Bill Text: NY A06144 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires mental health services for inmates with post-traumatic prison disorder upon reentry and reintegration into society upon release.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to correction [A06144 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A06144-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6144

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     March 10, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. JEAN-PIERRE, JACKSON -- read once and referred to
          the Committee on Correction

        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  correction law, in relation to requiring mental
          health services for inmates with post-traumatic prison 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 added by section  16-a  of
     4  subpart  A  of  part  C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to
     5  read as follows:
     6    § 71-a. Transitional accountability plan.  1.  Upon  admission  of  an
     7  inmate committed to the custody of the department under an indeterminate
     8  or  determinate sentence of imprisonment, the department shall develop a
     9  transitional accountability plan. Such plan shall  be  a  comprehensive,
    10  dynamic and individualized case management plan based on the programming
    11  and  treatment needs of the inmate. The purpose of such plan shall be to
    12  promote the rehabilitation  of  the  inmate  and  their  successful  and
    13  productive  reentry and reintegration into society upon release. To that
    14  end, such plan shall be used to  prioritize  programming  and  treatment
    15  services for the inmate during incarceration and any period of community
    16  supervision.  The  commissioner  may  consult  with the office of mental
    17  health,  the  office  of  [alcoholism  and  substance  abuse]  addiction
    18  services  and  supports,  the board of parole, the department of health,
    19  and other appropriate agencies in the development of  transitional  case
    20  management plans.
    21    2. (a) Mental health reentry services shall be included in an inmate's
    22  transitional  accountability  plan.  Such mental health reentry services
    23  shall begin the first week upon admission of an inmate to a correctional
    24  facility.   Mental health reentry services shall  include,  but  not  be
    25  limited  to:  (i) behavioral health screening and assessment; (ii) clin-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06629-01-1
        A. 6144                             2

     1  ical intervention  for  post-traumatic  prison  disorder;  (iii)  mental
     2  health and trauma screenings within sixty days of being committed to the
     3  custody  of  the  department.  Where an inmate would benefit from trauma
     4  oriented therapy, the mental health reentry services shall include trau-
     5  ma oriented therapy.  If an inmate is at a facility which cannot provide
     6  proper mental health reentry services to the inmate, the inmate shall be
     7  transferred within seven days to a facility with the capacity to provide
     8  the inmate with his or her proper mental health reentry services.
     9    (b)  A  registered  organization or representative who provides mental
    10  health reentry services shall be an outside vendor who employs or  is  a
    11  registered therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or nurse
    12  who specializes in trauma and utilizes culturally sensitive techniques.
    13    3.  The department shall invest, develop and adopt policies and proce-
    14  dures to create training for all prison personnel for basic competencies
    15  in mental health trauma as a result of post-traumatic prison disorder.
    16    4. The department shall submit a report including, but not limited to,
    17  the number of inmates screened for mental  health  and  trauma  and  the
    18  number of inmates receiving therapy or clinical intervention with infor-
    19  mation on the types of therapy or clinical intervention such inmates are
    20  receiving  to  the  governor, the temporary president of the senate, and
    21  the speaker of the assembly no later than December thirty-first of  each
    22  year.
    23    §  3.  Section  78  of the correction law, as added by section 81-b of
    24  part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws  of  2017,  is  amended  to  read  as
    25  follows:
    26    §  78.  Discharge  plans. (a) The department, in consultation with the
    27  office of children and family services, shall  provide  discharge  plans
    28  for  juvenile  offenders  and  adolescent  offenders who are released to
    29  parole or post-release supervision, which are tailored to address  their
    30  individual  needs. Such plans shall include services designed to promote
    31  public safety and the successful and productive reentry of such  adoles-
    32  cents into society.
    33    (b) The department shall provide discharge plans for all inmates which
    34  are  tailored  to address the inmate's individual needs upon reentry and
    35  reintegration into society upon  release.  Such  discharge  plans  shall
    36  include, but not be limited to:
    37    (i) Completed Medicaid enrollment, if eligible;
    38    (ii)  Medications  sufficient  to  allow the inmate to transition to a
    39  post-release location; and
    40    (iii) Written coordination between  the  department  and  health  care
    41  providers including, but not limited to, the transfer of patient records
    42  to a health care provider for the service of the releasee.
    43    (c)  An  inmate  who receives clinical intervention for post-traumatic
    44  prison disorder  under  section  seventy-one-a  of  this  article  shall
    45  receive  the  following upon reentry and reintegration into society upon
    46  release:
    47    (i) Mental health services;
    48    (ii) Therapeutic  programs  including  nontraditional  therapies  like
    49  yoga, meditation, and physical therapy;
    50    (iii) Family counseling;
    51    (iv) Housing information;
    52    (v) Job placement information; and
    53    (vi) Money management assistance.
    54    §  4.  The  department  of corrections and community supervision shall
    55  submit a report on the state of  mental  health  care  services  in  the
    56  corrections  system, including local jails, which shall include, but not
        A. 6144                             3

     1  be limited to,  an  assessment  of  the  degree  to  which  the  federal
     2  substance abuse and mental health services administration's guidance for
     3  trauma-informed  approach  to  mental health has been implemented to the
     4  governor,  the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the
     5  assembly no later than December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two.
     6    § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
     7  have  become  a  law.    Effective  immediately, the addition, amendment
     8  and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
     9  of this act on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to  be  made  and
    10  completed on or before such effective date.