren and Washington counties. This system allows referrals from community stakeholders and law enforcement to be processed quickly while intervention plans and service connections are coordinated.

OMH supports 13 jail diversion programs statewide, providing short-term crisis stabilization, care management services, discharge, and reentry planning for individuals leaving county jails, and supervised release services to assist individuals with mental health conditions released under probation supervision. These programs served roughly 3,000 individuals in 2025, helping divert 1,350 from incarceration or hospitalization.

In addition to diversion, OMH funds court-based mental health navigators to work with local systems to coordinate voluntary care for justice-involved individuals with mental health needs to support their health, wellness, and recovery. There are now 71 navigators funded across 40 counties. Court-based mental health navigators can be caseworkers, certified peer specialists, or licensed mental health professionals. Connecting individuals with needed treatment as soon as possible can help reduce the number of individuals eventually found unfit to stand trial and in need of restoration services.

On top of $7.8 million for court-based mental health navigators, the FY 2025 Budget included $9.3 million in additional Judiciary funding to enhance and expand Mental Health Court services statewide, supporting 86 additional full-time workers in mental health courts.

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