Legislation
SECTION 137
Program of treatment, control, discipline at correctional facilities
Correction (COR) CHAPTER 43, ARTICLE 6
§ 137. Program of treatment, control, discipline at correctional
facilities. 1. The commissioner shall establish program and
classification procedures designed to assure the complete study of the
background and condition of each incarcerated individual in the care or
custody of the department and the assignment of such incarcerated
individual to a program that is most likely to be useful in assisting
him or her to refrain from future violations of the law. Such procedures
shall be incorporated into the rules and regulations of the department
and shall require among other things: consideration of the physical,
mental and emotional condition of the incarcerated individual;
consideration of his or her educational and vocational needs; enrollment
of each incarcerated individual in assigned programs as soon as
practicable; consideration of the danger he or she presents to the
community or to other incarcerated individuals; the recording of
continuous case histories including notations as to apparent success or
failure of treatment employed; and periodic review of case histories and
treatment methods used.
2. The commissioner shall provide for such measures as he or she may
deem necessary or appropriate for the safety, security and control of
correctional facilities and the maintenance of order therein.
3. Each incarcerated individual shall be entitled to clothing suited
to the season and weather conditions and to a sufficient quantity of
wholesome and nutritious food. To the extent practicable, the clothing
and bedding of incarcerated individuals shall be manufactured and
laundered in institutions in the department.
3-a. The commissioner shall establish a program to purchase fresh
produce from farms located in the state and distribute such fresh
produce to correctional facilities in the state to be utilized in the
provision of wholesome and nutritious food to incarcerated individuals
pursuant to the provisions of this section.
4. Whenever there shall be a sufficient number of cells or rooms in a
correctional facility, each incarcerated individual shall be given
sleeping accommodations in a separate cell or room, provided, however,
that nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to limit the
right of the department to utilize dormitory-type accommodations where
necessary or where appropriate to a program of treatment.
5. No incarcerated individual in the care or custody of the department
shall be subjected to degrading treatment, and no officer or other
employee of the department shall inflict any blows whatever upon any
incarcerated individual, unless in self defense, or to suppress a revolt
or insurrection. When any incarcerated individual, or group of
incarcerated individuals, shall offer violence to any person, or do or
attempt to do any injury to property, or attempt to escape, or resist or
disobey any lawful direction, the officers and employees shall use all
suitable means to defend themselves, to maintain order, to enforce
observation of discipline, to secure the persons of the offenders and to
prevent any such attempt or escape.
6. Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subdivision,
the superintendent of a correctional facility may keep any incarcerated
individual confined in a cell or room, apart from the accommodations
provided for incarcerated individuals who are participating in programs
of the facility, for such period as may be necessary for maintenance of
order or discipline, but in any such case the following conditions shall
be observed:
(a) The incarcerated individual shall be supplied with a sufficient
quantity of wholesome and nutritious food;
(b) Adequate sanitary and other conditions required for the health of
the incarcerated individual shall be maintained;
(c) Where such confinement is for a period in excess of twenty-four
hours, the superintendent shall arrange for the facility health services
director, or a registered nurse or physician's associate approved by the
facility health services director to visit such incarcerated individual
at the expiration of twenty-four hours and at least once in every
twenty-four hour period thereafter, during the period of such
confinement, to examine into the state of health of the incarcerated
individual, and the superintendent shall give full consideration to any
recommendation that may be made by the facility health services director
for measures with respect to dietary needs or conditions of confinement
of such incarcerated individual required to maintain the health of such
incarcerated individual; and
(d) (i) Except as set forth in clause (E) of subparagraph (ii) of this
paragraph, the department, in consultation with mental health
clinicians, shall divert or remove incarcerated individuals with serious
mental illness, as defined in paragraph (e) of this subdivision, from
segregated confinement or confinement in a residential rehabilitation
unit, where such confinement could potentially be for a period in excess
of thirty days, to a residential mental health treatment unit. Nothing
in this paragraph shall be deemed to prevent the disciplinary process
from proceeding in accordance with department rules and regulations for
disciplinary hearings.
(ii) (A) Upon placement of an incarcerated individual into segregated
confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit at a level one or level
two facility, a suicide prevention screening instrument shall be
administered by staff from the department or the office of mental health
who has been trained for that purpose. If such a screening instrument
reveals that the incarcerated individual is at risk of suicide, a mental
health clinician shall be consulted and appropriate safety precautions
shall be taken. Additionally, within one business day of the placement
of such an incarcerated individual into segregated confinement at a
level one or level two facility or a residential rehabilitation unit,
the incarcerated individual shall be assessed by a mental health
clinician.
(B) Upon placement of an incarcerated individual into segregated
confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit at a level three or
level four facility, a suicide prevention screening instrument shall be
administered by staff from the department or the office of mental health
who has been trained for that purpose. If such a screening instrument
reveals that the incarcerated individual is at risk of suicide, a mental
health clinician shall be consulted and appropriate safety precautions
shall be taken. All incarcerated individuals placed in segregated
confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit at a level three or
level four facility shall be assessed by a mental health clinician,
within seven days of such placement into segregated confinement.
(C) At the initial assessment, if the mental health clinician finds
that an incarcerated individual suffers from a serious mental illness,
that person shall be diverted or removed from segregated confinement or
a residential rehabilitation unit and a recommendation shall be made
whether exceptional circumstances, as described in clause (E) of this
subparagraph, exist. In a facility with a joint case management
committee, such recommendation shall be made by such committee. In a
facility without a joint case management committee, the recommendation
shall be made jointly by a committee consisting of the facility's
highest ranking mental health clinician, the deputy superintendent for
security, and the deputy superintendent for program services, or their
equivalents. Any such recommendation shall be reviewed by the joint
central office review committee. The administrative process described in
this clause shall be completed within seven days of the initial
assessment, and if the result of such process is that the incarcerated
individual should be removed from segregated confinement or a
residential rehabilitation unit, such removal shall occur as soon as
practicable, but in no event more than seventy-two hours from the
completion of the administrative process. Pursuant to paragraph (h) of
this subdivision, nothing in this section shall permit the placement of
an incarcerated person with serious mental illness into segregated
confinement at any time, even for the purposes of assessment.
