Bill Text: NY S09817 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the provision of breast pumps and related collection and storage materials to all mothers who are confined in or committed to an institution or local correctional facility with or without their child subject to specific time limitations; requires institutions and local correctional facilities to provide pumps and related materials to such mothers, but not beyond the date such child reaches twenty-four months of age except in limited circumstances related to parole; allows children to remain with their mothers in a correctional institution until twenty-four months of age, or longer in certain cases related to parole; requires the commissioner of corrections and community supervision to issue an annual report on data relating to incarcerated mothers.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-31 - REFERRED TO CRIME VICTIMS, CRIME AND CORRECTION [S09817 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S09817-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9817 IN SENATE May 31, 2024 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to providing breast pumps to certain incarcerated nursing birth parents The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 611 of the correction law is amended by adding four 2 new subdivisions 5, 6, 7 and 8 to read as follows: 3 5. A person who gives birth in a hospital or medical facility while in 4 the custody of an institution or local correctional facility shall be 5 permitted to keep all health and newborn related supplies and equipment 6 provided to them by the hospital or medical facility upon their return 7 to the institution or local correctional facility, including but not 8 limited to diapers, breast pump equipment, breastfeeding supplies, 9 breast pads, sanitary napkins, underwear, water bottle, heating pad, 10 perineal squirt bottles, sitz baths, and health creams, ointments, and 11 sprays. Such person and their newborn shall be provided with uninter- 12 rupted access to therapeutically equivalent medication as prescribed by 13 medical personnel at the hospital or medical facility for a duration 14 consistent with the timeframe prescribed by such personnel. 15 6. (a) For purposes of this subdivision, a breastfeeding parent is 16 defined as: 17 (i) a parent in custody of an institution or local correctional facil- 18 ity who lives with their child pursuant to subdivisions two and three of 19 this section; and 20 (ii) a parent in custody of an institution or local correctional 21 facility who is able to produce breast milk of any amount and whose 22 child is living in the community and is thirty-six months of age or 23 younger. 24 (b) (i) A breastfeeding parent shall have the right to: 25 (A) breastfeed their child consistent with the rights enumerated in 26 subdivision three of section twenty-five hundred five-a of the public 27 health law; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01366-06-4S. 9817 2 1 (B) breastfeed their child in any location consistent with section 2 seventy-nine-e of the civil rights law or use a breast pump or express 3 breast milk in any location, provided that the institution or local 4 correctional facility has authorized such parent and their child to be 5 in such location; 6 (C) breastfeed and express breast milk at a frequency determined by 7 such parent; 8 (D) store breast milk at the institution or local correctional facili- 9 ty in a fashion consistent with the requirements set forth in paragraphs 10 (f) and (g) of this subdivision; and 11 (E) if such parent is not living with their child, designate an indi- 12 vidual in the community to gather breast milk from the institution or 13 local correctional facility for the purpose of delivering the breast 14 milk to their child. 15 (ii) An institution or local correctional facility shall not require a 16 parent to breastfeed or discriminate against or penalize in any way a 17 parent for their breastfeeding decisions and actions. 18 (c) A breastfeeding parent participating in jobs and programs shall 19 not be penalized for engaging in activities consistent with section two 20 hundred six-c of the labor law, and shall be provided with the same 21 accommodations as required under such section of the labor law. 22 (d) An institution or local correctional facility shall provide a 23 breastfeeding parent, as defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, 24 with the following: 25 (i) a personal electric pump with associated parts including flanges, 26 valves, membranes, connections, tubes, and collection bottles; 27 (ii) a personal manual pump; 28 (iii) a personal breastfeeding cover, personal pillow, and other 29 personal items that allow for comfort and privacy during breastfeeding 30 and expressing breast milk; 31 (iv) comprehensive current information about breastfeeding and lacta- 32 tion that reflects standards of the department of health in a language 33 and manner understandable to such parent; and 34 (v) access to breastfeeding and lactation assistance from personnel 35 with relevant expertise and, if available, other individuals incarcerat- 36 ed at the institution or local correctional facility who work in or 37 otherwise support pregnancy or child related programming and are able to 38 provide breastfeeding and lactation support. 39 (e) Upon such parent's request for infant formula, the institution or 40 local correctional facility shall provide such parent with formula that 41 meet standards and nutrient requirements set forth by the United States 42 food and drug administration. If such parent determines that their 43 infant is intolerant to or otherwise made physically uncomfortable by 44 the formula provided, the institution or local correctional facility 45 shall provide alternate formulas until such parent determines that one 46 is sufficient for their infant. Prior to making their determination, 47 such parent shall be afforded the opportunity to discuss formula related 48 issues with personnel providing lactation care and pediatric care in 49 that institution or local correctional facility. 