7605 - Exempt Persons.

NY Educ L § 7605 (2019) (N/A)
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(b) A person without a license from creating, developing or implementing a service plan or recovery plan that is not a behavioral health diagnosis or treatment plan. Such service or recovery plans shall include, but are not limited to, coordinating, evaluating or determining the need for, or the provision of the following services: job training and employability; housing; homeless services and shelters for homeless individuals and families; refugee services; residential, day or community habilitation services; general public assistance; in home services and supports or home-delivered meals; recovery supports; adult or child protective services including investigations; detention as defined in section five hundred two of the executive law; prevention and residential services for victims of domestic violence; services for runaway and homeless youth; foster care, adoption, preventive services or services in accordance with an approved plan pursuant to section four hundred four of the social services law, including, adoption and foster home studies and assessments, family service plans, transition plans, permanency planning activities, and case planning or case management as such terms are defined in the regulations of the office of children and family services; residential rehabilitation; home and community based services; and de-escalation techniques, peer services or skill development.

(c)(i) A person without a license from participating as a member of a multi-disciplinary team to assist in the development of or implementation of a behavioral health services or treatment plan; provided that such team shall include one or more professionals licensed under this article or articles one hundred thirty-one, one hundred thirty-nine, one hundred fifty-four or one hundred sixty-three of this chapter; and provided, further, that the activities performed by members of the team shall be consistent with the scope of practice for each team member licensed or authorized under title VIII of this chapter, and those who are not so authorized may not engage in the following restricted practices: the diagnosis of mental, emotional, behavioral, addictive and developmental disorders and disabilities; patient assessment and evaluating; the provision of psychotherapeutic treatment; the provision of treatment other than psychotherapeutic treatment; or independently developing and implementing assessment-based treatment plans as defined in section seventy-seven hundred one of this title.

(ii) For the purposes of this paragraph, "assist" shall include, but not be limited to, the provision or performance of the following tasks, services, or functions by an individual who has obtained the training and experience required by the applicable state oversight agency to perform such task, service or function in facilities or programs operating pursuant to article nineteen-G of the executive law; articles seven, sixteen, thirty-one or thirty-two of the mental hygiene law; or title three of article seven of the social services law:

(1) helping an individual with the completion of forms or questionnaires;

(2) reviewing existing case records and collecting background information about an individual which may be used by the licensed professional or multi-disciplinary team;

(3) gathering and reporting information about previous behavioral health interventions, hospitalizations, documented diagnosis, or prior treatment for review by the licensed professional and multi-disciplinary team;

(4) discussing with the individual his or her situation, needs, concerns, and thoughts in order to help identify services that support the individual's goals, independence, and quality of life;

(5) providing advice, information, and assistance to individuals and family members to identify needs and available resources in the community to help meet the needs of the individual or family member;

(6) engaging in immediate and long-term problem solving, engaging in the development of social skills, or providing general help in areas including, but not limited to, housing, employment, child care, parenting, community based services, and finances;

(7) distributing paper copies of self-administered tests for the individual to complete when such tests do not require the observation and judgment of a licensed professional;

(8) monitoring treatment by the collection of written and/or observational data in accordance with the treatment plan and providing verbal or written reports to the multi-disciplinary team;

(9) identifying gaps in services and coordinating access to or arranging services for individuals such as home care, community based services, housing, employment, transportation, child care, vocational training, or health care;

(10) offering education programs that provide information about disease identification and recommended treatments that may be provided, and how to access such treatment;

(11) reporting on behavior, actions, and responses to treatment by collecting written and/or observational data as part of a multi-disciplinary team;

(12) using de-escalation techniques consistent with appropriate training;

(13) performing assessments using standardized, structured interview tools or instruments;

(14) directly delivering services outlined in the service plan that are not clinical in nature but have been tailored to an individual based on any diagnoses such individual may have received from a licensed professional; and

(15) advocating with educational, judicial or other systems to protect an individual's rights and access to appropriate services.

(d) Provided, further, that nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as requiring a license for any particular activity or function based solely on the fact that the activity or function is not listed in this subdivision. 11. The conduct, activities or services of a technician to administer and score standardized objective (non-projective) psychological or neuropsychological tests which have specific predetermined and manualized administrative procedures which entail observing and describing test behavior and test responses, and which do not require evaluation, interpretation or other judgments; provided, however, that such technician shall: (i) hold no less than a Bachelor's degree in psychology or a related field; (ii) undergo a process of regular training by a licensed psychologist, which shall include, but not be limited to a minimum of eighty total hours of (a) professional ethics, (b) studying and mastering information from test manuals, and (c) direct observation of a licensed psychologist or trained technician administering and scoring tests, in addition to a minimum of forty total hours of administering and scoring tests in the presence of a licensed psychologist or trained technician, provided such interaction with the licensed psychologist equals or exceeds fifty percent of the total training time; (iii) be under the direct and ongoing supervision of a licensed psychologist in no greater than a 3:1 ratio or the part time equivalent thereto; (iv) not be employed within a school setting and (v) not select tests, analyze patient data or communicate results to patients. The supervising licensed psychologist must submit, pursuant to a form to be prescribed and developed within ninety days of the effective date of this subdivision by the department, a sworn statement detailing compliance with the above requirements. The licensed psychologist's use of such individual pursuant to the terms of this subdivision shall be undertaken only with special care and professional judgment in order to ensure the safety and well-being of the patient considering the severity of the symptoms, the age of the patient and the length of the examination process, and shall include appropriate ongoing contact with the licensed psychologist at appropriate intervals. Such use shall be subject to the full disciplinary and regulatory authority of the board of regents and the department pursuant to this title. The licensed psychologist must notify the patient or designated health care surrogate that the licensed psychologist may utilize the services of a technician to administer certain exams, and must provide the patient or designated health care surrogate the opportunity to object to the licensed psychologist's plan to utilize a technician. 12. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit or limit the activities or services provided under this article by any person who is employed or who commences employment in a program or service operated, regulated, funded, or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the office of children and family services, or a local governmental unit as that term is defined in section 41.03 of the mental hygiene law or a social services district as defined in section sixty-one of the social services law on or before one year from the date that the regulations issued in accordance with section six of the chapter of the laws of two thousand eighteen which added this subdivision appear in the state register or are adopted, whichever is later. Such prohibitions or limitations shall not apply to such employees for as long as they remain employed by such programs or services and whether they remain employed by the same or other employers providing such programs or services. Provided, however, that any person who commences employment in such program or service after such date and performs services that are restricted under this article shall be appropriately licensed or authorized under this article. Each state oversight agency shall create and maintain a process to verify employment history of individuals exempt under this subdivision. 13. The activities or services provided by a person with a master's level degree in psychology or its equivalent, working under the supervision of a licensed psychologist in a program or service operated, regulated, funded, or approved by the department of mental hygiene, the office of children and family services, or a local government unit as that term is defined in section 41.03 of the mental hygiene law or a social services district as defined in section sixty-one of the social services law.