(D) If an incarcerated individual with a serious mental illness is not
diverted or removed to a residential mental health treatment unit, such
incarcerated individual shall be diverted to a residential
rehabilitation unit and reassessed by a mental health clinician within
fourteen days of the initial assessment and at least once every fourteen
days thereafter. After each such additional assessment, a recommendation
as to whether such incarcerated individual should be removed from a
residential rehabilitation unit shall be made and reviewed according to
the process set forth in clause (C) of this subparagraph.
(E) A recommendation or determination whether to remove an
incarcerated individual from segregated confinement or a residential
rehabilitation unit shall take into account the assessing mental health
clinicians' opinions as to the incarcerated individual's mental
condition and treatment needs, and shall also take into account any
safety and security concerns that would be posed by the incarcerated
individual's removal, even if additional restrictions were placed on the
incarcerated individual's access to treatment, property, services or
privileges in a residential mental health treatment unit. A
recommendation or determination shall direct the incarcerated
individual's removal from segregated confinement or a residential
rehabilitation unit except in the following exceptional circumstances:
(1) when the reviewer finds that removal would pose a substantial risk
to the safety of the incarcerated individual or other persons, or a
substantial threat to the security of the facility, even if additional
restrictions were placed on the incarcerated individual's access to
treatment, property, services or privileges in a residential mental
health treatment unit; or (2) when the assessing mental health clinician
determines that such placement is in the incarcerated individual's best
interests based on his or her mental condition and that removing such
incarcerated individual to a residential mental health treatment unit
would be detrimental to his or her mental condition. Any determination
not to remove an incarcerated individual with serious mental illness
from a residential rehabilitation unit shall be documented in writing
and include the reasons for the determination.
(iii) Incarcerated individuals with serious mental illness who are not
diverted or removed from a residential rehabilitation unit shall be
offered a heightened level of mental health care, involving a minimum of
three hours daily of out-of-cell therapeutic treatment and programming.
This heightened level of care shall not be offered only in the following
circumstances:
(A) The heightened level of care shall not apply when an incarcerated
individual with serious mental illness does not, in the reasonable
judgment of a mental health clinician, require the heightened level of
care. Such determination shall be documented with a written statement of
the basis of such determination and shall be reviewed by the Central New
York Psychiatric Center clinical director or his or her designee. Such a
determination is subject to change should the incarcerated individual's
clinical status change. Such determination shall be reviewed and
documented by a mental health clinician every thirty days, and in
consultation with the Central New York Psychiatric Center clinical
director or his or her designee not less than every ninety days.
(B) The heightened level of care shall not apply in exceptional
circumstances when providing such care would create an unacceptable risk
to the safety and security of incarcerated individuals or staff. Such
determination shall be documented by security personnel together with
the basis of such determination and shall be reviewed by the facility
superintendent, in consultation with a mental health clinician, not less
than every seven days for as long as the incarcerated individual remains
in a residential rehabilitation unit. The facility shall attempt to
resolve such exceptional circumstances so that the heightened level of
care may be provided. If such exceptional circumstances remain
unresolved for thirty days, the matter shall be referred to the joint
central office review committee for review.
(iv) All incarcerated individuals in segregated confinement in a level
one or level two facility or a residential rehabilitation unit who are
not assessed with a serious mental illness at the initial assessment
shall be offered at least one interview with a mental health clinician
within seven days of their initial mental health assessment, unless the
mental health clinician at the most recent interview recommends an
earlier interview or assessment. All incarcerated individuals in a
residential rehabilitation unit in a level three or level four facility
who are not assessed with a serious mental illness at the initial
assessment shall be offered at least one interview with a mental health
clinician within thirty days of their initial mental health assessment,
and additional interviews at least every ninety days thereafter, unless
the mental health clinician at the most recent interview recommends an
earlier interview or assessment.
(e) An incarcerated individual has a serious mental illness when he or
she has been determined by a mental health clinician to meet at least
one of the following criteria:
(i) he or she has a current diagnosis of, or is diagnosed at the
initial or any subsequent assessment conducted during the incarcerated
individual's segregated confinement with, one or more of the following
types of Axis I diagnoses, as described in the most recent edition of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and such
diagnoses shall be made based upon all relevant clinical factors,
including but not limited to symptoms related to such diagnoses:
(A) schizophrenia (all sub-types),
(B) delusional disorder,
(C) schizophreniform disorder,
(D) schizoaffective disorder,
(E) brief psychotic disorder,
(F) substance-induced psychotic disorder (excluding intoxication and
withdrawal),
(G) psychotic disorder not otherwise specified,
(H) major depressive disorders, or
(I) bipolar disorder I and II;
(ii) he or she is actively suicidal or has engaged in a recent,
serious suicide attempt;
(iii) he or she has been diagnosed with a mental condition that is
frequently characterized by breaks with reality, or perceptions of
reality, that lead the individual to experience significant functional
impairment involving acts of self-harm or other behavior that have a
seriously adverse effect on life or on mental or physical health;
(iv) he or she has been diagnosed with an organic brain syndrome that
results in a significant functional impairment involving acts of
self-harm or other behavior that have a seriously adverse effect on life
or on mental or physical health;
(v) he or she has been diagnosed with a severe personality disorder
that is manifested by frequent episodes of psychosis or depression, and
results in a significant functional impairment involving acts of
self-harm or other behavior that have a seriously adverse effect on life
or on mental or physical health; or
(vi) he or she has been determined by a mental health clinician to
have otherwise substantially deteriorated mentally or emotionally while
confined in segregated confinement and is experiencing significant
functional impairment indicating a diagnosis of serious mental illness
and involving acts of self-harm or other behavior that have a serious
adverse effect on life or on mental or physical health.
(f) The superintendent shall make a full report to the commissioner at
least once a week concerning the condition of such incarcerated
individual and shall forthwith report to the commissioner any
recommendation relative to health maintenance or health care delivery
made by the facility health services director and any recommendation
relative to mental health treatment or confinement of an incarcerated
individual with a serious mental illness made by the mental health
clinician pursuant to paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subdivision that is
not endorsed or carried out, as the case may be, by the superintendent.
(g) Within twenty-four hours of disciplinary confinement, keeplock
pending a disciplinary hearing, placement in a segregated confinement
unit for administrative purposes, or placement in a residential mental
health treatment unit, and at weekly intervals thereafter for the
duration of such confinement, an incarcerated individual shall be
permitted to make at least one personal phone call, except when to do so
would create an unacceptable risk to the safety and security of
incarcerated individuals or staff.
