Arroyo, Cook, Davila, De La Rosa, Gottfried, Jaffee, Montesano, O'Donnell, Simon, Steck, Walker
Amd §§47.01 & 47.03, Ment Hyg L; add §508-a, Exec L
Provides legal assistance to youth ordered by the court into the custody of the office of children and family services and placed or committed to a state operated juvenile detention center.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1806
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BARRON, BICHOTTE, ORTIZ, HYNDMAN -- Multi-Spon-
sored by -- M. of A. ARROYO, COOK, DAVILA, GOTTFRIED, JAFFEE, MONTESA-
NO, O'DONNELL, SIMON, STECK, WALKER -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the executive law, in
relation to providing legal assistance to youth ordered by the court
into the custody of the office of children and family services and
placed or committed to a state operated juvenile detention center
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 47.01 of the mental hygiene law,
2 as amended by chapter 7 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (a) There shall be a mental hygiene legal service of the state in each
5 judicial department. The service shall provide legal assistance to
6 patients or residents of a facility as defined in section 1.03 of this
7 chapter, or any other place or facility which is required to have an
8 operating certificate pursuant to article sixteen or thirty-one of this
9 chapter, and to persons alleged to be in need of care and treatment in
10 such facilities or places, and to persons entitled to such legal assist-
11 ance as provided by article ten of this chapter. The services shall
12 also provide legal assistance to youth ordered by the court into the
13 custody of the office of children and family services and placed or
14 committed to a state operated juvenile detention center. The head of
15 such service in each judicial department and such assistants and such
16 staff as may be necessary shall be appointed and may be removed by the
17 presiding justice of the appellate division of the judicial department.
18 Appointments and transfers to the service shall comply with the
19 provisions of the civil service law. Standards for qualifications of the
20 personnel in the service shall be established by the presiding justice
21 of the appellate division of the judicial department. The presiding
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00013-01-9
A. 1806 2
1 justice of the appellate division of the judicial department shall
2 promulgate such rules or regulations as may be necessary to effectuate
3 the purposes of this article.
4 § 2. Section 47.03 of the mental hygiene law, as added by chapter 789
5 of the laws of 1985, subdivision (c) as amended by chapter 408 of the
6 laws of 1999, subdivisions (d) and (e) as amended and subdivision (f) as
7 added by chapter 7 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
8 § 47.03 Functions, powers and duties of the service.
9 The mental hygiene legal service in each judicial department of the
10 state shall perform the following duties:
11 (a) To study and review the admission and retention of all patients or
12 residents which shall include a review of the willingness of the patient
13 or resident to remain in his or her status and the determination of the
14 facility director as to suitability of such status, as provided for by
15 this chapter;
16 (b) To inform patients or residents and, in proper cases, others
17 interested in such persons' welfare of procedures for admission and
18 retention and of the patients' or residents' right to have judicial
19 hearing and review, to be represented by legal counsel, and to seek
20 independent medical opinion;
21 (c) To provide legal services and assistance to patients or residents
22 and their families related to the admission, retention, and care and
23 treatment of such persons, to provide legal services and assistance to
24 subjects of a petition or patients subject to section 9.60 of this chap-
25 ter, and to inform patients or residents, their families and, in proper
26 cases, others interested in the patients' or residents' welfare of the
27 availability of other legal resources which may be of assistance in
28 matters not directly related to the admission, retention, and care and
29 treatment of such patients or residents;
30 (d) To provide legal services and assistance to youth residing in
31 juvenile detention centers and their families related to the retention,
32 care and treatment of such persons, and to inform youth and their fami-
33 lies and in proper cases, others interested in the youths' welfare, of
34 the availability of other legal resources which may be of assistance in
35 matters not directly related to the retention, care and treatment of
36 such youth;
37 (e) To be granted access at any and all times to any facility or place
38 or part thereof described in subdivision (a) of section 47.01 of this
39 article, and to all books, records and data pertaining to any such
40 facility or place deemed necessary for carrying out its functions,
41 powers and duties. The mental hygiene legal service may require from the
42 officers or employees of such facility or place any information deemed
43 necessary for the purpose of carrying out the service's functions,
44 powers and duties. Information, books, records or data which are confi-
45 dential and any limitations on the release thereof imposed by law upon
46 the party furnishing the information, books, records or data shall apply
47 to the service. Provided, however, whenever federal regulations
48 restrict, or as a condition of federal aid require that a facility
49 restrict the release of information contained in the clinical record of
50 a patient or client, or restrict disclosure of the identity of a patient
51 or access to that patient, to a greater extent than is allowed under
52 this section, the provisions of such federal law or federal regulation
53 shall be controlling;
54 [(e)] (f) To initiate and take any legal action deemed necessary to
55 safeguard the right of any patient [or], resident or youth to protection
56 from abuse or mistreatment, which may include investigation into any
A. 1806 3
1 such allegations of abuse or mistreatment of any such patient or resi-
2 dent; and
3 [(f)] (g) To provide legal services and assistance in accordance with
4 article ten of this chapter.
5 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 508-a to
6 read as follows:
7 § 508-a. Legal services and assistance to youth. In addition to any
8 law guardian, court appointed counsel or private counsel a youth may
9 have, the mental hygiene legal service in each judicial department of
10 the state, established pursuant to article forty-seven of the mental
11 hygiene law, shall provide legal services and assistance to youth and
12 their family relating to the retention, care and treatment of such youth
13 when such youth is ordered by the court into the custody of the office
14 of children and family services and placed or committed to a state oper-
15 ated juvenile detention center.
16 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
17 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision
18 (c) of section 47.03 of the mental hygiene law made by section two of
19 this act shall not affect the expiration and reversion of such subdivi-
20 sion and shall be deemed to expire therewith. Effective immediately, the
21 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary
22 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized
23 and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
