Advocates and state lawmakers on Thursday called for the merging of the Office of Mental Health with the state Office of Addiction Services and Support in order to bolster those programs in the state.

The merger has the backing of mental health advocates as well as Sens. Samra Brouk of Rochester, the chairwoman of the Senate Mental Health Committee, and Peter Harkcham, a Democrat from Westchester County who leads the Senate's Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Committee.

“The purpose of the merger is to provide a more patient-centered agency focused on holistic care and co-occurring disorders while reducing barriers to treatment and funding,” Harckham said. “Once created, this new agency will be better positioned to establish behavioral health parity—equal treatment of mental health conditions and substance us disorders—to an extent that patients and families will benefit in meaningful ways.”

The last significant state office merger was nearly a decade ago, when the Banking and Insurance departments were combined to create the Department of Financial Services.

Lawmakers said they wanted to focus the merger on the potential to improve the experience of patients, providers and families as well as treatment professional, not simply the cost savings of the move. A combination of the offices has been under discussion for the last year and a half.

“The integration of these agencies reflects what we know about better outcomes: Individuals who receive integrated mental health and substance services show better clinical improvements and report better treatment satisfaction,” Brouk said “Getting patients out of ‘siloed’ treatment is better for them and it is better for their providers.”