(h) Persons in a special population as defined in subdivision
thirty-three of section two of this chapter shall not be placed in
segregated confinement for any length of time, except in keeplock for a
period prior to a disciplinary hearing pursuant to paragraph (l) of this
subdivision. Individuals in a special population who are in keeplock
prior to a disciplinary hearing shall be given seven hours a day
out-of-cell time or shall be transferred to a residential rehabilitation
unit or residential mental health treatment unit as expeditiously as
possible, but in no case longer than forty-eight hours from the time an
individual is admitted to keeplock.
(i) (i) No person may be placed in segregated confinement for longer
than necessary and no more than fifteen consecutive days. Nor shall any
person be placed in segregated confinement for more than twenty total
days within any sixty day period except as otherwise provided in
subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. At these limits, he or she must be
released from segregated confinement or diverted to a separate
residential rehabilitation unit. If placement of such person in
segregated confinement would exceed the twenty-day limit and the
department establishes that the person committed an act defined in
subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision, the department
may place the person in segregated confinement until admission to a
residential rehabilitation unit can be effectuated. Such admission to a
residential rehabilitation unit shall occur as expeditiously as possible
and in no case take longer than forty-eight hours from the time such
person is placed in segregated confinement.
(ii) For offenses determined pursuant to paragraph (l) of this
subdivision to constitute a violent felony act defined in subparagraph
(ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision, if occurring more than one
time within any sixty day period, up to an additional fifteen
consecutive days in segregated confinement may occur for each such
additional incident. If such subsequent incident takes place in a
residential rehabilitation unit or general population, the person may be
returned to segregated confinement for up to fifteen consecutive days.
If such subsequent incident takes place in segregated confinement and
causes physical injury to another person, the person may receive up to
an additional fifteen consecutive days in segregated confinement,
provided however that the person must spend at least fifteen days in a
residential rehabilitation unit in between each placement of up to
fifteen consecutive days in segregated confinement. Custody under this
subparagraph shall otherwise be in accordance with this chapter.
(j) (i) All segregated confinement and residential rehabilitation
units shall create the least restrictive environment necessary for the
safety of incarcerated persons, staff, and the security of the facility.
(ii) Persons in segregated confinement shall be offered out-of-cell
programming at least four hours per day, including at least one hour for
recreation. Persons admitted to residential rehabilitation units shall
be offered at least six hours of daily out-of-cell congregate
programming, services, treatment, recreation, activities and/or meals,
with an additional minimum of one hour for recreation. Recreation in all
residential rehabilitation units shall take place in a congregate
setting, unless exceptional circumstances mean doing so would create a
significant and unreasonable risk to the safety and security of other
incarcerated persons, staff, or the facility. Persons in segregated
confinement and residential rehabilitation units shall be offered
programming led by program or therapeutic staff five days per week,
except on recognized state legal holidays. All other out-of-cell time
may include peer-led programs, time in a day room or out-of-cell
recreation area with other people, congregate meals, volunteer programs,
or other congregate activities.
(iii) No limitation on services, treatment, or basic needs such as
clothing, food and bedding shall be imposed as a form of punishment. If
provision of any such services, treatment or basic needs to an
individual would create a significant and unreasonable risk to the
safety and security of incarcerated persons, staff, or the facility,
such services, treatment or basic needs may be withheld until it
reasonably appears that the risk has ended. The department shall not
impose restricted diets or any other change in diet as a form of
punishment. Persons in a residential rehabilitation unit shall have
access to all of their personal property unless an individual
determination is made that having a specific item would pose a
significant and unreasonable risk to the safety of incarcerated persons
or staff or the security of the unit.
(iv) Upon admission to a residential rehabilitation unit, program and
mental health staff shall administer assessments and develop an
individual rehabilitation plan in consultation with the resident, based
upon his or her medical, mental health, and programming needs. Such plan
shall identify specific goals and programs, treatment, and services to
be offered, with projected time frames for completion and discharge from
the residential rehabilitation unit.
(v) An incarcerated person in a residential rehabilitation unit shall
have access to programs and work assignments comparable to core programs
and types of work assignments in general population. Such incarcerated
persons shall also have access to additional out-of-cell,
trauma-informed therapeutic programming aimed at promoting personal
development, addressing underlying causes of problematic behavior
resulting in placement in a residential rehabilitation unit, and helping
prepare for discharge from the unit and to the community.
(vi) If the department establishes that a person committed an act
defined in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision while
in segregated confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit and poses
a significant and unreasonable risk to the safety and security of other
incarcerated persons or staff, the department may restrict such person's
participation in programming and out-of-cell activities as necessary for
the safety of other incarcerated persons and staff. If such restrictions
are imposed, the department must provide at least four hours out-of-cell
time daily, including at least two hours of therapeutic programming and
two hours of recreation, and must make reasonable efforts to reinstate
access to programming as soon as possible. In no case may such
restrictions extend beyond fifteen days unless the person commits a new
act defined herein justifying restrictions on program access, or if the
commissioner and, when appropriate, the commissioner of mental health
personally reasonably determine that the person poses an extraordinary
and unacceptable risk of imminent harm to the safety or security of
incarcerated persons or staff. Any extension of program restrictions
beyond fifteen days must be meaningfully reviewed and approved at least
every fifteen days by the commissioner and, when appropriate, by the
commissioner of mental health. Each review must consider the impact of
therapeutic programming provided during the fifteen-day period on the
person's risk of imminent harm and the commissioner must articulate in
writing, with a copy provided to the incarcerated person, the specific
reason why the person currently poses an extraordinary and unacceptable
risk of imminent harm to the safety or security of incarcerated persons
or staff. In no case may restrictions imposed by the commissioner extend
beyond ninety days unless the person commits a new act defined herein
justifying restrictions on program access.
(vii) Restraints shall not be used when incarcerated persons are
participating in out-of-cell activities within a residential
rehabilitation unit unless an individual assessment is made that
restraints are required because of a significant and unreasonable risk
to the safety and security of other incarcerated persons or staff.
(k) (i) The department may place a person in segregated confinement
for up to three consecutive days and no longer than six days in any
thirty day period if, pursuant to an evidentiary hearing, it determines
that the person violated department rules which permit a penalty of
segregated confinement. The department may not place a person in
segregated confinement for longer than three consecutive days or six
days total in a thirty day period unless the provisions of subparagraph
(ii) of this paragraph are met.
