Governor Hochul Proposes Strengthening Involuntary Commitment Laws and Kendra’s Law to Provide Support and Resources for New Yorkers Experiencing Serious Mental Illness

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced major reforms to strengthen New York's involuntary commitment and assisted outpatient treatment laws as part of her 2025 State of the State. The Governor's proposals will expand treatment options for individuals experiencing serious mental illness and strengthen policies like Kendra's Law that aim to provide help to those who need it most. Governor Hochul will also continue her nation-leading efforts to address the youth mental health crisis and transform the mental health continuum of care.

"People with serious mental illness deserve care - not chaos. Yet for too long, our mental health system has been failing those who needed it most," Governor Hochul said."We passed a $1 billion plan to transform the mental health continuum of care, starting to make up for decades of disinvestment. Now, we're keeping up the fight so that New Yorkers are healthier, safer and stronger."

Governor Hochul has championed protecting and promoting the mental health of New Yorkers with historic investments in housing for people with mental illness, an expansion of inpatient psychiatric bed capacity in our state-operated and community-based hospital systems, significant expansions of outpatient services for people with mental illness and improving insurance coverage for mental health services. Programs like the Safe Options Support (SOS) initiative have successfully transitioned nearly 850 unhoused individuals into permanent housing, and she has introduced regulations to ensure hospitals use the best standards in care when admitting and discharging patients needing behavioral health care. The Governor has introduced nation-leading legislation taking on the deleterious effects of social media on young people's mental health and focused her efforts on the mental health crisis, which impacts so many New York families.

Care and Treatment for Individuals with Severe Mental Illness

Updating Involuntary Commitment Law
Governor Hochul will propose amending New York's Mental Hygiene Law to address gaps in the standards for involuntary commitment. The updated law will allow intervention when individuals are at substantial risk of harm due to their inability to meet basic needs like food, shelter, or medical care.

These changes will clarify that evidence of imminent risk or recent overt acts is not required, enabling earlier intervention and aligning New York with other states. The amendment will also expand authority to Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, improving access to care in underserved areas.The revised standards will require evaluators to consider a comprehensive set of factors, including behavioral history and long-term health consequences. Hospitals will also notify community providers upon client admission or discharge, ensuring continuity of care.

Strengthening Kendra's Law
Governor Hochul will also strengthen Kendra's Law, which governs Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) for individuals with serious mental illness, by reducing barriers to care. Changes include improving record sharing, expanding who can petition for AOT orders, and using video conferencing to streamline processes.

The Governor also proposes standardizing Enhanced Service Packages (ESPs) statewide. These voluntary plans will allow individuals to access AOT services without a court order and provide a transition option for those whose AOT orders have expired. By making ESPs a consistent feature across counties, more individuals will receive the support they need.

Addressing the Youth Mental Health Crisis

Support Youth Mental Health in Afterschool Programs
To help promote the health and well-being of young people, Governor Hochul will connect mental health resources to afterschool programs. By connecting licensed health care facilities to state-funded afterschool programs, the Governor will ensure that youth have access to these critical resources after school hours. Additionally, the State will offer youth mental health first aid training to state-funded afterschool providers and will partner with SUNY to connect social work graduate students with local state-funded after-school programs helping them to complete their required fieldwork while supporting vulnerable youth.

Train High School Students in Teen Mental Health First Aid
In the past two budgets, Governor Hochul invested in training adolescent New Yorkers in Teen Mental Health First Aid. This skill set equips high school-aged youth with evidence-based tools to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental health and substance-use challenges among their friends and peers, including the impacts of bullying and school violence. This year, Governor Hochul will roll out a Teen Mental Health First Aid program to equip high school students with the basic skills to support themselves and their peers to drive a generational culture change around mental health.

Improve Diagnoses for Children With Complex Clinical Needs
Far too many children and adolescents with complex treatment needs end up with diagnoses that do not meet their personalized service requirements. With a focus on providing the best possible care for children, Governor Hochul will direct the development of clinical assessment hubs, staffed by professional clinicians with expertise across multiple fields of health care. These hubs will evaluate complex clinical needs and behaviors in children, without the need for hospitalization, and provide critical connections to the individualized care they need.

