2023 New York Laws › COR - Correction › Article 22 - Miscellaneous Provisions › 611 - Births to Incarcerated Individuals of Correctional Institutions and Care of Children of Incarcerated Individuals of Correctional Institutions.

§ 611. Births to incarcerated individuals of correctional institutions
and  care  of  children  of  incarcerated  individuals  of  correctional
institutions. 1. (a) If a woman confined in  any  institution  or  local
correctional  facility  be  pregnant and about to give birth to a child,
the superintendent or sheriff in charge of such institution or facility,
a reasonable time before the anticipated  birth  of  such  child,  shall
cause  such  woman  to  be removed from such institution or facility and
provided with comfortable accommodations, maintenance and  medical  care
elsewhere,  under  such supervision and safeguards to prevent her escape
from custody as the superintendent or sheriff or his or her designee may
determine. No restraints of any kind shall be used during  transport  of
such  woman,  a  woman  who  is  known  to  be  pregnant by correctional
personnel or personnel providing medical services to the institution  or
local  correctional  facility,  or  a  woman  within  eight  weeks after
delivery or pregnancy outcome,  absent  extraordinary  circumstances  in
which:
i.   the   superintendent  or  sheriff  or  his  or  her  designee  in
consultation  with  the  medical  professional   responsible   for   the
institution has made an individualized determination that restraints are
necessary  to  prevent  such  woman  from injuring herself or medical or
correctional personnel or others and cannot reasonably be restrained  by
other means, including the use of additional personnel; or
ii.  the correctional personnel directly responsible for the transport
of such a  woman  determine  that  an  emergency  has  arisen  in  which
restraints  are  necessary  because the woman poses an immediate risk of
serious injury to herself or medical or correctional personnel or others
and cannot reasonably be restrained by other means.
(b) If a determination has been made pursuant to subparagraph i or  ii
of  paragraph  (a)  of this subdivision that extraordinary circumstances
exist then restraints shall be limited to wrist restraints in  front  of
the  body. The superintendent or sheriff or his or her designee pursuant
to subparagraph i of paragraph (a) of this subdivision  or  correctional
personnel   pursuant  to  subparagraph  ii  of  paragraph  (a)  of  this
subdivision shall document in writing the facts upon which  the  finding
of extraordinary circumstances were based within five days of the use of
such  restraints and shall also document the type of restraints used and
the length of time such restraints were used.
(c) No restraints of any kind shall be used  when  such  woman  is  in
labor,  admitted  to  a hospital, institution or clinic for delivery, or
recovering after giving birth. Any such personnel as may be necessary to
supervise the woman during transport to and from and during her stay  at
the hospital, institution or clinic shall be provided to ensure adequate
care,  custody  and  control  of  the woman, except that no correctional
staff shall be present in the delivery room during the birth of  a  baby
unless  requested  by  the medical staff supervising such delivery or by
the woman giving birth. The woman shall be permitted to  have  at  least
one  support  person  of her choosing accompany her in the delivery room
and when such woman is in labor and recovering  after  giving  birth.  A
support   person  shall  not  need  to  have  visited  the  woman  at  a
correctional facility prior to serving as a support person. A person may
not be denied eligibility to serve as a support  person  solely  on  the
basis of a past criminal conviction or that such person is on probation,
conditional release, parole or post release supervision. Any decision by
an agency to deny a woman's request to have a specific person serve as a
support  person  shall  be made with reasons specified in writing within
five days of her request and promptly provided to the woman.  A  support
person  shall  be notified immediately after such woman goes into labor,
or immediately after a caesarean section or termination is scheduled. If