(ii) The department may place a person in segregated confinement
beyond the limits of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or in a
residential rehabilitation unit only if, pursuant to an evidentiary
hearing, it determines by written decision that the person committed one
of the following acts and if the commissioner or his or her designee
determines in writing based on specific objective criteria the acts were
so heinous or destructive that placement of the individual in general
population housing creates a significant risk of imminent serious
physical injury to staff or other incarcerated persons, and creates an
unreasonable risk to the security of the facility:
(A) causing or attempting to cause serious physical injury or death to
another person or making an imminent threat of such serious physical
injury or death if the person has a history of causing such physical
injury or death and the commissioner and, when appropriate, the
commissioner of mental health or their designees reasonably determine
that there is a strong likelihood that the person will carry out such
threat. The commissioner of mental health or his or her designee shall
be involved in such determination if the person is or has been on the
mental health caseload or appears to require psychiatric attention. The
department and the office of mental health shall promulgate rules and
regulations pertaining to this clause;
(B) compelling or attempting to compel another person, by force or
threat of force, to engage in a sexual act;
(C) extorting another, by force or threat of force, for property or
money;
(D) coercing another, by force or threat of force, to violate any
rule;
(E) leading, organizing, inciting, or attempting to cause a riot,
insurrection, or other similarly serious disturbance that results in the
taking of a hostage, major property damage, or physical harm to another
person;
(F) procuring a deadly weapon or other dangerous contraband that poses
a serious threat to the security of the institution; or
(G) escaping, attempting to escape or facilitating an escape from a
facility or escaping or attempting to escape while under supervision
outside such facility.
For purposes of this section, attempting to cause a serious
disturbance or to escape shall only be determined to have occurred if
there is a clear finding that the incarcerated individual had the intent
to cause a serious disturbance or the intent to escape and had completed
significant acts in the advancement of the attempt to create a serious
disturbance or escape. Evidence of withdrawal or abandonment of a plan
to cause a serious disturbance or to escape shall negate a finding of
intent.
(iii) No person may be placed in segregated confinement or a
residential rehabilitation unit based on the same act or incident that
was previously used as the basis for such placement.
(iv) No person may be held in segregated confinement for protective
custody. Any unit used for protective custody must, at a minimum,
conform to requirements governing residential rehabilitation units.
(l) All hearings to determine if a person may be placed in segregated
confinement shall occur prior to placement in segregated confinement
unless a security supervisor, with written approval of a facility
superintendent or designee, reasonably believes the person fits the
specified criteria for segregated confinement in subparagraph (ii) of
paragraph (k) of this subdivision. If a hearing does not take place
prior to placement, it shall occur as soon as reasonably practicable and
at most within five days of such placement unless the charged person
seeks a postponement of the hearing. Persons at such hearings shall be
permitted to be represented by any attorney or law student, or by any
paralegal or incarcerated person unless the department reasonably
disapproves of such paralegal or incarcerated person based upon
objective written criteria developed by the department.
(m) (i) Any sanction imposed on an incarcerated person requiring
segregated confinement shall run while the person is in a residential
rehabilitation unit and the person shall be discharged from the unit
before or at the time such sanction expires. If a person successfully
completes his or her rehabilitation plan before the sanction expires,
the person shall have a right to be discharged from the unit upon such
completion.
(ii) If an incarcerated person has not been discharged from a
residential rehabilitation unit within one year of initial admission to
such a unit or is within sixty days of a fixed or tentatively approved
date for release from a correctional facility, he or she shall have a
right to be discharged from the unit unless he or she committed an act
listed in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision within
the prior one hundred eighty days and he or she poses a significant and
unreasonable risk to the safety or security of incarcerated persons or
staff. In any such case the decision not to discharge such person shall
be immediately and automatically subjected to an independent review by
the commissioner and the commissioner of mental health or their
designees. A person may remain in a residential rehabilitation unit
beyond the time limits provided in this section if both commissioners or
both of their designees approve this decision. In extraordinary
circumstances, a person who has not committed an act listed in
subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision within the prior
one hundred eighty days, may remain in a residential rehabilitation unit
beyond the time limits provided in this section if both the commissioner
and the commissioner of mental health personally determine that such
individual poses an extraordinary and unacceptable risk of imminent harm
to the safety or security of incarcerated persons or staff.
(iii) There shall be a meaningful periodic review of the status of
each incarcerated person in a residential rehabilitation unit at least
every sixty days to assess the person's progress and determine if the
person should be discharged from the unit. Following such periodic
review, if the person is not discharged from the unit, program and
mental health staff shall specify in writing the reasons for the
determination and the program, treatment, service, and/or corrective
action required before discharge. The incarcerated person shall be given
access to the programs, treatment and services specified, and shall have
a right to be discharged from the residential rehabilitation unit upon
the successful fulfillment of such requirements.
(iv) When an incarcerated person is discharged from a residential
rehabilitation unit, any remaining time to serve on any underlying
disciplinary sanction shall be dismissed. If an incarcerated person
substantially completes his or her rehabilitation plan, he or she shall
have any associated loss of good time restored upon discharge from the
unit.
(n) All special housing unit, keeplock unit and residential
rehabilitation unit staff and their supervisors shall undergo
specialized training prior to assignment to such unit, and regular
specialized training thereafter, on substantive content developed in
consultation with relevant experts, on topics including, but not limited
to, the purpose and goals of the non-punitive therapeutic environment,
trauma-informed care, restorative justice, and dispute resolution
methods. Prior to presiding over any hearings, all hearing officers
shall undergo a minimum of thirty-seven hours of training, with one
additional day of training annually thereafter, on relevant topics,
including but not limited to, the physical and psychological effects of
segregated confinement, procedural and due process rights of the
accused, and restorative justice remedies.
