Mental Health Services: Single Point of Access (SPOA)
The Single Point of Access (SPOA) program helps providers connect people with serious mental illness to mental health services that can accommodate them. Through these services, people with serious mental illness can connect to treatment, communicate with providers and get help finding benefits.
Visit Children's Single Point of Access for information on referring children and youth to treatment and support.
Connection to Services
The program reviews eligibility and makes referrals to the following services:
- Non-Medicaid Care Coordination (NMCC): This service is available only for people with a serious mental illness.
- Assertive Community Treatment (ACT): This treatment is for people with a serious mental illness who have high service needs that are not being met in traditional settings. People with serious mental illness who are otherwise unable to connect to community treatment can receive clinical support from an interdisciplinary team. Learn more about the state guidelines for Assertive Community Treatment.
- Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT): This is available to people with serious mental illness who are eligible for Assertive Community Treatment and have current forensic involvement.
- Shelter Partnered ACT (SPACT): This is available to people with serious mental illness who are eligible for ACT and reside in an NYC mental health shelter.
- Intensive Mobile Treatment (IMT): IMT provides mobile mental health and substance use treatment and supports to people with serious behavioral health concerns, very complex life situations, transient living situations and/or involvement with the criminal justice system.
Referral Application
If you want to refer a person with serious mental illness to one of the services described above, you can do so by using NYCMED. Your application must include a recent psychiatric evaluation, a recent psychosocial evaluation and a client consent form.
- Complete the online application by logging into NYCMED. If you do not have a NYCMED account, you can create one. For questions or technical assistance, call 888-NYCMED-9 (888-692-6339), or complete the NYC.ID online feedback form.
- Access the SPOA Referrals Portal. Maven users can access the portal with the same log-in information.
- If you are not a Health + Hospitals employee, enter your nyc.gov account information on the left side of the screen. Health + Hospitals employees should use the "NYC Employees" function on the right side, and log in by entering their account ending in "@nychhc.org".
- Begin your application on the SPOA referrals portal entry page and enter pertinent information.
For questions related to a SPOA referral, email SPOA@health.nyc.gov, or call 347-396-7258.
Housing
The Center for Urban Community Services currently oversees the housing referral process.