It’s been over two years since Mayor Eric Adams rolled out a controversial policy expanding involuntary hospitalization to get more people with serious mental illnesses off the streets and the subway, but his administration has released little information on its impact to date. A new report, which the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health quietly released late Friday, now offers the most comprehensive window yet into the policy’s implementation. The data shows that law enforcement personnel, mental health clinicians and homeless outreach teams conducted at least 7,700 involuntary “removals” under Adams’ policy last year — meaning individuals were transported against their will to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The vast majority were initiated by NYPD or MTA police officers, and about two-thirds of those were prompted by 911 calls, according to the report. Despite Adams’ framing of his policy as a public safety tool, many people were sent to hospitals from a private home rather than a public space or public transportation, the data shows. Among those who were brought to a public hospital, 58 percent were admitted for inpatient treatment, although the report does not specify whether they received medical or psychiatric care. Transparency has been a priority for civil liberties and mental health advocacy groups that oppose Adams’ policy, arguing that coercive treatment violates New Yorkers’ civil rights and breeds distrust in programs that can help them. But the report offers limited insight because the NYPD has only been able to compile the data since June, once the department updated its internal reporting system. That means the department’s data from January through May of last year is incomplete. It is also unclear what happened to thousands of individuals who were brought to private hospitals, because City Hall does not have access to their data. And it’s impossible to accurately assess whether the city ramped up the use of involuntary hospitalization last year because there is no comparative data for 2023; the Adams administration has said only that about 130 people per week were involuntarily hospitalized between May and November 2023. While the Adams administration could have voluntarily released more complete data on the policy, City Hall was only required to start reporting annual tallies this year. That requirement became law in August 2023 after it was approved by the City Council and returned unsigned by the mayor. IN OTHER NEWS: — Mother Cabrini Health Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to the Healthcare Association of New York State on Friday. The funds will be used to support the launch of HANYS Care Connections program, which aims to address barriers to care, create a pipeline for community health workers and provider prevention and management services for individuals with chronic disease. MAKING ROUNDS: — Machelle Allen announced plans to retire April 1 as senior vice president and chief medical officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. — Sebrina Barrett was named president and CEO of LeadingAge NY following the retirement of Jim Clyne. She previously served as executive director of the Association for Community Living. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@politico.com. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| 