(o) The department shall publish monthly reports on its website, with
semi-annual and annual cumulative reports, of the total number of people
who are in segregated confinement and the total number of people who are
in residential rehabilitation units on the first day of each month. The
reports shall provide a breakdown of the number of people in segregated
confinement and in residential rehabilitation units by: (i) age; (ii)
race; (iii) gender; (iv) mental health treatment level; (v) special
health accommodations or needs; (vi) need for and participation in
substance use disorder programs; (vii) pregnancy status; (viii)
continuous length of stay in residential treatment units as well as
length of stay in the past sixty days; (ix) number of days in segregated
confinement; (x) a list of all incidents resulting in sanctions of
segregated confinement by facility and date of occurrence; (xi) the
number of incarcerated persons in segregated confinement by facility;
and (xii) the number of incarcerated persons in residential
rehabilitation units by facility.
facilities. 1. The commissioner shall establish program and
classification procedures designed to assure the complete study of the
background and condition of each incarcerated individual in the care or
custody of the department and the assignment of such incarcerated
individual to a program that is most likely to be useful in assisting
him or her to refrain from future violations of the law. Such procedures
shall be incorporated into the rules and regulations of the department
and shall require among other things: consideration of the physical,
mental and emotional condition of the incarcerated individual;
consideration of his or her educational and vocational needs; enrollment
of each incarcerated individual in assigned programs as soon as
practicable; consideration of the danger he or she presents to the
community or to other incarcerated individuals; the recording of
continuous case histories including notations as to apparent success or
failure of treatment employed; and periodic review of case histories and
treatment methods used.
2. The commissioner shall provide for such measures as he or she may
deem necessary or appropriate for the safety, security and control of
correctional facilities and the maintenance of order therein.
3. Each incarcerated individual shall be entitled to clothing suited
to the season and weather conditions and to a sufficient quantity of
wholesome and nutritious food. To the extent practicable, the clothing
and bedding of incarcerated individuals shall be manufactured and
laundered in institutions in the department.
3-a. The commissioner shall establish a program to purchase fresh
produce from farms located in the state and distribute such fresh
produce to correctional facilities in the state to be utilized in the
provision of wholesome and nutritious food to incarcerated individuals
pursuant to the provisions of this section.
4. Whenever there shall be a sufficient number of cells or rooms in a
correctional facility, each incarcerated individual shall be given
sleeping accommodations in a separate cell or room, provided, however,
that nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to limit the
right of the department to utilize dormitory-type accommodations where
necessary or where appropriate to a program of treatment.
5. No incarcerated individual in the care or custody of the department
shall be subjected to degrading treatment, and no officer or other
employee of the department shall inflict any blows whatever upon any
incarcerated individual, unless in self defense, or to suppress a revolt
or insurrection. When any incarcerated individual, or group of
incarcerated individuals, shall offer violence to any person, or do or
attempt to do any injury to property, or attempt to escape, or resist or
disobey any lawful direction, the officers and employees shall use all
suitable means to defend themselves, to maintain order, to enforce
observation of discipline, to secure the persons of the offenders and to
prevent any such attempt or escape.
6. Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subdivision,
the superintendent of a correctional facility may keep any incarcerated
individual confined in a cell or room, apart from the accommodations
provided for incarcerated individuals who are participating in programs
of the facility, for such period as may be necessary for maintenance of
order or discipline, but in any such case the following conditions shall
be observed:
(a) The incarcerated individual shall be supplied with a sufficient
quantity of wholesome and nutritious food;
(b) Adequate sanitary and other conditions required for the health of
the incarcerated individual shall be maintained;
(c) Where such confinement is for a period in excess of twenty-four
hours, the superintendent shall arrange for the facility health services
director, or a registered nurse or physician's associate approved by the
facility health services director to visit such incarcerated individual
at the expiration of twenty-four hours and at least once in every
twenty-four hour period thereafter, during the period of such
confinement, to examine into the state of health of the incarcerated
individual, and the superintendent shall give full consideration to any
recommendation that may be made by the facility health services director
for measures with respect to dietary needs or conditions of confinement
of such incarcerated individual required to maintain the health of such
incarcerated individual; and
(d) (i) Except as set forth in clause (E) of subparagraph (ii) of this
paragraph, the department, in consultation with mental health
clinicians, shall divert or remove incarcerated individuals with serious
mental illness, as defined in paragraph (e) of this subdivision, from
segregated confinement or confinement in a residential rehabilitation
unit, where such confinement could potentially be for a period in excess
of thirty days, to a residential mental health treatment unit. Nothing
in this paragraph shall be deemed to prevent the disciplinary process
from proceeding in accordance with department rules and regulations for
disciplinary hearings.
(ii) (A) Upon placement of an incarcerated individual into segregated
confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit at a level one or level
two facility, a suicide prevention screening instrument shall be
administered by staff from the department or the office of mental health
who has been trained for that purpose. If such a screening instrument
reveals that the incarcerated individual is at risk of suicide, a mental
health clinician shall be consulted and appropriate safety precautions
shall be taken. Additionally, within one business day of the placement
of such an incarcerated individual into segregated confinement at a
level one or level two facility or a residential rehabilitation unit,
the incarcerated individual shall be assessed by a mental health
clinician.
(B) Upon placement of an incarcerated individual into segregated
confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit at a level three or
level four facility, a suicide prevention screening instrument shall be
administered by staff from the department or the office of mental health
who has been trained for that purpose. If such a screening instrument
reveals that the incarcerated individual is at risk of suicide, a mental
health clinician shall be consulted and appropriate safety precautions
shall be taken. All incarcerated individuals placed in segregated
confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit at a level three or
level four facility shall be assessed by a mental health clinician,
within seven days of such placement into segregated confinement.
(C) At the initial assessment, if the mental health clinician finds
that an incarcerated individual suffers from a serious mental illness,
that person shall be diverted or removed from segregated confinement or
a residential rehabilitation unit and a recommendation shall be made
whether exceptional circumstances, as described in clause (E) of this
subparagraph, exist. In a facility with a joint case management
committee, such recommendation shall be made by such committee. In a
facility without a joint case management committee, the recommendation
shall be made jointly by a committee consisting of the facility's
highest ranking mental health clinician, the deputy superintendent for
security, and the deputy superintendent for program services, or their
equivalents. Any such recommendation shall be reviewed by the joint
central office review committee. The administrative process described in
this clause shall be completed within seven days of the initial
assessment, and if the result of such process is that the incarcerated
individual should be removed from segregated confinement or a
residential rehabilitation unit, such removal shall occur as soon as
practicable, but in no event more than seventy-two hours from the
completion of the administrative process. Pursuant to paragraph (h) of
this subdivision, nothing in this section shall permit the placement of
an incarcerated person with serious mental illness into segregated
confinement at any time, even for the purposes of assessment.
(D) If an incarcerated individual with a serious mental illness is not
diverted or removed to a residential mental health treatment unit, such
incarcerated individual shall be diverted to a residential
rehabilitation unit and reassessed by a mental health clinician within
fourteen days of the initial assessment and at least once every fourteen
days thereafter. After each such additional assessment, a recommendation
as to whether such incarcerated individual should be removed from a
residential rehabilitation unit shall be made and reviewed according to
the process set forth in clause (C) of this subparagraph.
