Bill Text: NY A10703 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires mental health services for incarcerated individuals with post-traumatic prison disorder upon reentry and reintegration into society upon release.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-09-09 - referred to correction [A10703 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A10703-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10703 IN ASSEMBLY September 9, 2022 ___________ Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Solages) -- 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 25 reentry services shall include, but not be limited to: (i) behavioral 26 health screening and assessment; (ii) clinical intervention for post- 27 traumatic prison disorder; (iii) mental health and trauma screenings EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14378-01-2A. 10703 2 1 within sixty days of being committed to the custody of the department. 2 Where an incarcerated individual would benefit from trauma oriented 3 therapy, the mental health reentry services shall include trauma 4 oriented therapy. If an incarcerated individual is at a facility which 5 cannot provide proper mental health reentry services to the incarcerated 6 individual, the incarcerated individual shall be transferred within 7 seven days to a facility with the capacity to provide the incarcerated 8 individual 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 incarcerated individuals screened for mental health and 18 trauma and the number of incarcerated individuals receiving therapy or 19 clinical intervention with information on the types of therapy or clin- 20 ical intervention such incarcerated individuals are receiving to the 21 governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the 22 assembly no later than December thirty-first of each 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 incarcerated 34 individuals which are tailored to address the incarcerated individual's 35 individual needs upon reentry and reintegration into society upon 36 release. Such discharge plans shall include, but not be limited to: 37 (i) Completed Medicaid enrollment, if eligible; 38 (ii) Medications sufficient to allow the incarcerated individual to 39 transition to a 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 incarcerated individual who receives clinical intervention for 44 post-traumatic prison disorder under section seventy-one-a of this arti- 45 cle shall receive the following upon reentry and reintegration into 46 society upon 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 notA. 10703 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.
