This bill (A 9491) requires courts and mental health institutions to coordinate discharge planning for defendants in criminal cases terminated due to mental disease or defect. It mandates that courts order referrals to community services (when clinically appropriate and with consent) and dismiss charges upon termination, while institutions must track referrals and submit de-identified annual reports to state officials. The mental hygiene law office must publish annual public data on defendant outcomes, including admission rates, discharge planning, and referral patterns. The bill directly affects defendants in such cases, courts, mental health facilities, and state agencies, without altering eligibility for services or requiring referrals where consent is absent.
Requires the same benefits and services for post-traumatic stress disorder for emergency dispatchers and correction officers as are afforded police and firefighters.
This bill amends New York's stalking law to explicitly include unauthorized Bluetooth tracking as a form of "following" in the crime of stalking in the fourth degree. It directly affects individuals who use Bluetooth technology to secretly track another person's location without permission. The key change adds Bluetooth (along with GPS) to the legal definition of "following," making such unauthorized tracking a punishable offense under existing stalking statutes. Stalking in the fourth degree remains a class B misdemeanor under this updated law.
Requires all incarcerated individuals who do not have a high-school diploma or its equivalent to receive a reading proficiency level assessment and dyslexia screening upon intake by the department of corrections; requires for such individuals who perform below a certain proficiency level to be provided with intervention services that are evidence-based, effective and consistent with science-based research specifically tailored to addressing dyslexia.
Requires rates paid for rehabilitation and opioid treatment be pursuant to certain fee schedules published by the office of addiction services and supports.
Provides immunity from prosecution for certain individuals engaged in prostitution who are victims of or witnesses to a crime and who report such crime or assist in the investigation or prosecution.
Requires each appropriate institution housing a defendant due to mental disease or defect to assign a critical time intervention care management team to the defendant and make a single point of access referral for the defendant prior to such defendant's discharge.
Enacts the "Lieutenant Joseph Banish mental health act" which establishes a law enforcement peer support program to provide confidentiality for communications arising out of law enforcement peer support counseling; defines terms; provides exceptions for when a peer support communication may be disclosed.
Requires police officers to receive training instruction for crimes involving sexual assaults; requires training for child protective services workers in certain instances.
This bill allows criminal cases in counties outside cities with over one million residents to be transferred to specialized mental health courts in neighboring counties. It requires the defendant's motion, consent from both district attorneys, and excludes family violence cases where the accused and victim are family members. The transfer cannot take effect for five days unless the receiving court agrees to accept the case earlier. This creates a formal process for connecting defendants with treatment-focused courts in adjacent jurisdictions.
