New York Mental Health Data Tracks Statewide Care Investments
New York has launched a public resource showing how state investments are expanding treatment, crisis care, housing and mental health services for young people.
New New York mental health data is giving residents a clearer look at how billions of dollars in public funding are being used to strengthen care across the state. The information covers 23 areas of New York’s mental health system, including outpatient treatment, youth programs, crisis response, supportive housing and services for people who have struggled to remain connected to care.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the data initiative on July 23. The New York State Office of Mental Health, known as OMH, organized the information into plain-language graphics intended to help residents, providers and community groups understand what has been funded and what progress has been reported.
The state says the information will be updated periodically as new figures become available. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
“The data presented here reflects much of what we’ve done to prioritize mental health care statewide and to ensure everyone has access to the support they can rely on to thrive in our communities,” Hochul said. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
What the New Mental Health Data Measures
The new resource divides New York’s mental health system into four broad categories:
- Access to care
- Prevention and youth services
- Crisis services
- Specialized services
Together, the categories offer a more complete picture of what happens before, during and after a person experiences a mental health crisis.
The information also helps explain a term often used by health officials: the “continuum of care.”
A mental health continuum of care is a connected system of prevention, treatment, crisis response, housing and recovery services designed to support people at different stages of need.
That system may begin with counseling in a school or community clinic. It can also include emergency intervention, inpatient treatment, help after a hospital discharge and stable housing for people living with serious mental illness.
Access to Mental Health Care
The access-to-care section focuses on programs that help people receive treatment in their communities.
These programs include:
- Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
- Outpatient clinic expansion
- Inpatient psychiatric care
- Mental health workforce development
- Supportive and specialized housing
New York’s original multiyear mental health plan included $890 million in capital funding and $120 million in operating support for 3,500 new residential units. It also included $60 million in capital funding and $121.6 million in operating funding to expand outpatient services. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
Housing is a critical part of mental health care because treatment can be difficult to maintain when a person lacks a safe and stable place to live.
State figures released in October 2025 showed that 1,276 specialized housing units connected to Hochul’s mental health initiative had been created, while another 2,224 were under development. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
Those units include supportive housing, community residences and short-term transitional options.
Community Clinics and Hospital Capacity Expand
The state has also expanded Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, commonly called CCBHCs.
These clinics provide mental health and substance-use services regardless of a person’s insurance status or ability to pay. They are intended to offer coordinated treatment and reduce avoidable trips to emergency rooms.
As of October 2025, New York funded 39 such clinics. State officials said they had served more than 77,000 people during 2025. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
The state also reported adding 985 psychiatric beds since Hochul took office. That total included 610 beds restored at community hospitals and 375 new beds at state-operated psychiatric centers. Another 275 state-operated beds were under development at the time of the report. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
Those numbers show significant growth. However, beds alone do not determine whether a mental health system is working.
Patients must also be able to find providers, receive follow-up appointments and continue treatment after leaving a hospital. The new public data should help residents and lawmakers examine whether those connections are being made.
Prevention and Youth Mental Health Services
The prevention and youth category covers programs intended to identify problems early and support families before a situation becomes an emergency.
Programs tracked by OMH include:
- HealthySteps
- Youth Safe Spaces
- Suicide-prevention initiatives
- Home-Based Crisis Intervention teams
- Partial hospitalization programs
- School-based mental health clinics
New York reported in 2025 that it had added 255 school-based mental health clinic satellites, including 84 in high-needs districts. That brought the statewide total to 1,265 clinic sites. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
School-based clinics can remove common barriers to treatment. Students do not have to travel to a separate office, and families may have an easier time connecting with a licensed provider.
The state has also expanded Youth Assertive Community Treatment teams. These teams support children and teenagers with serious emotional needs who may be at risk of hospitalization or returning home from intensive treatment.
State officials previously reported that 20 Youth ACT teams were operating or funded, with 19 more in development. The planned network was expected to reach 31 counties. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
Crisis Services and the 988 Lifeline
The crisis-care section tracks services designed to respond when a person needs immediate help.
