Mental health experts in the state want lawmakers to rethink legislation they introduced this week in wake of fatal stabbings in Manhattan that have rattled New York leaders.
A new bill introduced this week would expand the pool of mental health professionals who can perform clinical evaluations to determine when a person with a mental health disorder needs involuntary hospitalization, or court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment created under Kendra's Law. Physicians, and namely psychiatrists, currently perform the required evaluation.
"There's a need for a wider pool of mental health professionals to perform that very important task," sponsor Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal told Spectrum News 1. "...By expanding the pool of mental health professionals, we'll begin to, hopefully, address the need we see every day."
The proposal, dubbed the Harness Expertise of Licensed Professionals, or the HELP Act, would qualify psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychologists and clinical social workers to evaluate patients who may pose a threat to themselves or others and determine if they need temporary hospitalization.
The bill was introduced following Manhattan's unprovoked fatal stabbing spree earlier this week, which left three New Yorkers dead in separate, randomized attacks. New York police charged Ramon Rivera, a 51-year-old homeless man, with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the violence.
But some mental health experts argue the new legislation will not fix the state's broken mental health system, and cautioned lawmakers Wednesday it could erode the rights of vulnerable New Yorkers.
"Granting the power to involuntarily commit people to thousands of human service workers will only drive people in need away and underground," Alliance for Rights and Recovery CEO Harvey Rosenthal said. "Our services are supposed to draw people in, not drive them away."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked for more mental health resources after Monday's stabbing spree in Manhattan, citing failures in the city and state's mental health system, which loses track of New Yorkers in crisis.
Gov. Kathy Hochul agrees the state must do more, including invest more money in programs and pass new laws next year. The governor did not specify ideas to tweak the state's mental health plan as she prepares her State of the State address and executive budget, but said she's ready to work with the legislature.
"What the hell is going on here?" she said about the system's failure at an unrelated event Tuesday. "And I want people to know I will go back to the legislature, I will go back with every tool in my kit to find ways to address this because this is not acceptable."
Recent budgets dedicated $1 billion to overhaul the state's mental health system over the next several years.
The random stabbings have inspired electeds to take action when they return to Albany in a few weeks. Hoylman-Sigal said the statewide shortage of psychiatric professionals have created a bottleneck — forcing New Yorkers suffering from mental health issues to wait to get the care they need.
The proposal would also require hospitals to notify community mental health providers when a patient is admitted for treatment.
But Harvey maintains the proposal will be ineffective, and lacks guardrails that could result in forced treatment and court-ordered medication that will deter people from seeking necessary mental health services.
"We are not going to coerce or hospitalize our way out of heartbreaking disasters like these," Harvey said. "Those are tough-sounding but terribly false solutions that would simply force people into services and systems that have already failed them far too many times in the past."
Mental Health Association of New York State CEO Glenn Liebman wants lawmakers to take their time over the next few months and come up with a more effective policy.
"We should have a thoughtful response that is well-funded and got buy-in from everybody in the community," Liebman said.
People diagnosed with mental health issues are 12 times more likely to be the victim of a violent crime than the perpetrator of violence, he added.
But lawmakers say they're ready to make changes when they return to Albany next year.
Assemblyman-elect Micah Lasher said the evaluations would apply to a small portion of the population receiving mental health treatment and would connect people with services they need.
"By expanding the pool of those professionals, these programs can be very successful in helping stabilize people and can be more widely and appropriately used," Lasher said.
He added expanding the pool of mental health professionals who can perform the evaluation would also free up doctors who staff mental health beds.
Hoylman-Sigal, a Manhattan Democrat, said a growing number of lawmakers refuse to sit by and do nothing as mental health issues increase and people in need continue to fall through the cracks.
"We can't do nothing," the senator said. "I think we all recognize that the system isn't working, so the status quo is unacceptable. This is one idea to make a difference in what many New Yorkers see as a crisis on the streets."