(E) A recommendation or determination whether to remove an
incarcerated individual from segregated confinement or a residential
rehabilitation unit shall take into account the assessing mental health
clinicians' opinions as to the incarcerated individual's mental
condition and treatment needs, and shall also take into account any
safety and security concerns that would be posed by the incarcerated
individual's removal, even if additional restrictions were placed on the
incarcerated individual's access to treatment, property, services or
privileges in a residential mental health treatment unit. A
recommendation or determination shall direct the incarcerated
individual's removal from segregated confinement or a residential
rehabilitation unit except in the following exceptional circumstances:
(1) when the reviewer finds that removal would pose a substantial risk
to the safety of the incarcerated individual or other persons, or a
substantial threat to the security of the facility, even if additional
restrictions were placed on the incarcerated individual's access to
treatment, property, services or privileges in a residential mental
health treatment unit; or (2) when the assessing mental health clinician
determines that such placement is in the incarcerated individual's best
interests based on his or her mental condition and that removing such
incarcerated individual to a residential mental health treatment unit
would be detrimental to his or her mental condition. Any determination
not to remove an incarcerated individual with serious mental illness
from a residential rehabilitation unit shall be documented in writing
and include the reasons for the determination.
(iii) Incarcerated individuals with serious mental illness who are not
diverted or removed from a residential rehabilitation unit shall be
offered a heightened level of mental health care, involving a minimum of
three hours daily of out-of-cell therapeutic treatment and programming.
This heightened level of care shall not be offered only in the following
circumstances:
(A) The heightened level of care shall not apply when an incarcerated
individual with serious mental illness does not, in the reasonable
judgment of a mental health clinician, require the heightened level of
care. Such determination shall be documented with a written statement of
the basis of such determination and shall be reviewed by the Central New
York Psychiatric Center clinical director or his or her designee. Such a
determination is subject to change should the incarcerated individual's
clinical status change. Such determination shall be reviewed and
documented by a mental health clinician every thirty days, and in
consultation with the Central New York Psychiatric Center clinical
director or his or her designee not less than every ninety days.
(B) The heightened level of care shall not apply in exceptional
circumstances when providing such care would create an unacceptable risk
to the safety and security of incarcerated individuals or staff. Such
determination shall be documented by security personnel together with
the basis of such determination and shall be reviewed by the facility
superintendent, in consultation with a mental health clinician, not less
than every seven days for as long as the incarcerated individual remains
in a residential rehabilitation unit. The facility shall attempt to
resolve such exceptional circumstances so that the heightened level of
care may be provided. If such exceptional circumstances remain
unresolved for thirty days, the matter shall be referred to the joint
central office review committee for review.
(iv) All incarcerated individuals in segregated confinement in a level
one or level two facility or a residential rehabilitation unit who are
not assessed with a serious mental illness at the initial assessment
shall be offered at least one interview with a mental health clinician
within seven days of their initial mental health assessment, unless the
mental health clinician at the most recent interview recommends an
earlier interview or assessment. All incarcerated individuals in a
residential rehabilitation unit in a level three or level four facility
who are not assessed with a serious mental illness at the initial
assessment shall be offered at least one interview with a mental health
clinician within thirty days of their initial mental health assessment,
and additional interviews at least every ninety days thereafter, unless
the mental health clinician at the most recent interview recommends an
earlier interview or assessment.
(e) An incarcerated individual has a serious mental illness when he or
she has been determined by a mental health clinician to meet at least
one of the following criteria:
(i) he or she has a current diagnosis of, or is diagnosed at the
initial or any subsequent assessment conducted during the incarcerated
individual's segregated confinement with, one or more of the following
types of Axis I diagnoses, as described in the most recent edition of
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and such
diagnoses shall be made based upon all relevant clinical factors,
including but not limited to symptoms related to such diagnoses:
(A) schizophrenia (all sub-types),
(B) delusional disorder,
(C) schizophreniform disorder,
(D) schizoaffective disorder,
(E) brief psychotic disorder,
(F) substance-induced psychotic disorder (excluding intoxication and
withdrawal),
(G) psychotic disorder not otherwise specified,
(H) major depressive disorders, or
(I) bipolar disorder I and II;
(ii) he or she is actively suicidal or has engaged in a recent,
serious suicide attempt;
(iii) he or she has been diagnosed with a mental condition that is
frequently characterized by breaks with reality, or perceptions of
reality, that lead the individual to experience significant functional
impairment involving acts of self-harm or other behavior that have a
seriously adverse effect on life or on mental or physical health;
(iv) he or she has been diagnosed with an organic brain syndrome that
results in a significant functional impairment involving acts of
self-harm or other behavior that have a seriously adverse effect on life
or on mental or physical health;
(v) he or she has been diagnosed with a severe personality disorder
that is manifested by frequent episodes of psychosis or depression, and
results in a significant functional impairment involving acts of
self-harm or other behavior that have a seriously adverse effect on life
or on mental or physical health; or
(vi) he or she has been determined by a mental health clinician to
have otherwise substantially deteriorated mentally or emotionally while
confined in segregated confinement and is experiencing significant
functional impairment indicating a diagnosis of serious mental illness
and involving acts of self-harm or other behavior that have a serious
adverse effect on life or on mental or physical health.
(f) The superintendent shall make a full report to the commissioner at
least once a week concerning the condition of such incarcerated
individual and shall forthwith report to the commissioner any
recommendation relative to health maintenance or health care delivery
made by the facility health services director and any recommendation
relative to mental health treatment or confinement of an incarcerated
individual with a serious mental illness made by the mental health
clinician pursuant to paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subdivision that is
not endorsed or carried out, as the case may be, by the superintendent.
(g) Within twenty-four hours of disciplinary confinement, keeplock
pending a disciplinary hearing, placement in a segregated confinement
unit for administrative purposes, or placement in a residential mental
health treatment unit, and at weekly intervals thereafter for the
duration of such confinement, an incarcerated individual shall be
permitted to make at least one personal phone call, except when to do so
would create an unacceptable risk to the safety and security of
incarcerated individuals or staff.
