N.Y. COR Law § 611 — New York Code / Act COR / Article 22 / Section 611
Births to incarcerated individuals of correctional institutions and care of children of incarcerated individuals of correctional institut...
Status: in_force

§ 611. Births to incarcerated individuals of correctional institutions\nand care of children of incarcerated individuals of correctional\ninstitutions. 1. (a) If a woman confined in any institution or local\ncorrectional facility be pregnant and about to give birth to a child,\nthe superintendent or sheriff in charge of such institution or facility,\na reasonable time before the anticipated birth of such child, shall\ncause such woman to be removed from such institution or facility and\nprovided with comfortable accommodations, maintenance and medical care\nelsewhere, under such supervision and safeguards to prevent her escape\nfrom custody as the superintendent or sheriff or his or her designee may\ndetermine. No restraints of any kind shall be used during transport of\nsuch woman, a woman who is known to be pregnant by correctional\npersonnel or personnel providing medical services to the institution or\nlocal correctional facility, or a woman within eight weeks after\ndelivery or pregnancy outcome, absent extraordinary circumstances in\nwhich:\n  i. the superintendent or sheriff or his or her designee in\nconsultation with the medical professional responsible for the\ninstitution has made an individualized determination that restraints are\nnecessary to prevent such woman from injuring herself or medical or\ncorrectional personnel or others and cannot reasonably be restrained by\nother means, including the use of additional personnel; or\n  ii. the correctional personnel directly responsible for the transport\nof such a woman determine that an emergency has arisen in which\nrestraints are necessary because the woman poses an immediate risk of\nserious injury to herself or medical or correctional personnel or others\nand cannot reasonably be restrained by other means.\n  (b) If a determination has been made pursuant to subparagraph i or ii\nof paragraph (a) of this subdivision that extraordinary circumstances\nexist then restraints shall be limited to wrist restraints in front of\nthe body. The superintendent or sheriff or his or her designee pursuant\nto subparagraph i of paragraph (a) of this subdivision or correctional\npersonnel pursuant to subparagraph ii of paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision shall document in writing the facts upon which the finding\nof extraordinary circumstances were based within five days of the use of\nsuch restraints and shall also document the type of restraints used and\nthe length of time such restraints were used.\n  (c) No restraints of any kind shall be used when such woman is in\nlabor, admitted to a hospital, institution or clinic for delivery, or\nrecovering after giving birth. Any such personnel as may be necessary to\nsupervise the woman during transport to and from and during her stay at\nthe hospital, institution or clinic shall be provided to ensure adequate\ncare, custody and control of the woman, except that no correctional\nstaff shall be present in the delivery room during the birth of a baby\nunless requested by the medical staff supervising such delivery or by\nthe woman giving birth. The woman shall be permitted to have at least\none support person of her choosing accompany her in the delivery room\nand when such woman is in labor and recovering after giving birth. A\nsupport person shall not need to have visited the woman at a\ncorrectional facility prior to serving as a support person. A person may\nnot be denied eligibility to serve as a support person solely on the\nbasis of a past criminal conviction or that such person is on probation,\nconditional release, parole or post release supervision. Any decision by\nan agency to deny a woman's request to have a specific person serve as a\nsupport person shall be made with reasons specified in writing within\nfive days of her request and promptly provided to the woman. A support\nperson shall be notified immediately after such woman goes into labor,\nor immediately after a caesarean section or termination is scheduled. If\navailable, a doula, midwife or other birthing support specialist may\nalso assist during labor and delivery in addition to at least one\nsupport person of the woman's choosing. Any woman confined in a state or\nlocal correctional facility shall receive notice in writing in a\nlanguage and manner understandable to her about the requirements of this\nsection upon her admission to such state or local correctional facility\nand again when she is known to be pregnant. The superintendent or\nsheriff shall publish notice of the requirements of this section in\nprominent locations where medical care is provided. The superintendent\nor sheriff or his or her designee shall cause such woman to be subject\nto return to such institution or local correctional facility as soon\nafter the birth of her child as the state of her health will permit as\ndetermined by the medical professional responsible for the care of such\nwoman. If such woman is confined in a local correctional facility, the\nexpense of such accommodation, maintenance and medical care shall be\npaid by such woman or her relatives or from any available funds of the\nlocal correctional facility and if not available from such sources,\nshall be a charge upon the county, city or town in which is located the\ncourt from which such incarcerated individual was committed to such\nlocal correctional facility. If such woman is confined in any\ninstitution under the control of the department, the expense of such\naccommodation, maintenance and medical care shall be paid by such woman\nor her relatives and if not available from such sources, such\nmaintenance and medical care shall be paid by the state. In cases where\npayment of such accommodations, maintenance and medical care is assumed\nby the county, city or town from which such incarcerated individual was\ncommitted the payor shall make payment by issuing payment instrument in\nfavor of the agency or individual that provided such accommodations and\nservices, after certification has been made by the head of the\ninstitution to which the incarcerated individual was legally confined,\nthat the charges for such accommodations, maintenance and medical care\nwere necessary and are just, and that the institution has no available\nfunds for such purpose.