Bill Text: NY S08528 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes a reentry services and treatment fund; establishes training requirements for peace officers related to mental illness and trauma informed care.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-03-09 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [S08528 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S08528-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8528 IN SENATE March 9, 2022 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance AN ACT to amend the state finance law and the criminal procedure law, in relation to establishing a reentry services and treatment fund; and making an appropriation therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 2 92-kk to read as follows: 3 § 92-kk. Reentry services and treatment fund. 1. There is hereby 4 established in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the 5 commissioner of taxation and finance a special fund to be known as the 6 "reentry services and treatment fund" for the purposes of funding volun- 7 tary services and treatment in the community for New Yorkers reentering 8 the community after a period of incarceration. 9 2. The several amounts specified in this section for reentry services 10 and treatment, or so much thereof as shall be sufficient to accomplish 11 the purposes designated by the appropriations, are hereby appropriated 12 and authorized to be paid as hereinafter provided, to the respective 13 public officers and for the several purposes specified. 14 3. Money allocated to the reentry services and treatment fund shall be 15 kept separate and shall not be commingled with any other funds in the 16 custody of the state comptroller. 17 4. Money expended from this fund shall be used to supplement and not 18 supplant or replace any other funds, including federal or state funding, 19 which would otherwise have been expended for reentry services and treat- 20 ment. Provided further, general operating funds or baseline funding 21 shall not be reduced due to monies expended from the fund. 22 5. This fund shall consist of monies appropriated by the legislature 23 to be spent on eligible expenditures as defined herein. 24 6. Funding shall be distributed regionally and to ensure adequate 25 geographic disbursement across the state. In addition to programs and 26 services overseen by the division of criminal justice services, funding 27 may also be expended on programs and services overseen by the department EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD14992-01-2S. 8528 2 1 of health, the office of mental health, the division of housing and 2 community renewal, the office of addiction services and supports, the 3 office of temporary and disability assistance, or any other agency that 4 may oversee an appropriate program or service that is considered an 5 eligible expenditure as provided under this section. Funding decisions 6 shall include an emphasis on supporting programs that are culturally, 7 linguistically and gender competent, trauma-informed, evidence-based 8 and, where appropriate, employ individuals with lived experience as part 9 of the services provided. Agencies, offices, and programs receiving such 10 funding shall collaborate at the regional level to identify gaps of 11 service and develop a comprehensive continuum of services to support the 12 reentry and treatment needs of individuals reentering the community 13 after a period of incarceration. 14 7. On or before November first of the year after the initial deposit 15 of monies in the reentry services and treatment fund, the relevant 16 commissioners shall provide a written report to the governor, temporary 17 president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate 18 finance committee, chair of the assembly ways and means committee, chair 19 of the senate alcoholism and substance abuse committee and chair of the 20 assembly alcoholism and drug abuse committee. Such report shall be 21 presented as a consolidated dashboard and be made publicly available on 22 the respective offices' websites. The report shall include the following 23 information: 24 (i) the baseline funding for any entity that receives funding from the 25 reentry services and treatment fund, prior to the receipt of such 26 reentry services and treatment funds; 27 (ii) how funds deposited in the reentry services and treatment fund 28 had been utilized in the preceding calendar year, including but not 29 limited to: 30 (A) the amount of money disbursed from the fund and the award process 31 used for such disbursement, if applicable; 32 (B) the names and total number of recipients, the amounts awarded to 33 each recipient and details about the purpose such funds were awarded 34 for, including what specific services and programs the funds were used 35 on and what populations such services or programs served, including 36 information on specific services or programs aimed to serve women and 37 families impacted by incarceration; 38 (C) the main criteria utilized to determine the award, including how 39 the program or service assists to reduce recidivism of individuals reen- 40 tering the community after a period of incarceration; 41 (D) an analysis of the effectiveness of the services and/or programs 42 that received reentry services and treatment funding in their efforts to 43 increase stability and reduce recidivism of individuals reentering the 44 community after a period of incarceration. Such analysis shall utilize 45 evidence-based uniform metrics when reviewing the effects the service 46 and/or program had on enhancing stability and supports for individuals 47 served by the service and/or program, preventing further criminal legal 48 system involvement, and advancing treatment and recovery for individuals 49 with associated needs; 50 (E) any relevant information provided by the New York subdivisions 51 pursuant to this section; and 52 (F) any other information the commissioners deem necessary for the 53 legislature to determine appropriate future awards and ensure such fund- 54 ing is not being used to supplant local, state, or federal funding. 55 § 2. Section 2.30 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a 56 new subdivision 7 to read as follows:S. 8528 3 1 7. (a) The commissioner of criminal justice services, in consultation 2 with the commissioner of health, shall ensure that training for peace 3 officers who work in the criminal legal system are provided at least ten 4 hours of training annually related to mental illness and trauma informed 5 care pursuant to section 7.23 of the mental hygiene law. Trauma training 6 pursuant to this section will be offered as an additive part of the 7 required training for all such peace officers, and no other part of the 8 training will be reduced. Such training shall include, but not be limit- 9 ed to: 10 (i) programs and activities related to mental health, including any 11 information on applicable mental health diversion programs and proc- 12 esses; 13 (ii) trauma informed care, intervention and practices, including 14 gender-informed care and best practices on making an arrest when a child 15 is present; 16 (iii) adverse childhood experiences and social emotional learning, 17 including the impact of parental incarceration on children and best 18 practices for facilitating familial connection to an incarcerated care- 19 giver; 20 (iv) behavioral health disorders; 21 (v) best practices for improving the overall criminal legal system 22 environment; 23 (vi) safe de-escalation of crisis situations; 24 (vii) identifying signs and symptoms, including early stages of mental 25 illness and behavioral health issues; and 26 (viii) the use of evidence-based training programs including, but not 27 limited to, mental health first aid or core elements of such programs to 28 the extent practicable. 29 (b) In addition to other programs and services, the state comptroller 30 and the commissioner of taxation and finance shall ensure that a suffi- 31 cient portion of the moneys appropriated to the reentry services and 32 treatment fund, established under section ninety-two-kk of the state 33 finance law, is allocated to provide the required training pursuant to 34 this section. 35 § 3. The sum of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), or so 36 much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the depart- 37 ment of taxation and finance from any moneys in the state treasury in 38 the general fund to the credit of the reentry services and treatment 39 fund not otherwise appropriated for the purposes of carrying out the 40 provisions of this act. Such sum shall be payable on the audit and 41 warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by 42 the commissioner of taxation and finance, or his duly designated repre- 43 sentative in the manner provided by law. 44 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