Continued Transformation of the Mental Health Continuum of Care

Expand the Network of Clubhouse Mental Health Programs and Youth Safe Spaces
Clubhouses are member-led facilities offering mutual support to individuals diagnosed with serious mental health conditions. This successful model brings a sense of purpose through membership, providing support networks, positive socialization, employment and educational skill-building and access to resources. To support the wellbeing of New Yorkers with serious mental illness, Governor Hochul will expand the network of Clubhouse programs across the State. Additionally, Governor Hochul will develop new safe spaces for youth where they can access behavioral health wellness resources, foster positive relationships with their peers and receive support in a comfortable setting, alongside friends and community members.

Hold Commercial Health Insurance Companies Accountable for Mental Health Care
Governor Hochul has led landmark reforms of commercial insurance coverage for mental health care, including establishing standards that require insurers to offer an accessible network of providers, requiring insurance companies to pay at least the Medicaid rate for in-network mental health and substance use disorder services, and requiring insurers to reimburse school-based mental health services at the prevailing Medicaid reimbursement rate. However, continued progress is needed to meet the health care needs of New Yorkers. Governor Hochul will allocate new resources to ensure that insurers are providing the mental health care coverage policyholders deserve. The State will use those resources to strengthen compliance oversight, including through additional surveillance, educating consumers and providers, and investigating and mediating complaints.

Expand Intensive and Sustained Engagement Teams (INSET)
Individuals with lived experience are uniquely positioned to help others navigate difficult transitions, whether it's finding stable housing, reentering the community after involvement with the criminal justice system, or managing other complex challenges. Peer support has been shown to be an effective way to engage individuals with mental illness, helping them build natural support systems and take control of their care.The Intensive Support Engagement Team (INSET) program provides voluntary, peer-led support to individuals on their recovery journey. These 24/7 multidisciplinary teams, led by peer specialists, offer trauma-informed, culturally responsive care tailored to individuals' unique needs. INSET improves quality of life, reduces repeat hospitalizations and justice involvement and strengthens natural support networks. Its flexible, person-centered approach ensures individuals receive care without rigid timelines or eligibility restrictions. Governor Hochul will expand the INSET program across New York State to ensure more individuals benefit from this effective, compassionate model of care.

Create a Hospital-Based Peer Bridger Program
Transitioning from inpatient hospital units to the community is often challenging for individuals with serious mental illness. To address this, Governor Hochul will direct the Office of Mental Health (OMH) to establish a Hospital-Based Peer Bridger Program. OMH will issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) to select hospitals to hire peer supervisors and specialists who will assist inpatient teams. These Peer Bridgers will run groups focused on preventing rehospitalization, navigating systems and making informed decisions about housing, treatment and support, ensuring smoother transitions and better outcomes.

Support Community Determined Wellness in Historically Marginalized Neighborhoods
New York learned important lessons about recovery and healing following the racially motivated Tops Supermarket shootings in East Buffalo, which claimed the lives of 10 people in 2022. Intergenerational population-level trauma from decades of underinvestment, violence, and poverty led to an understandable distrust of a government attempting to respond with care and mental health support for a community in mourning. A new approach was needed and through the collective efforts of the East Buffalo community, a new grassroots approach was developed, and unique mental wellness programming emerged. The community convened in barbershops for mental wellness talks, supported father-son outings, hosted traditional African American healing circles, and united around music, dance, and artwork.

Governor Hochul will use the knowledge gained from the East Buffalo response and develop an innovative grant program to support community-driven, culturally responsive wellness programming in areas of the state that have experienced longstanding marginalization, violence and poverty. Community-based organizations will gather together smaller grassroots entities that have an established neighborhood presence and a history of advocacy to develop population-specific mental wellness activities aimed at building resilience, healing generational trauma, and providing residents with opportunities to thrive.

Office of Mental Health Commissioner Dr. Ann Sullivan said, "Over the past three years, New York State has made a major investment toward ensuring all New Yorkers have access to robust mental health care support and services. These latest initiatives outlined by Governor Hochul will bring us even closer to having a mental health care system that is fully responsive to the needs we see across our state. Governor Hochul's continued emphasis on strengthening our mental health care system is having a transformative effect on our communities and the many people in our state who live with or have a loved one living with mental illness."

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