\n  (d) Any woman confined in an institution or local correctional\nfacility shall receive notice in writing in a language and manner\nunderstandable to her about the requirements of this section upon her\nadmission to an institution or local correctional facility and again\nwhen she is known to be pregnant. The superintendent or sheriff shall\npublish notice of the requirements of this section in prominent\nlocations where medical care is provided. The department and the sheriff\nshall provide annual training on provisions of this section to all\ncorrectional personnel who are involved in the transportation,\nsupervision or medical care of incarcerated women.\n  (e) The department shall report annually to the governor, the\ntemporary president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate,\nthe speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the\nchairperson of the senate crime victims, crime and correction committee\nand the chairperson of the assembly correction committee concerning\nevery use of restraints on a woman under this section, including the\nreason such restraint was used, the type of restraint used and the\nlength of time such restraint was used pursuant to paragraph (b) of this\nsubdivision, but shall exclude individual identifying information. The\nsheriff of each county shall report, in a form and manner prescribed by\nthe commission, every use of restraints on a woman under this section,\nincluding the reason such restraint was used, the type of restraint used\nand the length of time such restraint was used pursuant to paragraph (b)\nof this subdivision, annually to the commission. The commission shall\ninclude such information in its annual report pursuant to section\nforty-five of this chapter, but shall exclude identifying information\nfrom such report. Reports required by this section shall be posted on\nthe websites maintained by the department and the commission.\n  2. A child so born may be returned with its mother to the correctional\ninstitution in which the mother is confined unless the chief medical\nofficer of the correctional institution shall certify that the mother is\nphysically unfit to care for the child, in which case the statement of\nthe said medical officer shall be final. A child may remain in the\ncorrectional institution with its mother for such period as seems\ndesirable for the welfare of such child, but not after it is one year of\nage, provided, however, if the mother is in a state reformatory and is\nto be paroled shortly after the child becomes one year of age, such\nchild may remain at the state reformatory until its mother is paroled,\nbut in no case after the child is eighteen months old. If a pregnant\nwoman or mother of a child under the age of eighteen months is\nincarcerated at a state or local correctional facility, the department\nshall inform her of her ability to apply to any nursery program run by\nthe department and the locality. Any woman confined in a state or local\ncorrectional facility shall receive notice in writing in a language and\nmanner understandable to her about the requirements of this section upon\nher admission to a state or local correctional facility and again when\nshe is known to be pregnant. The superintendent or sheriff shall publish\nnotice of the requirements of this section in prominent locations where\nmedical care is provided. The officer in charge of such institution may\ncause a child cared for therein with its mother to be removed from the\ninstitution at any time before the child is one year of age. He or she\nshall make provision for a child removed from the institution without\nits mother or a child born to a woman incarcerated individual who is not\nreturned to the institution with its mother as hereinafter provided. He\nor she may, upon proof being furnished by the father or other relatives\nof their ability to properly care for and maintain such child, give the\nchild into the care and custody of such father or other relatives, who\nshall thereafter maintain the same at their own expense. If it shall\nappear that such father or other relatives are unable to properly care\nfor and maintain such child, such officer shall place the child in the\ncare of the commissioner of public welfare or other officer or board\nexercising in relation to children the power of a commissioner of public\nwelfare of the county from which such incarcerated individual was\ncommitted as a charge upon such county. The officer in charge of the\ncorrectional institution shall send to such commissioner, officer or\nboard a report of all information available in regard to the mother and\nthe child. Such commissioner of public welfare or other officer or board\nshall care for or place out such child as provided by law in the case of\na child becoming dependent upon the county.\n  3. If any woman, committed to any such correctional institution at the\ntime of such commitment is the mother of a nursing child in her care\nunder one year of age, such child may accompany her to such institution\nif she is physically fit to have the care of such child, subject to the\nprovisions of subdivision two of this section. If any woman committed to\nany such institution at the time of such commitment is the mother of and\nhas under her exclusive care a child more than one year of age the\njustice or magistrate committing such woman shall refer such child to\nthe commissioner of public welfare or other officer or board exercising\nin relation to children the power of a commissioner of public welfare of\nthe county from which the woman is committed to be cared for as provided\nby law in the case of a child becoming dependent upon the county.\n  4. Upon admitting a woman known to be pregnant, or upon learning of\npregnancy status, the chief medical officer of each correctional\nfacility housing female incarcerated individuals, including the medical\nprofessional responsible for each local correctional facility housing\nfemale incarcerated individuals, or such officer or professional's\ndesignee, shall immediately inform such woman of the option of\nparticipating in pregnancy counseling services and the right to abortion\nservices.\n