available, a doula, midwife or other  birthing  support  specialist  may
also  assist  during  labor  and  delivery  in  addition to at least one
support person of the woman's choosing. Any woman confined in a state or
local  correctional  facility  shall  receive  notice  in  writing  in a
language and manner understandable to her about the requirements of this
section upon her admission to such state or local correctional  facility
and  again  when  she  is  known  to  be pregnant. The superintendent or
sheriff shall publish notice of the  requirements  of  this  section  in
prominent  locations  where medical care is provided. The superintendent
or sheriff or his or her designee shall cause such woman to  be  subject
to  return  to  such  institution or local correctional facility as soon
after the birth of her child as the state of her health will  permit  as
determined  by the medical professional responsible for the care of such
woman. If such woman is confined in a local correctional  facility,  the
expense  of  such  accommodation,  maintenance and medical care shall be
paid by such woman or her relatives or from any available funds  of  the
local  correctional  facility  and  if  not available from such sources,
shall be a charge upon the county, city or town in which is located  the
court  from  which  such  incarcerated  individual was committed to such
local  correctional  facility.  If  such  woman  is  confined   in   any
institution  under  the  control  of the department, the expense of such
accommodation, maintenance and medical care shall be paid by such  woman
or   her  relatives  and  if  not  available  from  such  sources,  such
maintenance and medical care shall be paid by the state. In cases  where
payment  of such accommodations, maintenance and medical care is assumed
by the county, city or town from which such incarcerated individual  was
committed  the payor shall make payment by issuing payment instrument in
favor of the agency or individual that provided such accommodations  and
services,  after  certification  has  been  made  by  the  head  of  the
institution to which the incarcerated individual was  legally  confined,
that  the  charges for such accommodations, maintenance and medical care
were necessary and are just, and that the institution has  no  available
funds for such purpose.
(d)  Any  woman  confined  in  an  institution  or  local correctional
facility shall receive notice  in  writing  in  a  language  and  manner
understandable  to  her  about the requirements of this section upon her
admission to an institution or local  correctional  facility  and  again
when  she  is  known to be pregnant. The superintendent or sheriff shall
publish  notice  of  the  requirements  of  this  section  in  prominent
locations where medical care is provided. The department and the sheriff
shall  provide  annual  training  on  provisions  of this section to all
correctional  personnel  who  are  involved   in   the   transportation,
supervision or medical care of incarcerated women.
(e)  The  department  shall  report  annually  to  the  governor,  the
temporary president of the senate, the minority leader  of  the  senate,
the  speaker  of  the assembly, the minority leader of the assembly, the
chairperson of the senate crime victims, crime and correction  committee
and  the  chairperson  of  the  assembly correction committee concerning
every use of restraints on a woman under  this  section,  including  the
reason  such  restraint  was  used,  the  type of restraint used and the
length of time such restraint was used pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
subdivision, but shall exclude individual identifying  information.  The
sheriff  of each county shall report, in a form and manner prescribed by
the commission, every use of restraints on a woman under  this  section,
including the reason such restraint was used, the type of restraint used
and the length of time such restraint was used pursuant to paragraph (b)
of  this  subdivision,  annually to the commission. The commission shall
include such information  in  its  annual  report  pursuant  to  section

forty-five  of  this  chapter, but shall exclude identifying information
from such report. Reports required by this section shall  be  posted  on
the websites maintained by the department and the commission.
2. A child so born may be returned with its mother to the correctional
institution  in  which  the  mother is confined unless the chief medical
officer of the correctional institution shall certify that the mother is
physically unfit to care for the child, in which case the  statement  of
the  said  medical  officer  shall  be  final. A child may remain in the
correctional institution with  its  mother  for  such  period  as  seems
desirable for the welfare of such child, but not after it is one year of
age,  provided,  however, if the mother is in a state reformatory and is
to be paroled shortly after the child becomes  one  year  of  age,  such
child  may  remain at the state reformatory until its mother is paroled,
but in no case after the child is eighteen months  old.  If  a  pregnant
woman  or  mother  of  a  child  under  the  age  of  eighteen months is
incarcerated at a state or local correctional facility,  the  department
shall  inform  her of her ability to apply to any nursery program run by
the department and the locality. Any woman confined in a state or  local
correctional  facility shall receive notice in writing in a language and
manner understandable to her about the requirements of this section upon
her admission to a state or local correctional facility and  again  when
she is known to be pregnant. The superintendent or sheriff shall publish
notice  of the requirements of this section in prominent locations where
medical care is provided. The officer in charge of such institution  may
cause  a  child cared for therein with its mother to be removed from the
institution at any time before the child is one year of age. He  or  she
shall  make  provision  for a child removed from the institution without
its mother or a child born to a woman incarcerated individual who is not
returned to the institution with its mother as hereinafter provided.  He
or  she may, upon proof being furnished by the father or other relatives
of their ability to properly care for and maintain such child, give  the
child  into  the care and custody of such father or other relatives, who
shall thereafter maintain the same at their own  expense.  If  it  shall
appear  that  such father or other relatives are unable to properly care
for and maintain such child, such officer shall place the child  in  the
care  of  the  commissioner  of public welfare or other officer or board
exercising in relation to children the power of a commissioner of public
welfare of the  county  from  which  such  incarcerated  individual  was
committed  as  a  charge  upon such county. The officer in charge of the
correctional institution shall send to  such  commissioner,  officer  or
board  a report of all information available in regard to the mother and
the child. Such commissioner of public welfare or other officer or board
shall care for or place out such child as provided by law in the case of
a child becoming dependent upon the county.
3. If any woman, committed to any such correctional institution at the
time of such commitment is the mother of a nursing  child  in  her  care
under  one year of age, such child may accompany her to such institution
if she is physically fit to have the care of such child, subject to  the
provisions of subdivision two of this section. If any woman committed to
any such institution at the time of such commitment is the mother of and
has  under  her  exclusive  care  a  child more than one year of age the
justice or magistrate committing such woman shall refer  such  child  to
the  commissioner of public welfare or other officer or board exercising
in relation to children the power of a commissioner of public welfare of
the county from which the woman is committed to be cared for as provided
by law in the case of a child becoming dependent upon the county.
4. Upon admitting a woman known to be pregnant, or  upon  learning  of
pregnancy  status,  the  chief  medical  officer  of  each  correctional

facility housing female incarcerated individuals, including the  medical
professional  responsible  for  each local correctional facility housing
female incarcerated  individuals,  or  such  officer  or  professional's
designee,   shall  immediately  inform  such  woman  of  the  option  of
participating in pregnancy counseling services and the right to abortion
services.