Things to consider when finding legislation related to your topic:
- Do you know if a law was passed or if a bill was introduced on your topic?
- If so, was it at local, state, or federal level? Federal laws and bills can be located online or in print in the Library. New York State session laws (laws as they were passed chronologically) can be located in print in the Library. New York State consolidated law (laws arranged by subject) can be located online or in print in the Library. Only currently active New York State bills are available online.
- When did the law pass or when was the bill introduced?
- Is the information you are looking for legislative (laws or bills), executive (regulations), or judicial (court decisions)? Legislation, including laws and bills, come from the legislative branch of government, which is Congress (House of Representatives and Senate for federal, Assembly and Senate for New York State). Regulations come from the executive branch of government, which includes government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration. The judicial branch of government decides cases.
- Have you found a public law (PL) number or a bill number? You can use these to locate the text of the law or bill.
Search Techniques for Databases/Catalog
Summit Catalog
Use the Catalog to find books, journal titles, videos, sound recordings, government documents, and other materials (NOT articles within journals) located in the libraries on the Syracuse University campus. You can renew library books and look at your library record by clicking Patron Info towards the top of the page.
Databases and background information about legislative issues
Use databases to begin searching for articles and information on your topic. You will retrieve citations. Some databases also offer full-text articles. Most of these databases are subscribed to by the library and are only available to SU faculty, staff, and students. If you are off campus, you will be asked to enter your last name and SUID number to log in to the database. *Enter all ten digits of your SUID, including the last one.*
PAIS International
Description: Provides indexing and abstracting of articles, books, conference proceedings, government documents, book chapters, and statistical directories about public affairs.
PAIS Archive covers
the PAIS Annual Cumulated Bulletin, published 1915-1976
** PsycINFO
Description: International literature in psychology and related behavioral and social sciences, including psychiatry, sociology, anthropology, education, pharmacology, child and family studies, marriage and family therapy, gerontology, and linguistics. 1887 - present; updated monthly.
Social Services Abstracts
Description: Bibliographic coverage of current research focused on social work, human services, and related areas, including social welfare, social policy, and community development. The database abstracts and indexes over 1,500 serials publications from 1980-present and includes abstracts of journal articles and dissertations, and citations to book reviews.
** CQ Researcher
Description: An encyclopedia addressing public policy issues. Over 44 reports are released each year, covering legislative action in areas ranging from social and teen issues to environment, health and nutrition, education, international affairs, economics and science and technology. Each report focuses on a single topic and features concise background discussion and chronologies, overviews of the current situation, pro and con commentary, as well as online links to relevant organizations, and a lengthy bibliography of related books and articles. Covers 1923-present.
** CQ Weekly
Description: A week by week non-partisan report on activity within the United States Congress. Discusses issues about to be addressed by Congress, summaries of the previous week's legislative events, status of bills pending before the House and Senate, committee and floor activity, and outcomes of roll call votes. Searchable by date, topic, latest votes. Covers 1983- present.
MEDLINE [FirstSearch] --Index to more than 3,500 International journals covering all areas of medicine. 1985 to the present; updated monthly.
MedlinePlus [National Library of Medicine] -- From the National Library of Medicine, this freely available resource provides authoritative health information geared to both health professionals and consumers. It includes extensive information on more than 650 diseases and conditions, as well as lists of hospitals and physicians, a medical dictionary, a medical encyclopedia, information on prescription and nonprescription drugs, and links to thousands of clinical trials. There are also over 165 interactive health tutorials. Updated daily.
PubMed [U.S. Government] -- PubMed, a service of the National Library of Medicine, provides access to over 11 million MEDLINE citations back to the mid-1960's and additional life science journals.
Cornell University Law School - Wex
This offers overviews of relevant state and federal laws on various topics
** West's Encyclopedia of American Law 2nd ed. Detroit : Thomson/Gale, c2005 Call Number: KF154 .W47 2005 Location: Bird Library Reference, 1st floor.
