STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4872
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 17, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. BENJAMIN, COMRIE -- 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 requiring mental
health services for inmates with post-traumatic prison disorder
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "Post-traumatic prison disorder Shawanna W76337 act".
3 § 2. Section 71-a of the correction law, as added by section 16-a of
4 subpart A of part C of chapter 62 of the laws of 2011, is amended to
5 read as follows:
6 § 71-a. Transitional accountability plan. 1. Upon admission of an
7 inmate committed to the custody of the department under an indeterminate
8 or determinate sentence of imprisonment, the department shall develop a
9 transitional accountability plan. Such plan shall be a comprehensive,
10 dynamic and individualized case management plan based on the programming
11 and treatment needs of the inmate. The purpose of such plan shall be to
12 promote the rehabilitation of the inmate and their successful and
13 productive reentry and reintegration into society upon release. To that
14 end, such plan shall be used to prioritize programming and treatment
15 services for the inmate during incarceration and any period of community
16 supervision. The commissioner may consult with the office of mental
17 health, the office of [alcoholism and substance abuse] addiction
18 services and supports, the board of parole, the department of health,
19 and other appropriate agencies in the development of transitional case
20 management plans.
21 2. (a) Mental health reentry services shall be included in an inmate's
22 transitional accountability plan. Such mental health reentry services
23 shall begin the first week upon admission of an inmate to a correctional
24 facility. Mental health reentry services shall include, but not be
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06629-01-1
S. 4872 2
1 limited to: (i) behavioral health screening and assessment; (ii) clin-
2 ical intervention for post-traumatic prison disorder; (iii) mental
3 health and trauma screenings within sixty days of being committed to the
4 custody of the department. Where an inmate would benefit from trauma
5 oriented therapy, the mental health reentry services shall include trau-
6 ma oriented therapy. If an inmate is at a facility which cannot provide
7 proper mental health reentry services to the inmate, the inmate shall be
8 transferred within seven days to a facility with the capacity to provide
9 the inmate with his or her proper mental health reentry services.
10 (b) A registered organization or representative who provides mental
11 health reentry services shall be an outside vendor who employs or is a
12 registered therapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker or nurse
13 who specializes in trauma and utilizes culturally sensitive techniques.
14 3. The department shall invest, develop and adopt policies and proce-
15 dures to create training for all prison personnel for basic competencies
16 in mental health trauma as a result of post-traumatic prison disorder.
17 4. The department shall submit a report including, but not limited to,
18 the number of inmates screened for mental health and trauma and the
19 number of inmates receiving therapy or clinical intervention with infor-
20 mation on the types of therapy or clinical intervention such inmates are
21 receiving to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, and
22 the speaker of the assembly no later than December thirty-first of each
23 year.
24 § 3. Section 78 of the correction law, as added by section 81-b of
25 part WWW of chapter 59 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as
26 follows:
27 § 78. Discharge plans. (a) The department, in consultation with the
28 office of children and family services, shall provide discharge plans
29 for juvenile offenders and adolescent offenders who are released to
30 parole or post-release supervision, which are tailored to address their
31 individual needs. Such plans shall include services designed to promote
32 public safety and the successful and productive reentry of such adoles-
33 cents into society.
34 (b) The department shall provide discharge plans for all inmates which
35 are tailored to address the inmate's individual needs upon reentry and
36 reintegration into society upon release. Such discharge plans shall
37 include, but not be limited to:
38 (i) Completed Medicaid enrollment, if eligible;
39 (ii) Medications sufficient to allow the inmate to transition to a
40 post-release location; and
41 (iii) Written coordination between the department and health care
42 providers including, but not limited to, the transfer of patient records
43 to a health care provider for the service of the releasee.
44 (c) An inmate who receives clinical intervention for post-traumatic
45 prison disorder under section seventy-one-a of this article shall
46 receive the following upon reentry and reintegration into society upon
47 release:
48 (i) Mental health services;
49 (ii) Therapeutic programs including nontraditional therapies like
50 yoga, meditation, and physical therapy;
51 (iii) Family counseling;
52 (iv) Housing information;
53 (v) Job placement information; and
54 (vi) Money management assistance.
55 § 4. The department of corrections and community supervision shall
56 submit a report on the state of mental health care services in the
S. 4872 3
1 corrections system, including local jails, which shall include, but not
2 be limited to, an assessment of the degree to which the federal
3 substance abuse and mental health services administration's guidance for
4 trauma-informed approach to mental health has been implemented to the
5 governor, the temporary president of the senate, and the speaker of the
6 assembly no later than December thirty-first, two thousand twenty-two.
7 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
8 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
9 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
10 of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
11 completed on or before such effective date.
