Bill Text: NY A06058 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires mental health services for incarcerated individuals with mental health issues related to the trauma of incarceration upon reentry and reintegration into society upon release.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-04-30 - print number 6058b [A06058 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06058-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6058

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 31, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. SOLAGES, L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred
          to the Committee on Correction

        AN ACT to amend the correction law,  in  relation  to  requiring  mental
          health services for incarcerated individuals with post-traumatic pris-
          on disorder

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
     2  the "Post-traumatic prison disorder Shawanna W76337 act".
     3    §  2. Section 71-a of the correction law, as amended by chapter 322 of
     4  the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
     5    § 71-a. Transitional accountability plan.  1.  Upon  admission  of  an
     6  incarcerated individual committed to the custody of the department under
     7  an indeterminate or determinate sentence of imprisonment, the department
     8  shall  develop  a transitional accountability plan. Such plan shall be a
     9  comprehensive, dynamic and individualized case management plan based  on
    10  the  programming and treatment needs of the incarcerated individual. The
    11  purpose of such plan shall be  to  promote  the  rehabilitation  of  the
    12  incarcerated  individual and their successful and productive reentry and
    13  reintegration into society upon release. To that end, such plan shall be
    14  used to prioritize programming and treatment services for the  incarcer-
    15  ated  individual during incarceration and any period of community super-
    16  vision. The commissioner may consult with the office of  mental  health,
    17  the  office  of  [alcoholism and substance abuse] addiction services and
    18  supports, the board of parole,  the  department  of  health,  and  other
    19  appropriate  agencies in the development of transitional case management
    20  plans.
    21    2. (a) Mental health reentry services shall be included in  an  incar-
    22  cerated  individual's  transitional  accountability  plan.  Such  mental
    23  health reentry services shall begin the first week upon admission of  an
    24  incarcerated  individual  to  a  correctional  facility.   Mental health

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02966-01-3
        A. 6058                             2

     1  reentry services shall include, but not be limited  to:  (i)  behavioral
     2  health  screening  and  assessment; (ii) clinical intervention for post-
     3  traumatic prison disorder; (iii) mental  health  and  trauma  screenings
     4  within  sixty  days of being committed to the custody of the department.
     5  Where an incarcerated individual  would  benefit  from  trauma  oriented
     6  therapy,  the  mental  health  reentry  services  shall  include  trauma
     7  oriented therapy.  If an incarcerated individual is at a facility  which
     8  cannot provide proper mental health reentry services to the incarcerated
     9  individual,  the  incarcerated  individual  shall  be transferred within
    10  seven days to a facility with the capacity to provide  the  incarcerated
    11  individual with his or her proper mental health reentry services.
    12    (b)  A  registered  organization or representative who provides mental
    13  health reentry services shall be an outside vendor who employs or  is  a
    14  registered therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or nurse
    15  who specializes in trauma and utilizes culturally sensitive techniques.
    16    3.  The department shall invest, develop and adopt policies and proce-
    17  dures to create training for all prison personnel for basic competencies
    18  in mental health trauma as a result of post-traumatic prison disorder.
    19    4. The department shall submit a report including, but not limited to,
    20  the number of incarcerated individuals screened for  mental  health  and
    21  trauma  and  the number of incarcerated individuals receiving therapy or
    22  clinical intervention with information on the types of therapy or  clin-
    23  ical  intervention  such  incarcerated  individuals are receiving to the
    24  governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of  the
    25  assembly no later than December thirty-first of each year.
    26    §  3.  Section  78  of the correction law, as added by section 81-b of
    27  part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws  of  2017,  is  amended  to  read  as
    28  follows:
    29    §  78.  Discharge  plans. (a) The department, in consultation with the
    30  office of children and family services, shall  provide  discharge  plans
    31  for  juvenile  offenders  and  adolescent  offenders who are released to
    32  parole or post-release supervision, which are tailored to address  their
    33  individual  needs. Such plans shall include services designed to promote
    34  public safety and the successful and productive reentry of such  adoles-
    35  cents into society.
    36    (b)  The department shall provide discharge plans for all incarcerated
    37  individuals which are tailored to address the incarcerated  individual's
    38  individual  needs  upon  reentry  and  reintegration  into  society upon
    39  release. Such discharge plans shall include, but not be limited to:
    40    (i) Completed Medicaid enrollment, if eligible;
    41    (ii) Medications sufficient to allow the  incarcerated  individual  to
    42  transition to a post-release location; and
    43    (iii)  Written  coordination  between  the  department and health care
    44  providers including, but not limited to, the transfer of patient records
    45  to a health care provider for the service of the releasee.
    46    (c) An incarcerated individual who receives clinical intervention  for
    47  post-traumatic prison disorder under section seventy-one-a of this arti-
    48  cle  shall  receive  the  following  upon reentry and reintegration into
    49  society upon release:
    50    (i) Mental health services;
    51    (ii) Therapeutic  programs  including  nontraditional  therapies  like
    52  yoga, meditation, and physical therapy;
    53    (iii) Family counseling;
    54    (iv) Housing information;
    55    (v) Job placement information; and
    56    (vi) Money management assistance.
        A. 6058                             3

     1    §  4.  The  department  of corrections and community supervision shall
     2  submit a report on the state of  mental  health  care  services  in  the
     3  corrections  system, including local jails, which shall include, but not
     4  be limited to,  an  assessment  of  the  degree  to  which  the  federal
     5  substance abuse and mental health services administration's guidance for
     6  trauma-informed  approach  to  mental health has been implemented to the
     7  governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of  the
     8  assembly no later than December 31, 2024.
     9    §  5.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    10  have become a law.    Effective  immediately,  the  addition,  amendment
    11  and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
    12  of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to be made and
    13  completed on or before such effective date.