50 (f) An institution or local correctional facility shall acquire breast 51 pump parts and breast milk storage devices only from organizations and 52 agencies that are in compliance with section 37-0505 of the environ- 53 mental conservation law, and shall clean or allow a breastfeeding 54 parent, as defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, to clean breast 55 pump parts and breast milk storage devices at a frequency consistent 56 with regulations set forth by the department of health.S. 9817 3 1 (g) An institution or local correctional facility shall store breast- 2 milk safely in a refrigerator or comparable cooling unit consistent with 3 guidelines set forth by the department of health until it is ready for 4 consumption by the child of a breastfeeding parent, as defined in para- 5 graph (a) of this subdivision, or for pick up by a designated individual 6 pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 7 7. (a) The department and commission shall compile data outlined in 8 paragraph (b) of this subdivision for an annual report to the governor, 9 the temporary president of the senate, the minority leader of the 10 senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assem- 11 bly, the chairperson of the senate health committee, the chairperson of 12 the senate crime victims, crime and correction committee, the chair- 13 person of the assembly health committee, the chairperson of the assembly 14 correction committee, the chairperson of the legislative women's caucus, 15 and the chairperson of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian 16 legislative caucus. Such data shall be disaggregated by institution and 17 local correctional facility and reported in a de-identified fashion. 18 Reports issued pursuant to this paragraph shall be posted on the 19 websites maintained by the department and the commission. 20 (b) Each institution and local correctional facility shall work with 21 relevant personnel and contracted external health care providers to 22 collect the following data and provide it in a de-identified fashion to 23 the department for the purpose outlined in paragraph (a) of this subdi- 24 vision: 25 (i) the number of individuals known to be pregnant upon admission; 26 (ii) the number of individuals identified as being pregnant while in 27 custody, including the number participating in a work release program 28 and the number in custody for a parole violation; 29 (iii) the average daily census of pregnant individuals; 30 (iv) the number of ectopic pregnancies, molar pregnancies, abortions, 31 miscarriages, stillbirths, vaginal deliveries, and caesarean deliveries; 32 (v) the number of pregnancies determined by medical personnel to be 33 high risk and the reasons for such determinations; 34 (vi) for each newborn, the gestational age at delivery, birth weight, 35 and length of stay, if any, in a neonatal intensive care unit; 36 (vii) for pregnant individuals, their race, ethnicity, gender identi- 37 ty, age, crime of conviction, and county of conviction; 38 (viii) for individuals who apply for a nursery program, their race, 39 ethnicity, gender identity, age, crime of conviction, and county of 40 conviction, whether those individuals were approved or denied for the 41 program, along with specific and detailed reasons for denials, including 42 how they may relate to the crime of conviction, criminal record, custo- 43 dial history, history of violence, history of involvement with child 44 protective services, or history of substance use of the individual, the 45 mental or physical health conditions of the individual or child, or the 46 safety of the individual, child, or others in the nursery; 47 (ix) the number of babies who do not return to an institution with 48 their parent and the reasons, including denial for a nursery program, 49 and where those babies are placed, including non-kinship foster care, 50 kinship foster care, with the other parent, with a friend, and with a 51 family member not in foster care; 52 (x) for institutions with a nursery program, the number of nursery 53 beds available and the number of beds utilized each month; 54 (xi) the length of time between each nursery application and decision, 55 the length of time between each decision and the birth of the child, andS. 9817 4 1 if admission is granted, the length of time between the decision and 2 placement of the individual in the nursery; 3 (xii) the number of individuals participating in the nursery program; 4 (xiii) the number of children who enter a nursery from the community; 5 (xiv) the number of individuals removed from the nursery disaggregated 6 by race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, crime of conviction, county of 7 conviction, and length of nursery stay, along with specific and detailed 8 reasons for removals, including how they may relate to the crime of 9 conviction, criminal record, custodial history, history of violence, 10 history of involvement with child protective services, or history of 11 substance use of the individual, the mental or physical health condi- 12 tions of the individual or child, and the safety of the individual, 13 child, or others in the nursery; 14 (xv) the number of babies removed from a nursery program and where 15 those babies are placed, including non-kinship foster care, kinship 16 foster care, with the other parent, with a friend, and with a family 17 member not in foster care; and 18 (xvi) the number of babies who return to the community with their 19 parent after being in a nursery program and the length of time spent in 20 the nursery. 21 8. Any person confined in an institution or local correctional facili- 22 ty that houses pregnant or postpartum individuals or individuals who may 23 become pregnant shall receive notice in writing in a language and manner 24 understandable to them about the requirements contained in each subdivi- 25 sion of this section upon their admission and again, regardless of the 26 institution or local correctional facility in which they are housed, if 27 they are known to be pregnant or to be a breastfeeding parent, or to be 28 eligible for their child to join them in an institution or local correc- 29 tional facility pursuant to subdivisions two and three of this section. 30 The superintendent or sheriff shall publish notice of the requirements 31 contained in each subdivision of this section in prominent locations 32 where pregnancy related care and child related care are provided. The 33 department and the sheriff shall provide annual training on the 34 provisions contained in each subdivision of this section for all correc- 35 tional, civilian and volunteer personnel who are involved in the trans- 36 portation, supervision or care of pregnant people or breastfeeding 37 parents, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision six this section, or 38 parents eligible for their child to join them in an institution or local 39 correctional facility pursuant to subdivisions two and three of this 40 section. 41 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
