The Bureau of Mental Health is responsible for the mental health service delivery and planning for New York City residents with mental health needs. Through contracting directly with NYC service providers, the Bureau is responsible for procuring and overseeing over 400 treatment, rehabilitation, housing, case management, advocacy, and Assisted Outpatient Treatment programs with a total value of over $200 million. The Bureau is also responsible for implementing and overseeing a number of mental health focused Thrive NYC initiatives.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is leading the NYC Safe initiative to improve access, quality and continuity of care for people who are homeless, have criminal justice involvement, and are struggling with substance use and mental health. This multi-pronged initiative includes enhanced Single Point of Access Services to behavioral health treatment and care coordination services; a DOHMH/NYPD Unit to provide clinical/law enforcement interventions to people with increasing risk of violence; enhancements to traditional ACT teams; new services accessible via SPOA, including three new Intensive Mobile Treatment Teams, and five new Forensic Assertive Community Treatment teams and an expansion to the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Program.

The Office of Policy and Planning leads policy-related research and analysis, policy development, connections to bureau strategic planning and strategic initiatives and direction, local services planning, community connections, and contributes to innovative program development.

The Office of Policy and Planning seeks a part-time Policy Analyst to support the Office’s work related to policy- and planning-related research and analysis. A significant portion of the analyst’s time will be spent leading the Office’s work related to processing and analyzing requests from New York City mental health providers to changes in mental health services and capacity. In its capacity as an Local Governmental Unit (LGU), the Division of Mental Hygiene, led by BMH, reviews requests from mental health providers in New York City who seek Prior Approval Review for Quality and Appropriateness from NYS OMH. The Prior Approval Review (PAR) process is regulated under 14 CRR-NY 551. BMH performs this work in accordance with authority granted through Section 41.13 of the Mental Hygiene Law, which establishes the powers and duties of LGUs in administering local mental hygiene services.

Reporting to the Director of Policy and Planning, the Policy Analyst will:

- Enter and manage information using multiple databases; utilize databases to ensure robust reporting, tracking, and identify system-wide trends in mental health service delivery;

- Generate reports that can be used to inform policy and planning activities;

- In collaboration with bureau and division subject matter experts, identify issues related to the impacts of requests on mental health service delivery capacity throughout the city, issues encountered during mental health service delivery changes, operational issues related to service delivery, and any regulatory issues related to the requests;

- Synthesize significant mental health service delivery, operational, and regulatory issues in order for Director and Assistant Commissioner to respond to PAR requests

- Actively resolve roadblocks and challenges as appropriate and escalate issues as needed

- Draft documents, coordinate and facilitate meetings or phone conversations and consultations related to PAR requests.

- Liaise and ensure appropriate engagement with State regulatory bodies, other bureaus within the Division of Mental Hygiene, and subject matter experts throughout BMH to facilitate and complete reviews of proposed new programming, program closures, licensure changes, and similar mental health service delivery change requests.

- Support other research and analysis of adult mental health proposed and existing legislation, regulations, policies; prepare briefing documents and written statements work in the Office of Policy and Planning as needed.

- Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qual Requirements

1. For Assignment Level I (only physical, biological and environmental sciences and public health) A master's degree from an accredited college or university with a specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological or environmental science or in public health.

To be appointed to Assignment Level II and above, candidates must have:

1. A doctorate degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and one year of full-time experience in a responsible supervisory, administrative or research capacity in the appropriate field of specialization; or
2. A master's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in an appropriate field of physical, biological, environmental or social science and three years of responsible full-time research experience in the appropriate field of specialization; or
3. Education and/or experience which is equivalent to "1" or "2" above. However, all candidates must have at least a master's degree in an appropriate field of specialization and at least two years of experience described in "2" above. Two years as a City Research Scientist Level I can be substituted for the experience required in "1" and "2" above.

NOTE:

Probationary Period

Appointments to this position are subject to a minimum probationary period of one year.

Preferred Skills

- 3 years of policy research and/or development experience in public health, healthcare, mental health, or a related field

- A strong understanding of mental health service provider operations and/or mental health service delivery.

- Knowledge of the NYS OMH Prior Approval Review for Quality and Appropriateness process and regulations related to the mental health service delivery, including 14 CRR-NY 551.

- Ability to think creatively and clearly communicate complicated issues;

- Exceptional written and verbal communication skills.

- Strong analytical, research, project management, and problem-solving skills

- Strong ability to prioritize and handle multiple assignments within tight timelines

- Ability to work in a team environment as well as independently

- Experience leading team projects

- Strong computer and data management skills, including proficiency with Word, Excel and Power Point.

- Comfortable reading and interpreting data tables and graphs; able to extract relevant information to inform policy and advocacy efforts

Additional Information

**IMPORTANT NOTES TO ALL CANDIDATES:

Please note: If you are called for an interview you will be required to bring to your interview copies of original documentation, such as:

• A document that establishes identity for employment eligibility, such as: A Valid U.S. Passport, Permanent Resident Card/Green Card, or Driver’s license.
• Proof of Education according to the education requirements of the civil service title.
• Current Resume  
• Proof of Address/NYC Residency dated within the last 60 days, such as: Recent Utility Bill (i.e. Telephone, Cable, Mobile Phone)

Additional documentation may be required to evaluate your qualification as outlined in this posting’s “Minimum Qualification Requirements” section. Examples of additional documentation may be, but not limited to: college transcript, experience verification or professional trade licenses.

If after your interview you are the selected candidate you will be contacted to schedule an on-boarding appointment.   By the time of this appointment you will be asked to produce the originals of the above documents along with your original Social Security card.

**LOAN FORGIVENESS

The federal government provides student loan forgiveness through its Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) to all qualifying public service employees. Working with the DOHMH qualifies you as a public service employee and you may be able to take advantage of this program while working full-time and meeting the program’s other requirements.

Please visit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program site to view the eligibility requirements:

https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service

"FINAL APPOINTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET APPROVAL”

To Apply

Apply online with a cover letter to https://a127-jobs.nyc.gov/. In the Job ID search bar, enter: job ID number # 414949.

We appreciate the interest and thank all applicants who apply, but only those candidates under consideration will be contacted.

The NYC Health Department is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and culturally responsive workforce. We strongly encourage people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender and gender non-conforming persons to apply.

All applicants will be considered without regard to actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, age, prior record of arrest

Residency Requirement

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.