NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5059

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Social Services Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 18, 2025	referred to social services

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3935
Current Committee:: Senate Social Services
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §158, Soc Serv L; amd §112, add §500-q, Cor L

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Provides assistance to incarcerated individuals being released from correctional facilities for enrollment in safety net assistance, public assistance, supplemental assistance program (SNAP), special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC), the home energy assistance program (HEAP), supplemental security income, and state supplemental payments.

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5059

SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law and the correction law, in
relation to assistance programs for individuals being released from
correctional facilities

 
PURPOSE:

To allow people leaving incarceration to proactively apply for public
benefits.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends section 158 (4) of the social services
law to require that within seventy-two hours of release the correctional
facility's benefits navigator shall complete such person's application
for safety net assistance.

Section two amends section 112 (2) of the correction law makes technical

changes with relation to the title of Commissioner. It also requires
correctional facilities to ensure each person is' provided with applica-
tions for safety net programs.

Section three adds a new section 500-q to the correction law to define
re-entry services.

Section four establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Access to public benefits is a critical component of successful reentry
for individuals returning to the community from incarceration. Current-
ly, many formerly incarcerated individuals face significant barriers in
accessing benefits such as Public Assistance (PA), Supplemental Nutri-
tion Assistance Program (SNAP), Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and
Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). These barriers contribute to
financial instability and housing insecurity. By mandating proactive
benefits navigation at the point of residence approval, this legislation
. aims to address these systemic challenges and set individuals on a
path toward stability and reintegration. Individuals leaving incarcera-
tion are disproportionately at risk of poverty and homelessness. Accord-
ing to data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 60% of formerly incarcer-
ated individuals experience unemployment from the time of release to
four years after release, this is 4 times more than the general popu-
lation's peak unemployment rate during the pandemic.  Without income or
immediate access to benefits, many find themselves unable to afford
basic needs like food, shelter, and transportation.  This lack of
stability decreases the likelihood of desistance and perpetuates cycles
incarceration, further burdening state resources.  This legislation
ensures that incarcerated individuals have access to benefits navigators
who will assist them with completing and submitting necessary applica-
tions prior to their release. By coordinating with not-for-profit
providers and submitting applications for safety net benefits within 72
hours of residence approval, this bill ensures that individuals are
connected to essential support as soon as they reenter their communi-
ties.Additionally, requiring the Department of Corrections and Community
Supervision (DOCCS) to report on the outcomes of these efforts including
metrics on eligibility and applications, will provide the transparency
and accountability necessary to evaluate and improve the program.
Providing structured reentry services, including benefits access, has
been shown to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for returning indi-
viduals. This legislation reflects a commitment to public safety and
fiscal responsibility by addressing the root causes of reoffending and
reducing reliance on emergency shelters and other costly interventions.
By empowering individuals to access the benefits they need, New York
State will be fostering a more equitable and sustainable reentry system.

This legislation is an essential step toward dismantling the systemic
barriers that prevent system-impacted individuals from achieving stabil-
ity and self-sufficiency. It is a forward-thinking approach to reentry
that benefits not only formerly incarcerated individuals but all New
Yorkers.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the January next succeeding the date upon
which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,
amendment and /or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the
implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be
made and completed on or before such effective date.

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5059
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 18, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Social Services
 
 AN ACT to amend the social services  law  and  the  correction  law,  in
   relation  to  assistance  programs for individuals being released from
   correctional facilities

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 158 of the social services law, as
 amended  by  section  1  of part U of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is
 amended to read as follows:
   4. (A) Social services officials shall determine eligibility for safe-
 ty net assistance within thirty days of  receiving  an  application  for
 safety  net assistance. Such officials shall notify applicants of safety
 net assistance about the availability of assistance  to  meet  emergency
 circumstances or to prevent eviction.
   (B)  WITHIN  SEVENTY-TWO  HOURS  FROM  WHEN  THE STATE BOARD OF PAROLE
 APPROVES THE RESIDENCE OF A PERSON THAT THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  CORRECTIONS
 AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION IS SET TO RELEASE, THE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY'S
 BENEFITS  NAVIGATOR  SHALL COMPLETE SUCH PERSON'S APPLICATION FOR SAFETY
 NET ASSISTANCE. FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS PARAGRAPH,  THE  TERM  "CORREC-
 TIONAL  FACILITY"  SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS DEFINED BY SECTION TWO
 OF THE CORRECTION LAW.
   § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 112 of the correction law, as amended by
 chapter 322 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   2. The commissioner shall have the management and control  of  persons
 released  on  community  supervision and of all matters relating to such
 persons' effective reentry into the community, as well as all  contracts
 and  fiscal  concerns thereof. The commissioner shall have the power and
 it shall be [his or her] THE COMMISSIONER'S duty  to  inquire  into  all
 matters  connected  with  said  community  supervision. The commissioner
 shall make such rules and regulations, not in conflict with the statutes
 of this state, for the governance of the officers and other employees of
 the department assigned to said community supervision, and in regard  to
 the  duties  to  be  performed  by them, as [he or she] THE COMMISSIONER