They include:
- The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
- Mobile crisis teams
- Crisis stabilization centers
- Crisis residences
- Behavioral health-led response programs
New York’s original mental health plan directed $60 million to support the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, an increase of $25 million over the previous budget. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
The 988 Lifeline connects callers and texters with trained crisis counselors. It is available around the clock.
Anyone in the United States experiencing a mental health or substance-use crisis can call or text 988. People facing an immediate physical threat should call 911.
The value of 988 depends on what happens after the first call. Communities also need mobile teams, stabilization centers, treatment providers and safe places where people can recover without automatically entering a hospital or jail.
Tracking these services separately may help the public see where crisis programs are operating and where gaps remain.
Specialized Services Reach People at Risk of Disconnection
Some people cycle repeatedly through hospitals, shelters, emergency rooms or the criminal justice system without receiving steady care.
The specialized-services category includes programs designed to interrupt that cycle.
Among them are:
- Critical Time Intervention teams
- Assertive Community Treatment teams
- Safe Options Support teams
- Intensive and Sustained Engagement teams
Critical Time Intervention teams help people during major transitions, such as leaving a psychiatric hospital. They can assist with appointments, medication, housing and community support.
New York plans to establish 50 of these teams statewide. As of October 2025, 36 had been funded, with the capacity to serve approximately 3,630 people. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
The state also reported 112 Assertive Community Treatment teams in operation, with 30 more in development. The existing teams had the capacity to serve 9,584 people. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
Safe Options Support teams focus on people experiencing homelessness. By October 2025, the program had helped permanently house 1,407 people, according to the state. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
New York’s National Mental Health Ranking
Mental Health America ranked New York first overall in its State of Mental Health in America report using 17 measures of mental illness prevalence and access to care.
The report relied on federal data collected mainly during 2022 and 2023. That timing is important. It means the ranking cannot measure the full effect of every program funded after the state’s $1 billion initiative began in 2023.
The measures that helped New York’s ranking included the percentage of uninsured adults with mental illness, youth reporting serious thoughts of suicide and youth experiencing a major depressive episode. New York had ranked fourth in the previous annual report and eighth the year before that. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
Mental Health America also presented Hochul with its 2026 Governor’s Leadership Award. The state said approximately $2 billion had been directed toward mental health access and system improvements by that point. (Governor Kathy Hochul)
Transparency Is Progress, but Outcomes Matter Most
Publishing accessible data is a positive step. Public agencies should show where money is going and whether funded programs are reaching the people they were created to serve.
Still, a dashboard should not be treated as proof that every community has enough care.
New Yorkers continue to face practical questions:
- How long must a patient wait for an appointment?
- Are enough psychiatrists, therapists and social workers available?
- Can rural residents reach services without traveling long distances?
- Are children receiving help before a crisis develops?
- Do patients remain connected to care after leaving a hospital?
- Are racial, geographic and income-based gaps getting smaller?
The state’s graphics primarily present figures compiled by OMH. Continued independent review by lawmakers, health researchers, providers, patients and families will be important.
The most meaningful measurements will not simply count programs or beds. They will show whether people are healthier, safer and more stable.
What New Yorkers Can Do
Residents can use the new data to learn which services are expanding and to ask informed questions about what remains unavailable in their communities.
Families, advocates and local officials should:
- Review the OMH data and identify regional service gaps
- Ask county leaders how crisis calls are handled
- Find out whether local schools offer mental health clinics
- Press health plans to maintain accurate provider directories
- Contact state lawmakers when funded services remain inaccessible
- Share personal experiences with community mental health organizations
Mental health policy can appear to be a collection of budgets, programs and government abbreviations. For families, however, it is deeply personal.
It is the difference between waiting months and receiving timely care. It is the difference between leaving a hospital with a plan and leaving with nowhere to turn. It is the difference between a child struggling alone and a child meeting a counselor at school.
New York’s new mental health data gives the public another tool for measuring progress. The next task is making sure the numbers reflect real care available to every community—not merely promises recorded on a state website.
