N.Y. COR Law § 401-A — New York Code / Act COR / Article 16 / Section 401-A
Oversight responsibilities of the justice center for the protection of people with special needs
Status: in_force

§ 401-a. Oversight responsibilities of the justice center for the\nprotection of people with special needs. 1. The justice center for the\nprotection of people with special needs shall be responsible for\nmonitoring the quality of mental health care provided to incarcerated\nindividuals pursuant to article twenty of the executive law. The justice\ncenter shall have direct and immediate access to all areas where state\nprisoners are housed, and to clinical and department records relating to\nincarcerated individuals' clinical conditions. The justice center shall\nmaintain the confidentiality of all patient-specific information.\n  2. The justice center shall monitor the quality of care in residential\nmental health treatment programs and shall ensure compliance with\nparagraphs (d) and (e) of subdivision six of section one hundred\nthirty-seven of this chapter and section four hundred one of this\narticle. The justice center may recommend to the department and the\noffice of mental health that incarcerated individuals in segregated\nconfinement pursuant to subdivision six of section one hundred\nthirty-seven of this chapter be evaluated for placement in a residential\nmental health treatment unit. It may also recommend ways to further the\ngoal of diverting and removing incarcerated individuals with serious\nmental illness from segregated confinement to residential mental health\ntreatment units. The justice center shall include in its annual report\nto the governor and the legislature pursuant to section five hundred\nsixty of the executive law, a description of the state's progress in\ncomplying with this article, which shall be publicly available.\n  3. The justice center shall appoint an advisory committee on\npsychiatric correctional care ("committee"), which shall be composed of\nindependent mental health experts and mental health advocates, and may\ninclude family members of former incarcerated individuals with serious\nmental illness. Such committee shall advise the justice center on its\noversight responsibilities pursuant to this section. The committee may\nalso make recommendations to the justice center regarding improvements\nto prison-based mental health care. Nothing in this subdivision shall be\ndeemed to authorize members of the committee to have access to a\ncorrectional or mental hygiene facility or any part of such a facility.\nProvided, however, newly appointed members of the advisory committee\nshall be provided with a tour of a segregated confinement unit and a\nresidential mental health treatment unit, as selected by the\ncommissioner. Any such tour shall be arranged on a date and at a time\nselected by the commissioner and upon such terms and conditions as are\nwithin the sole discretion of the commissioner.\n  4. The justice center shall assess the department's compliance with\nthe provisions of sections two, one hundred thirty-seven, and one\nhundred thirty-eight of this chapter relating to segregated confinement\nand residential rehabilitation units and shall issue a public report, no\nless than annually, with recommendations to the department and\nlegislature, regarding all aspects of segregated confinement and\nresidential rehabilitation units in state correctional facilities\nincluding but not limited to policies and practices concerning: (a)\nplacement of persons in segregated confinement and residential\nrehabilitation units; (b) special populations; (c) length of time spent\nin such units; (d) hearings and procedures; (e) programs, treatment and\nconditions of confinement in such units; and (f) assessments and\nrehabilitation plans, procedures and discharge determinations.\n