(h) Persons in a special population as defined in subdivision
thirty-three of section two of this chapter shall not be placed in
segregated confinement for any length of time, except in keeplock for a
period prior to a disciplinary hearing pursuant to paragraph (l) of this
subdivision. Individuals in a special population who are in keeplock
prior to a disciplinary hearing shall be given seven hours a day
out-of-cell time or shall be transferred to a residential rehabilitation
unit or residential mental health treatment unit as expeditiously as
possible, but in no case longer than forty-eight hours from the time an
individual is admitted to keeplock.
(i) (i) No person may be placed in segregated confinement for longer
than necessary and no more than fifteen consecutive days. Nor shall any
person be placed in segregated confinement for more than twenty total
days within any sixty day period except as otherwise provided in
subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. At these limits, he or she must be
released from segregated confinement or diverted to a separate
residential rehabilitation unit. If placement of such person in
segregated confinement would exceed the twenty-day limit and the
department establishes that the person committed an act defined in
subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision, the department
may place the person in segregated confinement until admission to a
residential rehabilitation unit can be effectuated. Such admission to a
residential rehabilitation unit shall occur as expeditiously as possible
and in no case take longer than forty-eight hours from the time such
person is placed in segregated confinement.
(ii) For offenses determined pursuant to paragraph (l) of this
subdivision to constitute a violent felony act defined in subparagraph
(ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision, if occurring more than one
time within any sixty day period, up to an additional fifteen
consecutive days in segregated confinement may occur for each such
additional incident. If such subsequent incident takes place in a
residential rehabilitation unit or general population, the person may be
returned to segregated confinement for up to fifteen consecutive days.
If such subsequent incident takes place in segregated confinement and
causes physical injury to another person, the person may receive up to
an additional fifteen consecutive days in segregated confinement,
provided however that the person must spend at least fifteen days in a
residential rehabilitation unit in between each placement of up to
fifteen consecutive days in segregated confinement. Custody under this
subparagraph shall otherwise be in accordance with this chapter.
(j) (i) All segregated confinement and residential rehabilitation
units shall create the least restrictive environment necessary for the
safety of incarcerated persons, staff, and the security of the facility.
(ii) Persons in segregated confinement shall be offered out-of-cell
programming at least four hours per day, including at least one hour for
recreation. Persons admitted to residential rehabilitation units shall
be offered at least six hours of daily out-of-cell congregate
programming, services, treatment, recreation, activities and/or meals,
with an additional minimum of one hour for recreation. Recreation in all
residential rehabilitation units shall take place in a congregate
setting, unless exceptional circumstances mean doing so would create a
significant and unreasonable risk to the safety and security of other
incarcerated persons, staff, or the facility. Persons in segregated
confinement and residential rehabilitation units shall be offered
programming led by program or therapeutic staff five days per week,
except on recognized state legal holidays. All other out-of-cell time
may include peer-led programs, time in a day room or out-of-cell
recreation area with other people, congregate meals, volunteer programs,
or other congregate activities.
(iii) No limitation on services, treatment, or basic needs such as
clothing, food and bedding shall be imposed as a form of punishment. If
provision of any such services, treatment or basic needs to an
individual would create a significant and unreasonable risk to the
safety and security of incarcerated persons, staff, or the facility,
such services, treatment or basic needs may be withheld until it
reasonably appears that the risk has ended. The department shall not
impose restricted diets or any other change in diet as a form of
punishment. Persons in a residential rehabilitation unit shall have
access to all of their personal property unless an individual
determination is made that having a specific item would pose a
significant and unreasonable risk to the safety of incarcerated persons
or staff or the security of the unit.
(iv) Upon admission to a residential rehabilitation unit, program and
mental health staff shall administer assessments and develop an
individual rehabilitation plan in consultation with the resident, based
upon his or her medical, mental health, and programming needs. Such plan
shall identify specific goals and programs, treatment, and services to
be offered, with projected time frames for completion and discharge from
the residential rehabilitation unit.
(v) An incarcerated person in a residential rehabilitation unit shall
have access to programs and work assignments comparable to core programs
and types of work assignments in general population. Such incarcerated
persons shall also have access to additional out-of-cell,
trauma-informed therapeutic programming aimed at promoting personal
development, addressing underlying causes of problematic behavior
resulting in placement in a residential rehabilitation unit, and helping
prepare for discharge from the unit and to the community.
(vi) If the department establishes that a person committed an act
defined in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision while
in segregated confinement or a residential rehabilitation unit and poses
a significant and unreasonable risk to the safety and security of other
incarcerated persons or staff, the department may restrict such person's
participation in programming and out-of-cell activities as necessary for
the safety of other incarcerated persons and staff. If such restrictions
are imposed, the department must provide at least four hours out-of-cell
time daily, including at least two hours of therapeutic programming and
two hours of recreation, and must make reasonable efforts to reinstate
access to programming as soon as possible. In no case may such
restrictions extend beyond fifteen days unless the person commits a new
act defined herein justifying restrictions on program access, or if the
commissioner and, when appropriate, the commissioner of mental health
personally reasonably determine that the person poses an extraordinary
and unacceptable risk of imminent harm to the safety or security of
incarcerated persons or staff. Any extension of program restrictions
beyond fifteen days must be meaningfully reviewed and approved at least
every fifteen days by the commissioner and, when appropriate, by the
commissioner of mental health. Each review must consider the impact of
therapeutic programming provided during the fifteen-day period on the
person's risk of imminent harm and the commissioner must articulate in
writing, with a copy provided to the incarcerated person, the specific
reason why the person currently poses an extraordinary and unacceptable
risk of imminent harm to the safety or security of incarcerated persons
or staff. In no case may restrictions imposed by the commissioner extend
beyond ninety days unless the person commits a new act defined herein
justifying restrictions on program access.
(vii) Restraints shall not be used when incarcerated persons are
participating in out-of-cell activities within a residential
rehabilitation unit unless an individual assessment is made that
restraints are required because of a significant and unreasonable risk
to the safety and security of other incarcerated persons or staff.
(k) (i) The department may place a person in segregated confinement
for up to three consecutive days and no longer than six days in any
thirty day period if, pursuant to an evidentiary hearing, it determines
that the person violated department rules which permit a penalty of
segregated confinement. The department may not place a person in
segregated confinement for longer than three consecutive days or six
days total in a thirty day period unless the provisions of subparagraph
(ii) of this paragraph are met.
