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Mental Hygiene Law § 36.02 · Article 36. Addiction and Mental Health Services and Supports

Referral to crisis stabilization centers

Verbatim from the official edition

Text — Law content up to date as of June 26, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)

§ 36.02 Referral to crisis stabilization centers.

(a) A referral to crisis stabilization centers may include but not be limited to: (1) walk-ins or self-referrals; (2) family members; (3) schools; (4) hospitals; (5) community-based providers; (6) mobile mental health crisis teams; (7) crisis call centers; (8) primary care doctors; (9) law enforcement; and (10) private practitioners.

(b) All services provided in crisis stabilization centers shall be voluntary. No crisis stabilization center shall accept involuntary referrals, and no person shall be forced or coerced to participate in services or treatment. A crisis stabilization center may at any time refer a person in their care to a higher level of treatment if deemed appropriate.

(c) For a person who is in need of emergency observation under section 9.41, 9.43, 9.45, or 9.58 of this chapter, the appropriate police officer, peace officer, court, community services director or mobile crisis team must inform the person of the crisis stabilization center services where available. A crisis stabilization center may conduct an assessment prior to accepting a referral. A crisis stabilization center may make a referral to a hospital or comprehensive psychiatric emergency program if an assessment determines that they are unable to meet the service needs of a person.

Source of truth

Edition
Law content up to date as of June 26, 2026, as published by the New York State Senate (Open Legislation)
Official file
https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/laws/MHY36.02
Text hash
sha256 174061ca07aaf215cf85947e54a33749fda305d2ec50c165f633bfa498209917
Composed by
gen_ny_statutes.py 2026-11-10: the Senate's Open Legislation law tree (GET /api/3/laws/<ID>?full=true) read in document order; the Senate's PDF of the whole law (GET /pdf/laws/<ID>?full=true), read with PDFium, prints the same words in the same order

Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.