2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title B - Mental Health Act › Article 10 - Sex Offenders Requiring Civil Commitment or Supervision › 10.10 - Treatment and Confinement.

§ 10.10 Treatment and confinement.
(a)  If  the  respondent  is  found  to  be  a  dangerous sex offender
requiring confinement and committed to a secure treatment facility, that
facility shall provide care, treatment, and control  of  the  respondent
until  such  time  that  a court discharges the respondent in accordance
with the provisions of this article.
(b) The commissioner shall, for persons  committed  pursuant  to  this
article,  develop  and implement a treatment plan in accordance with the
provisions of section 29.13 of this chapter. The commissioner shall give
due regard to any relevant standards,  guidelines,  and  best  practices
recommended by the office of sex offender management.
(c)  The  commissioner,  or  the  commissioner  of  the  department of
corrections  and  community  supervision,  or  other  government  entity
responsible for the care and custody of respondents, shall be authorized
to  employ  appropriate safety and security measures, as he or she deems
necessary to ensure the safety of the public, during  court  proceedings
and  in the transport of persons committed or undergoing any proceedings
under this article. Such commissioner shall provide training in the  use
of  safe and appropriate security interventions to employees responsible
for transporting persons under this article.
(d)  The  commissioner  shall  have  the  discretion  to  enter   into
agreements  with the department of corrections and community supervision
for the provision of security services relating to this article.
(e) Persons in the  custody  of  the  commissioner  pursuant  to  this
article  shall  be kept separate from other persons in the care, custody
and control of the commissioner, and shall be segregated from such other
persons,  provided,  however,  that  persons  committed  or  subject  to
proceedings  under  this  article  need not be segregated from other sex
offenders committed  or  subject  to  proceedings  under  this  article,
article  nine  of  this  title,  or  section  four  hundred  two  of the
correction law. If any dangerous sex offenders requiring confinement are
committed to a secure treatment facility located on  the  grounds  of  a
correctional  facility,  they  shall  be  kept  separate from persons in
custody as a result of criminal cases, and shall be segregated from such
persons. Occasional instances of supervised, incidental contact  between
persons  required  by  this  subdivision  to  be segregated shall not be
considered a violation of such segregation requirements.
(f)  In  accordance  with  security  procedures   developed   by   the
commissioner,  a  person  committed under this article may be granted an
escorted privilege by the director of the secure treatment  facility  in
which  he  or  she  is  receiving  care  and  treatment but only for the
purposes of allowing the person to receive medical  or  dental  care  or
treatment not available at the facility, to visit a family member who is
seriously  ill  or  to  attend  the funeral of a family member. A person
granted an escorted privilege shall be under the constant supervision of
one  or  more  facility  employees  who  have  been  designated  by  the
commissioner  or  other  specially  trained  personnel  approved  by the
commissioner to provide care and supervision of such persons.
(g) If a person is in the custody of the commissioner pursuant  to  an
order  issued  under this article, and such person escapes from custody,
notice of such escape shall be given  as  soon  as  the  facility  staff
learns  of  such  escape,  and  shall  include  such information as will
adequately identify  the  escaped  individual,  any  person  or  persons
believed  to  be  in  danger,  and the nature of the danger. Such notice
shall be given by any means reasonably calculated to give prompt  actual
notice, and shall be given to:
(1)  the  district  attorney  of  the  county  where  the  person  was
convicted, adjudicated, or charged; the attorney  general;  and  counsel
for respondent or the mental hygiene legal service;
(2) the superintendent of the state police;
(3) the sheriff of the county where the escape occurred;
(4)  the  police  department having jurisdiction of the area where the
escape occurred;
(5)  any  victim  or  victims  who  submitted  the  notification  form
described  in  subdivision  four  of  section  380.50  of  the  criminal
procedure law;
(6) any person the facility staff  reasonably  believes  could  be  in
danger;
(7)  any  law  enforcement  agency  and  any person the facility staff
believes would be able to apprise such victim or victims that the person
escaped from the facility; and
(8) any other person the committing court may designate.
(h) The  person  may  be  apprehended,  restrained,  transported,  and
returned  to  the  facility  from  which he or she escaped by any police
officer or peace officer, and it shall be the duty of  such  officer  to
assist  any  representative  of the commissioner to take the person into
custody upon the request of such representative.
(i) The commissioner shall submit to the governor and the  legislature
no   later   than   December  first  of  each  year,  a  report  on  the
implementation of this article. Such report shall include,  but  not  be
limited  to,  the census of each existing treatment facility, the number
of persons reviewed by the case review teams for proceedings under  this
article, the number of persons committed pursuant to this article, their
crimes of conviction, and projected future capacity needs.