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05057-01-5
 S. 5059                             2
 
 deems proper and shall cause such rules and regulations to be  furnished
 to  each employee assigned to perform community supervision. The commis-
 sioner shall also prescribe a system of accounts and records to be kept,
 which shall be uniform. The commissioner shall also make rules and regu-
 lations  for a record of photographs and other means of identifying each
 incarcerated individual released to community supervision.  The  commis-
 sioner  shall appoint officers and other employees of the department who
 are assigned to  perform  community  supervision.  WHERE  APPLICABLE,  A
 CORRECTIONAL  FACILITY  SHALL  PROVIDE EACH PERSON WITH APPLICATIONS FOR
 PUBLIC ASSISTANCE,  SUPPLEMENTAL  NUTRITION  ASSISTANCE  PROGRAM  (SNAP)
 UNDER  SECTION  NINETY-FIVE  OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, SPECIAL SUPPLE-
 MENTAL NUTRITION PROGRAM FOR WOMEN, INFANTS, AND CHILDREN (WIC) UNDER 42
 USC § 1786, AND THE HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM  (HEAP)  AS  ADMINIS-
 TERED  BY  THE OFFICE OF TEMPORARY AND DISABILITY ASSISTANCE, IN ACCORD-
 ANCE WITH SECTION ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW, 42
 USC § 1383 AND SECTION TWO HUNDRED NINE  OF  THE  SOCIAL  SERVICES  LAW.
 BENEFITS NAVIGATORS SHALL PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN COMPLETING SUCH APPLICA-
 TIONS.  EACH CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SHALL ENSURE EVERY INCARCERATED INDI-
 VIDUAL WHOSE RESIDENCE HAS BEEN APPROVED HAS AN INDIVIDUAL  ASSIGNED  TO
 THEM  IN  APPLYING  FOR SAFETY NET PROGRAMS IN ACCORDANCE WITH PARAGRAPH
 (B) OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT OF THE SOCIAL
 SERVICES LAW. THE DEPARTMENT MAY CONTRACT WITH NOT-FOR-PROFIT  PROVIDERS
 WITH EXPERIENCE ASSISTING INDIVIDUALS WITH BENEFITS APPLICATIONS.
   §  3.  The  correction law is amended by adding a new section 500-q to
 read as follows:
   § 500-Q. RE-ENTRY SERVICES.  EACH  INCARCERATED  INDIVIDUAL  SHALL  BE
 ELIGIBLE  TO  APPLY  FOR RE-ENTRY SERVICES, WHICH SHALL INCLUDE, BUT NOT
 LIMITED TO SAFETY NET ASSISTANCE, SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME AND STATE
 SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENTS PRIOR TO THEIR EARLIEST EXPECTED RELEASE  DATE  IN
 ACCORDANCE  WITH  SECTION ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-EIGHT OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES
 LAW, 42 USC § 1383 AND SECTION TWO HUNDRED NINE OF THE  SOCIAL  SERVICES
 LAW,  RESPECTIVELY.  THE  OFFENDER  REHABILITATION  COORDINATOR OR OTHER
 PERSON IN CHARGE OF RE-ENTRY SERVICES AT A LOCAL  CORRECTIONAL  FACILITY
 SHALL  PROVIDE ASSISTANCE IN COMPLETING AND FILING SUCH APPLICATIONS AND
 MAY CONTRACT WITH NOT-FOR-PROFIT  PROVIDERS  WITH  EXPERIENCE  ASSISTING
 INDIVIDUALS  DURING THE APPLICATION AND APPEALS PROCESSES FOR SUCH BENE-
 FITS TO PROVIDE INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS WITH ASSISTANCE  IN  COMPLETING
 APPLICATIONS  FOR  SUCH  BENEFITS.  EACH  CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SHALL BE
 REQUIRED TO REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE,  THE  TEMPORARY  PRESIDENT  OF  THE
 SENATE  AND  THE  SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY ON HOW THEY ARE PROVIDING SUCH
 RE-ENTRY SERVICES. SUCH REPORTING SHALL INCLUDE METRICS ON  THE  FOLLOW-
 ING:
   (A)  HOW  MANY  PEOPLE  WERE  DEEMED ELIGIBLE FOR AT LEAST ONE TYPE OF
 BENEFIT, DISAGGREGATED BY TYPE OF BENEFIT;
   (B) FOR HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED, DISAGGREGATED  BY
 TYPE OF BENEFIT;
   (C)  FOR ANY PEOPLE DEEMED ELIGIBLE BUT FOR WHOM APPLICATIONS WERE NOT
 SUBMITTED, DISAGGREGATED BY DEMOGRAPHIC; AND
   (D) THE REASON THAT SUCH APPLICATIONS WERE NOT FILED, DISAGGREGATED BY
 TYPE OF BENEFIT AND BY REASON.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law. Effective immediate-
 ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.

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Senate Bill S5059

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Social Services Committee

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S5059

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Sponsored By

Cordell Cleare

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Social Services Committee

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S5059 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments