Directs DOCCS, in collaboration with OTDA, OMH and OASAS, to establish a 5-year reintegration pilot program for individuals being released from correctional facilities to provide supports and services to prepare for release, assist with reintegration into the community, and reduce recidivism.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5061
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 18, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- 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 establishing a rein-
tegration pilot program for individuals being released from correc-
tional facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The correction law is amended by adding a new section 71-b
2 to read as follows:
3 § 71-b. Reintegration pilot program. 1. The department, in collab-
4 oration with the office of temporary and disability assistance, the
5 office of mental health and the office of addiction services and
6 supports shall establish and conduct a five-year reintegration pilot
7 program to help ensure that incarcerated individuals within correctional
8 facilities receive the supports and services necessary to meaningfully
9 prepare for their release while still incarcerated, to assist individ-
10 uals to reintegrate into the community upon release, and to reduce reci-
11 divism. Such pilot program shall be conducted in three correctional
12 facilities, consisting of one female and two male facilities, selected
13 by the department, taking into consideration adequate geographic
14 distribution within the state as well as availability of sufficient
15 links to supports and services required by this section. For purposes
16 of this pilot program, there shall be at least one hundred incarcerated
17 individuals who on a voluntary basis request placement in the pilot
18 program up to one year before their earliest expected release date.
19 Each incarcerated individual shall receive an in-depth screening and
20 assessment to determine their specific needs as relating to, including
21 but not limited to, mental health and substance use disorder services,
22 educational needs and job readiness. In addition to an in-depth screen-
23 ing and assessment, participants in the pilot program shall also be
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05018-01-5
S. 5061 2
1 linked with not-for-profit organizations and peer to peer engagement
2 opportunities to assist with the individual's reintegration planning.
3 This shall occur no less than six months prior to their expected release
4 date and shall consist of, but not be limited to, assistance applying
5 for public benefits, referrals and links to mental health and/or
6 substance use disorder service providers if applicable, connections to
7 employment opportunities as well as job training programs if appropri-
8 ate, assistance finding available stable housing options to be available
9 upon release and general supports and services that may be helpful for
10 an individual reintegrating back into the community.
11 2. Prior to release from the correctional facility, the department
12 shall identify and place individuals with not-for-profit providers that
13 shall continue supports and services, as needed, for up to an additional
14 year to ensure the individual's successful reintegration into the commu-
15 nity. Such services shall include, but not be limited to, connecting
16 individuals to health and behavioral health services, as appropriate,
17 assistance ensuring compliance with any parole or court mandated activ-
18 ities, connections to employment opportunities based on their skills
19 identified while incarcerated and assistance acquiring stable affordable
20 housing. The collaborating agencies shall contract with not-for-profit
21 providers to effectuate the requirements specified in this section where
22 the department is unable.
23 3. The commissioner, in consultation with appropriate community organ-
24 izations, shall submit within one year of the effective date of this
25 section, and annually thereafter, a report to the governor, the tempo-
26 rary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on the
27 effectiveness of this pilot program. This pilot shall run for two years
28 and collect data on the number of people:
29 (a) connected to housing;
30 (b) housed;
31 (c) connected to employment;
32 (d) employed;
33 (e) connected to mental health care; and
34 (f) with substance abuse disorder.
35 4. No person shall have the right to demand or require participation
36 in the pilot program authorized by this section.
37 5. Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize the depart-
38 ment to hold an incarcerated individual in confinement beyond their
39 earliest release date.
40 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
41 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediate-
42 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
43 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
44 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
