New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 14 - DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE
Chapter XIII - Office of Mental Health
Part 550 - Criminal History Record Checks
Section 550.1 - Background and intent

(a) Section 31.35 of the Mental Hygiene Law imposes the requirement of criminal history record checks on each prospective operator, employee, or volunteer of certain mental health treatment providers who will have regular and substantial unsupervised or unrestricted physical contact with the clients of such providers.

(b) This legislation was intended to enable providers of services to persons with mental illness to secure appropriate and properly trained individuals to staff their facilities and programs, by verifying criminal history information received from individuals seeking employment or volunteering their services.

(c) Pursuant to Chapter 501 of the Laws of 2012, Section 553 of the Executive Law was subsequently enacted to give the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs the authority to review and evaluate the criminal history information for any person applying to be an employee, volunteer, or consultant for whom a criminal background check is required by law as a condition of employment at any facilities or provider agencies licensed, operated, or certified by the Office of Mental Health (excluding Mental Hygiene Law Article 10 secure treatment units and programs operated in facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision). A technical correction to Chapter 501 was made via Chapter 83 of the Laws of 2013, to change the reference to the Office of Mental Health to the Justice Center in Mental Hygiene Law Section 31.35.

(d) The purpose of this Part is to establish standards and procedures for criminal history record checks that must be followed by mental health treatment providers that are subject to the provisions of Mental Hygiene Law Section 31.35.