New Administrative and Fiscal Guidelines for OASAS Providers Improves Internal Practices

ALBANY, NY (03/23/2010)(readMedia)-- State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Karen M. Carpenter-Palumbo today announced the release of new Administrative and Fiscal Guidelines for OASAS-funded providers. These new guidelines will help to ensure a reasonable standard of accountability in the chemical dependence services system and establish a more viable basis for assessing provider compliance with OASAS fiscal requirements. A new web-based self-assessment instrument will also be available later this spring enabling OASAS providers to conveniently access, track and evaluate their financial compliance on an ongoing basis.

"In these challenging fiscal times of economic uncertainty and fiscal restraint, we need to demonstrate our commitment to improving accountability and control of public funds to ensure that our system is operating efficiently and effectively," said Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo. "These new guidelines, which will go into effect on July 1, 2010, emphasize the importance of good fiscal management while encouraging the use of a number of best practices among the administrators and fiscal managers in our system."

The Administrative and Fiscal Guidelines were developed through an extensive series of internal reviews within OASAS prior to the convening of a provider-based Fiscal Advisory Panel in 2009. The panel consisted of 12 Chief Financial Officers and Finance Directors representing both large and small non-profit agencies from upstate and downstate communities. OASAS also developed guidance in areas that have recently been identified by the New York State Office of the State Comptroller as potential vulnerabilities with a goal of improving overall provider accountability for public funds.

"This collaborative effort was an excellent opportunity to engage a panel of fiscal experts from the provider community to create an effective and useful roadmap which can be used system-wide to enhance provider-based fiscal policies and procedures," said Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo. "These guidelines will give them the ability to self-evaluate their compliance on an ongoing basis which will help them to identify potential areas of weakness that can be addressed before undergoing a fiscal review or audit."

OASAS also announced that in October 2010, provider fiscal viability will become a much more important factor in the provider certification renewal process. Currently, a provider's fiscal viability (asset-to-liability ratio) is considered only in cases where a provider has received a sub-par rating during the course of a regulatory compliance review. As OASAS' Gold Standard Initiative progresses, a number of revisions to the certification renewal process will be considered. Among the first of the revisions, fiscal viability will be fully integrated into the formula for calculating the term of the operating certificate for all providers.

"The new administrative and fiscal guidelines will be an essential compliance resource for the provider system, pulling together an array of important requirements and best practices into one document. It will be a valuable source of information for our staff, and help them understand the basis for our Agency's internal practices," said Ralph Pasacrita, Chief Administrator and Fiscal Officer, Student Assistance Services, a Westchester-based OASAS-funded prevention program that was part of the Fiscal Advisory Panel.

OASAS oversees one of the nation's largest addiction services systems dedicated to Prevention, Treatment and Recovery, with more than 1,550 programs serving over 110,000 New Yorkers on any given day.

Through efforts such as the Your Story Matters campaign at www.iamrecovery.com, the agency hopes to foster a movement of recovery, one that sheds the stigma and promotes a life of health and wellness.

Addiction is a chronic disease and New Yorkers need to know that help and hope is available. Individuals can find help by calling the toll-free, 24-hour, 7-day a week HOPEline at 1-877-8-HOPENY. For more information, please visit www.oasas.state.ny.us.

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