(ii) The department may place a person in segregated confinement
beyond the limits of subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or in a
residential rehabilitation unit only if, pursuant to an evidentiary
hearing, it determines by written decision that the person committed one
of the following acts and if the commissioner or his or her designee
determines in writing based on specific objective criteria the acts were
so heinous or destructive that placement of the individual in general
population housing creates a significant risk of imminent serious
physical injury to staff or other incarcerated persons, and creates an
unreasonable risk to the security of the facility:
(A) causing or attempting to cause serious physical injury or death to
another person or making an imminent threat of such serious physical
injury or death if the person has a history of causing such physical
injury or death and the commissioner and, when appropriate, the
commissioner of mental health or their designees reasonably determine
that there is a strong likelihood that the person will carry out such
threat. The commissioner of mental health or his or her designee shall
be involved in such determination if the person is or has been on the
mental health caseload or appears to require psychiatric attention. The
department and the office of mental health shall promulgate rules and
regulations pertaining to this clause;
(B) compelling or attempting to compel another person, by force or
threat of force, to engage in a sexual act;
(C) extorting another, by force or threat of force, for property or
money;
(D) coercing another, by force or threat of force, to violate any
rule;
(E) leading, organizing, inciting, or attempting to cause a riot,
insurrection, or other similarly serious disturbance that results in the
taking of a hostage, major property damage, or physical harm to another
person;
(F) procuring a deadly weapon or other dangerous contraband that poses
a serious threat to the security of the institution; or
(G) escaping, attempting to escape or facilitating an escape from a
facility or escaping or attempting to escape while under supervision
outside such facility.
For purposes of this section, attempting to cause a serious
disturbance or to escape shall only be determined to have occurred if
there is a clear finding that the incarcerated individual had the intent
to cause a serious disturbance or the intent to escape and had completed
significant acts in the advancement of the attempt to create a serious
disturbance or escape. Evidence of withdrawal or abandonment of a plan
to cause a serious disturbance or to escape shall negate a finding of
intent.
(iii) No person may be placed in segregated confinement or a
residential rehabilitation unit based on the same act or incident that
was previously used as the basis for such placement.
(iv) No person may be held in segregated confinement for protective
custody. Any unit used for protective custody must, at a minimum,
conform to requirements governing residential rehabilitation units.
(l) All hearings to determine if a person may be placed in segregated
confinement shall occur prior to placement in segregated confinement
unless a security supervisor, with written approval of a facility
superintendent or designee, reasonably believes the person fits the
specified criteria for segregated confinement in subparagraph (ii) of
paragraph (k) of this subdivision. If a hearing does not take place
prior to placement, it shall occur as soon as reasonably practicable and
at most within five days of such placement unless the charged person
seeks a postponement of the hearing. Persons at such hearings shall be
permitted to be represented by any attorney or law student, or by any
paralegal or incarcerated person unless the department reasonably
disapproves of such paralegal or incarcerated person based upon
objective written criteria developed by the department.
(m) (i) Any sanction imposed on an incarcerated person requiring
segregated confinement shall run while the person is in a residential
rehabilitation unit and the person shall be discharged from the unit
before or at the time such sanction expires. If a person successfully
completes his or her rehabilitation plan before the sanction expires,
the person shall have a right to be discharged from the unit upon such
completion.
(ii) If an incarcerated person has not been discharged from a
residential rehabilitation unit within one year of initial admission to
such a unit or is within sixty days of a fixed or tentatively approved
date for release from a correctional facility, he or she shall have a
right to be discharged from the unit unless he or she committed an act
listed in subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision within
the prior one hundred eighty days and he or she poses a significant and
unreasonable risk to the safety or security of incarcerated persons or
staff. In any such case the decision not to discharge such person shall
be immediately and automatically subjected to an independent review by
the commissioner and the commissioner of mental health or their
designees. A person may remain in a residential rehabilitation unit
beyond the time limits provided in this section if both commissioners or
both of their designees approve this decision. In extraordinary
circumstances, a person who has not committed an act listed in
subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (k) of this subdivision within the prior
one hundred eighty days, may remain in a residential rehabilitation unit
beyond the time limits provided in this section if both the commissioner
and the commissioner of mental health personally determine that such
individual poses an extraordinary and unacceptable risk of imminent harm
to the safety or security of incarcerated persons or staff.
(iii) There shall be a meaningful periodic review of the status of
each incarcerated person in a residential rehabilitation unit at least
every sixty days to assess the person's progress and determine if the
person should be discharged from the unit. Following such periodic
review, if the person is not discharged from the unit, program and
mental health staff shall specify in writing the reasons for the
determination and the program, treatment, service, and/or corrective
action required before discharge. The incarcerated person shall be given
access to the programs, treatment and services specified, and shall have
a right to be discharged from the residential rehabilitation unit upon
the successful fulfillment of such requirements.
(iv) When an incarcerated person is discharged from a residential
rehabilitation unit, any remaining time to serve on any underlying
disciplinary sanction shall be dismissed. If an incarcerated person
substantially completes his or her rehabilitation plan, he or she shall
have any associated loss of good time restored upon discharge from the
unit.
(n) All special housing unit, keeplock unit and residential
rehabilitation unit staff and their supervisors shall undergo
specialized training prior to assignment to such unit, and regular
specialized training thereafter, on substantive content developed in
consultation with relevant experts, on topics including, but not limited
to, the purpose and goals of the non-punitive therapeutic environment,
trauma-informed care, restorative justice, and dispute resolution
methods. Prior to presiding over any hearings, all hearing officers
shall undergo a minimum of thirty-seven hours of training, with one
additional day of training annually thereafter, on relevant topics,
including but not limited to, the physical and psychological effects of
segregated confinement, procedural and due process rights of the
accused, and restorative justice remedies.
(o) The department shall publish monthly reports on its website, with
semi-annual and annual cumulative reports, of the total number of people
who are in segregated confinement and the total number of people who are
in residential rehabilitation units on the first day of each month. The
reports shall provide a breakdown of the number of people in segregated
confinement and in residential rehabilitation units by: (i) age; (ii)
race; (iii) gender; (iv) mental health treatment level; (v) special
health accommodations or needs; (vi) need for and participation in
substance use disorder programs; (vii) pregnancy status; (viii)
continuous length of stay in residential treatment units as well as
length of stay in the past sixty days; (ix) number of days in segregated
confinement; (x) a list of all incidents resulting in sanctions of
segregated confinement by facility and date of occurrence; (xi) the
number of incarcerated persons in segregated confinement by facility;
and (xii) the number of incarcerated persons in residential
rehabilitation units by facility.