Establishes a reentry services and treatment fund; establishes training requirements for peace officers related to mental illness and trauma informed care.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4974
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 14, 2025
___________
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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09057-01-5
S. 4974 2
1 6. Funding shall be distributed regionally and to ensure adequate
2 geographic disbursement across the state. In addition to programs and
3 services overseen by the division of criminal justice services, funding
4 may also be expended on programs and services overseen by the department
5 of health, the office of mental health, the division of housing and
6 community renewal, the office of addiction services and supports, the
7 office of temporary and disability assistance, or any other agency that
8 may oversee an appropriate program or service that is considered an
9 eligible expenditure as provided under this section. Funding decisions
10 shall include an emphasis on supporting programs that are culturally,
11 linguistically and gender competent, trauma-informed, evidence-based
12 and, where appropriate, employ individuals with lived experience as part
13 of the services provided. Agencies, offices, and programs receiving such
14 funding shall collaborate at the regional level to identify gaps of
15 service and develop a comprehensive continuum of services to support the
16 reentry and treatment needs of individuals reentering the community
17 after a period of incarceration.
18 7. On or before November first of the year after the initial deposit
19 of monies in the reentry services and treatment fund, the relevant
20 commissioners shall provide a written report to the governor, temporary
21 president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate
22 finance committee, chair of the assembly ways and means committee, chair
23 of the senate alcoholism and substance use disorders committee and chair
24 of the assembly alcoholism and drug abuse committee. Such report shall
25 be presented as a consolidated dashboard and be made publicly available
26 on the respective offices' websites. The report shall include the
27 following information:
28 (i) the baseline funding for any entity that receives funding from the
29 reentry services and treatment fund, prior to the receipt of such
30 reentry services and treatment funds;
31 (ii) how funds deposited in the reentry services and treatment fund
32 had been utilized in the preceding calendar year, including but not
33 limited to:
34 (A) the amount of money disbursed from the fund and the award process
35 used for such disbursement, if applicable;
36 (B) the names and total number of recipients, the amounts awarded to
37 each recipient and details about the purpose such funds were awarded
38 for, including what specific services and programs the funds were used
39 on and what populations such services or programs served, including
40 information on specific services or programs aimed to serve women and
41 families impacted by incarceration;
42 (C) the main criteria utilized to determine the award, including how
43 the program or service assists to reduce recidivism of individuals reen-
44 tering the community after a period of incarceration;
45 (D) an analysis of the effectiveness of the services and/or programs
46 that received reentry services and treatment funding in their efforts to
47 increase stability and reduce recidivism of individuals reentering the
48 community after a period of incarceration. Such analysis shall utilize
49 evidence-based uniform metrics when reviewing the effects the service
50 and/or program had on enhancing stability and supports for individuals
51 served by the service and/or program, preventing further criminal legal
52 system involvement, and advancing treatment and recovery for individuals
53 with associated needs;
54 (E) any relevant information provided by the New York subdivisions
55 pursuant to this section; and
S. 4974 3
1 (F) any other information the commissioners deem necessary for the
2 legislature to determine appropriate future awards and ensure such fund-
3 ing is not being used to supplant local, state, or federal funding.
4 § 2. Section 2.30 of the criminal procedure law is amended by adding a
5 new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
6 7. (a) The commissioner of criminal justice services, in consultation
7 with the commissioner of health, shall ensure that training for peace
8 officers who work in the criminal legal system are provided at least ten
9 hours of training annually related to mental illness and trauma informed
10 care pursuant to section 7.23 of the mental hygiene law. Trauma training
11 pursuant to this section will be offered as an additive part of the
12 required training for all such peace officers, and no other part of the
13 training will be reduced. Such training shall include, but not be limit-
14 ed to:
15 (i) programs and activities related to mental health, including any
16 information on applicable mental health diversion programs and proc-
17 esses;
18 (ii) trauma informed care, intervention and practices, including
19 gender-informed care and best practices on making an arrest when a child
20 is present;
21 (iii) adverse childhood experiences and social emotional learning,
22 including the impact of parental incarceration on children and best
23 practices for facilitating familial connection to an incarcerated care-
24 giver;
25 (iv) behavioral health disorders;
26 (v) best practices for improving the overall criminal legal system
27 environment;
28 (vi) safe de-escalation of crisis situations;
29 (vii) identifying signs and symptoms, including early stages of mental
30 illness and behavioral health issues; and
31 (viii) the use of evidence-based training programs including, but not
32 limited to, mental health first aid or core elements of such programs to
33 the extent practicable.
34 (b) In addition to other programs and services, the state comptroller
35 and the commissioner of taxation and finance shall ensure that a suffi-
36 cient portion of the moneys appropriated to the reentry services and
37 treatment fund, established under section ninety-two-kk of the state
38 finance law, is allocated to provide the required training pursuant to
39 this section.
40 § 3. The sum of five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000), or so
41 much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the depart-
42 ment of taxation and finance from any moneys in the state treasury in
43 the general fund to the credit of the reentry services and treatment
44 fund not otherwise appropriated for the purposes of carrying out the
45 provisions of this act. Such sum shall be payable on the audit and
46 warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by
47 the commissioner of taxation and finance, or their duly designated
48 representative in the manner provided by law.
49 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