SU Library subscription news databases
Additional Social Work related databases
Databases Main Menu gives access to all of the databases available through SU Library. The databases are categorized by subject area.
Please contact Adina Mulliken for help finding citations to articles on your topic if needed.
Finding full text and Citing
I found some citations to articles that I want in a database. Where do I find the text?
** If you have a citation (such as from a database like Psycinfo), the first floor Bird Library Service Desks can help you find out if the Library subscribes to the full text of an article (or other item) either online, in print in the Libraries on campus, or, if not, how to order your item through interlibrary loan. Service Desk phone: 315-443-4083. Service Desk Hours
Citation style guides
These links explain how to write citations and a bibliography for your paper. More thorough explanations are available in Publication manual of the American Psychological Association and other style guides, located at the Reference Desk in Bird Library.
Please Ask Us for help locating text of articles once you have a citation if needed.
Legislative Resources
Federal
Legislative Research: A Web-Based Bibliographic Instruction Program
This will give you an overview of the research process for federal legislative documents. It is maintained by the Documents Center at the University of Michigan.
** LexisNexis Congressional
Library subscription database includes comprehensive index to bills, hearings, reports, committee prints, public laws, etc. Many items in full text. For other items, use SuDoc or accession numbers to find publication on shelves or in fiche cabinets (most on 3rd floor Bird Library).
Suggested search strategies:
Basic Search
It’s often helpful to use index terms (linked under the search box).
You will retrieve many types of documents created during the legislative process in addition to the text of the law. (See the link for Legislative Research above for more information about the documents.) CRS Reports often contain useful overview and background information.
The text of the law can be found by clicking Legislative History, if available, then P.L. ###-## (Public Law). If no legislative history is available and you know the law was passed, try the suggestions below to find the text of the law.
Legislative history, bills and laws (1969-present)
Click Legislative history, bills and laws
If you are searching by keyword:
To find legislation chronologically as it was passed, choose Public Law. Using quotations can help ("MENTAL HEALTH PARITY REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2003")
To find legislation integrated with other legislation on relevant subjects, choose US Code. This version of the law is sometimes referred to as "consolidated law". It is divided by title, chapter, and section numbers. Here is a browsable list of the titles in the US Code
If you are interested in additional documents created during the legislative process, such as hearings, debates and reports, choose Legislative history.
If you have a number, click Get a document:
Laws:
If you have a Public Law number, enter it. (105-33) and click the radio button for Public Laws.
If you have a US Code citation, choose US Code from the pulldown menu.
Bills:
Choose Bills (Full text) from the pulldown menu and enter the bill number. (105 H.R. 1003)
** Thomas
Freely available government website includes the Congressional Record and full text legislation from 1989 (101st Congress) to the present. THOMAS also provides summaries (not full text) of legislation back to 1975 (94th Congress). Includes bill summaries and status, committee information, roll call votes, historical documents, etc. A service of the Library of Congress.
US Code Classification Tables
"
These tables show where recently enacted laws will appear in the United States Code and which sections of the Code have been amended by those laws. The tables sorted in Public Law order may be used to identify the sections of the Code affected by a particular law. The tables sorted in Code order may be used to determine whether a particular section of the Code has recently been amended. The tables only include those provisions of law that have been classified to the Code. The text of recently enacted laws may be found through the Library of Congress Thomas web site."
State
Guide to Compiling NY State Legislative History from the New York State Library.
State Legal Resources on the Web for all states. Fewer documents are available on the web for states than for the federal government. Some print sources for New York laws are available on the 3rd floor of Bird Library, as listed below.
Findlaw
Links to the information each state makes freely available online. Some states post more than others.
New York Consolidated Laws Service-Statutory Code Lexis Nexis
This "contains the statutory code for the State of New York as published in the compilation entitled New York Consolidated Laws Service. It includes all laws of a general and permanent nature, as enacted by the New York Legislature."
New York Advance Legislative Service Lexis Nexis
"This file contains the full text of laws enacted during a legislative session." "Updated continuously throughout the legislative session."
