Office of Mental Health

New York State Psychiatric Institute: Control Over State Resources

The New York State Psychiatric Institute (Institute) is one of two clinical research facilities administered by the Office of Mental Health (OMH). The Institute is funded by a combination of State appropriations and public/private research grants, and has collaborative relationships with Columbia University and New York Presbyterian Hospital. These three entities share professional and administrative staff, facilities and equipment, and participate in joint training, research and clinical trial endeavors. Many Institute employees also work for Columbia. We examined whether Institute officials provided adequate control over State resources and determined that they did not. As a result, we concluded that there was inadequate assurance that all employees on the Institute’s payroll were working the appropriate number of hours to support their State salary. There was also inadequate assurance that the Institute was being properly reimbursed for its facilities used by Columbia staff or for Columbia business. We recommended certain improvements to enhance management control over State resources.

For a complete copy of Report 2008-S-145 click here.