To get to New York Advance Legislative Service:
Click on the Sources tab
Enter "New York Advance Legislative Service" in the "Find a source" box
NY - New York Consolidated Laws Service, Constitution, Court Rules & ALS, Combined Lexis Nexis
This "contains documents from the compilation entitled New York Consolidated Laws Service (Statutes, Constitution and Rules) and the New York Advance Legislative Service.
The New York Advance Legislative Service (ALS) contains the full text of all laws enacted during a legislative session. This group file includes only those ALS documents that have been enacted since the code was last updated."
Laws of New York
Select Laws of New York from the menu. That page will include consolidated and unconsolidated laws, Court Acts, Rules, and miscellaneous (constitution, NY City charter and administrative code). Unconsolidated laws are any laws passed by the legislature that are not part of the Consolidated Laws. They can include court acts, the NY City Charter and Administrative Code, miscellaneous laws that do not fit into the Consolidated Laws, and other special laws.
NY State Assembly bill search
Freely available government website allows searching by bill number or keyword; current bills only (latest amended version). Results may include summary, action, votes, memos; plus full text of bill.
McKinney's Consolidated Laws of New York Annotated (print source)
New York's statutory code, compiled into 91 subject areas. Pocket parts (located inside back covers) include text of very recent legislation. Table volumes show major revisions and trace section changes. Also includes separate general indexes and popular names table. Cross-references to New York Official Compilation of Codes, Rules, and Regulations (NYCRR). Source notes provide chapter numbers and year of passage. Historical notes show law's development and may reference corresponding Session Laws.
KFN 5030 1939 A324
Government Information Reference
3rd floor, Bird Library
McKinney's Session Laws of New York (print source)
Session laws are printed in chronological order, exactly as they were passed. Also includes related reports and memoranda. "Legislative findings and purpose," if available within the Session Law, express the official intent of the legislation. They do not show subsequent appeals or amendments. Pamphlets contain subject indexes and cumulative tables indicating which sections of the Consolidated Laws are affected by new legislation.
KFN 5025 M3
Government Information Reference
3rd floor, Bird Library
NY State Assembly Committees Commissions and Task Forces
See the Committees on Aging, Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, Children and Families, Health, Insurance, Mental Health and others. The links for Public Hearing Calendar, Press Releases, and Legislative Reports may also be of interest.
NY State Library Digital Collections
To browse legislative resources, click the browse button, New York State Government Publications, Legislative Branch, then the chamber and and files you want, such as Legislature (Assembly) and New York State Assembly Committee on Health. Text of some public hearings, committee reports, testimonies and more are available. Be sure to disable popup blockers to see the documents.
For more information, including some print sources, see SU Library's Government Information page.
Please contact Adina Mulliken for help with legislative resources if needed.
Websites
Nonprofit and Advocacy Organizations for Mental Health
ADAPT- American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today
Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities
NAMI-National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
National Mental Health Association
Government agencies and organizations
Administration on Aging -Mental Health
National Council on Disability
National Institute of Mental Health
New York State Office of Mental Health
SAMHSA-Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
U.S. Surgeon General
Other
NASW Code of Ethics
Open Society Institute
RAND Corporation
Urban Institute
Links to Required Reading for SWK 761
U.S. Surgeon General (1999). Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, D.C. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html (approximately 450 pages)
U.S. Surgeon General (2005). The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of People with Disabilities, U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, D.C. This can be downloaded as a PDF file from (approximately 55 pages)
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/disabilities/calltoaction/calltoaction.pdf
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (2001). Mental health: Culture, race, and ethnicity--a supplement to Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General, Rockville, MD: USDHHS, SAMHSA, Center for Mental Health Services, (approximately 200 pages)
http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cre/default.asp
New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, Achieving the Promise: Transforming Mental Health Care in America. Final Report. DHHS Pub. No. SMA-03-3832. Rockville, MD: 2003. http://www.mentalhealthcommission.gov/reports/FinalReport/toc.html
