N.Y. Correct. Law § 137

§ 137. Program of treatment, control, discipline at correctional\nfacilities. 1. The commissioner shall establish program and\nclassification procedures designed to assure the complete study of the\nbackground and condition of each inmate in the care or custody of the\ndepartment and the assignment of such inmate to a program that is most\nlikely to be useful in assisting him to refrain from future violations\nof the law. Such procedures shall be incorporated into the rules and\nregulations of the department and shall require among other things:\nconsideration of the physical, mental and emotional condition of the\ninmate; consideration of his educational and vocational needs;\nconsideration of the danger he presents to the community or to other\ninmates; the recording of continuous case histories including notations\nas to apparent success or failure of treatment employed; and periodic\nreview of case histories and treatment methods used.\n 2. The commissioner shall provide for such measures as he may deem\nnecessary or appropriate for the safety, security and control of\ncorrectional facilities and the maintenance of order therein.\n 3. Each inmate shall be entitled to clothing suited to the season and\nweather conditions and to a sufficient quantity of wholesome and\nnutritious food. To the extent practicable, the clothing and bedding of\ninmates shall be manufactured and laundered in institutions in the\ndepartment.\n 4. Whenever there shall be a sufficient number of cells or rooms in a\ncorrectional facility, each inmate shall be given sleeping\naccommodations in a separate cell or room, provided, however, that\nnothing herein contained shall be construed so as to limit the right of\nthe department to utilize dormitory-type accommodations where necessary\nor where appropriate to a program of treatment.\n 5. No inmate in the care or custody of the department shall be\nsubjected to degrading treatment, and no officer or other employee of\nthe department shall inflict any blows whatever upon any inmate, unless\nin self defense, or to suppress a revolt or insurrection. When any\ninmate, or group of inmates, shall offer violence to any person, or do\nor attempt to do any injury to property, or attempt to escape, or resist\nor disobey any lawful direction, the officers and employees shall use\nall suitable means to defend themselves, to maintain order, to enforce\nobservation of discipline, to secure the persons of the offenders and to\nprevent any such attempt or escape.\n 6. Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this subdivision,\nthe superintendent of a correctional facility may keep any inmate\nconfined in a cell or room, apart from the accommodations provided for\ninmates who are participating in programs of the facility, for such\nperiod as may be necessary for maintenance of order or discipline, but\nin any such case the following conditions shall be observed:\n (a) The inmate shall be supplied with a sufficient quantity of\nwholesome and nutritious food, provided, however, that such food need\nnot be the same as the food supplied to inmates who are participating in\nprograms of the facility;\n (b) Adequate sanitary and other conditions required for the health of\nthe inmate shall be maintained;\n (c) Where such confinement is for a period in excess of twenty-four\nhours, the superintendent shall arrange for the facility health services\ndirector, or a registered nurse or physician's associate approved by the\nfacility health services director to visit such inmate at the expiration\nof twenty-four hours and at least once in every twenty-four hour period\nthereafter, during the period of such confinement, to examine into the\nstate of health of the inmate, and the superintendent shall give full\nconsideration to any recommendation that may be made by the facility\nhealth services director for measures with respect to dietary needs or\nconditions of confinement of such inmate required to maintain the health\nof such inmate; and\n (d) (i) Except as set forth in clause (E) of subparagraph (ii) of this\nparagraph, the department, in consultation with mental health\nclinicians, shall divert or remove inmates with serious mental illness,\nas defined in paragraph (e) of this subdivision, from segregated\nconfinement, where such confinement could potentially be for a period in\nexcess of thirty days, to a residential mental health treatment unit.\nNothing in this paragraph shall be deemed to prevent the disciplinary\nprocess from proceeding in accordance with department rules and\nregulations for disciplinary hearings.\n (ii) (A) Upon placement of an inmate into segregated confinement at a\nlevel one or level two facility, a suicide prevention screening\ninstrument shall be administered by staff from the department or the\noffice of mental health who has been trained for that purpose. If such a\nscreening instrument reveals that the inmate is at risk of suicide, a\nmental health clinician shall be consulted and appropriate safety\nprecautions shall be taken. Additionally, within one business day of the\nplacement of such an inmate into segregated confinement at a level one\nor level two facility, the inmate shall be assessed by a mental health\nclinician.\n (B) Upon placement of an inmate into segregated confinement at a level\nthree or level four facility, a suicide prevention screening instrument\nshall be administered by staff from the department or the office of\nmental health who has been trained for that purpose. If such a screening\ninstrument reveals that the inmate is at risk of suicide, a mental\nhealth clinician shall be consulted and appropriate safety precautions\nshall be taken. All inmates placed in segregated confinement at a level\nthree or level four facility shall be assessed by a mental health\nclinician, within fourteen days of such placement into segregated\nconfinement.\n (C) At the initial assessment, if the mental health clinician finds\nthat an inmate suffers from a serious mental illness, a recommendation\nshall be made whether exceptional circumstances, as described in clause\n(E) of this subparagraph, exist. In a facility with a joint case\nmanagement committee, such recommendation shall be made by such\ncommittee. In a facility without a joint case management committee, the\nrecommendation shall be made jointly by a committee consisting of the\nfacility's highest ranking mental health clinician, the deputy\nsuperintendent for security, and the deputy superintendent for program\nservices, or their equivalents. Any such recommendation shall be\nreviewed by the joint central office review committee. The\nadministrative process described in this clause shall be completed\nwithin fourteen days of the initial assessment, and if the result of\nsuch process is that the inmate should be removed from segregated\nconfinement, such removal shall occur as soon as practicable, but in no\nevent more than seventy-two hours from the completion of the\nadministrative process.\n (D) If an inmate with a serious mental illness is not diverted or\nremoved to a residential mental health treatment unit, such inmate shall\nbe reassessed by a mental health clinician within fourteen days of the\ninitial assessment and at least once every fourteen days thereafter.\nAfter each such additional assessment, a recommendation as to whether\nsuch inmate should be removed from segregated confinement shall be made\nand reviewed according to the process set forth in clause (C) of this\nsubparagraph.\n (E) A recommendation or determination whether to remove an inmate from\nsegregated confinement shall take into account the assessing mental\nhealth clinicians' opinions as to the inmate's mental condition and\ntreatment needs, and shall also take into account any safety and\nsecurity concerns that would be posed by the inmate's removal, even if\nadditional restrictions were placed on the inmate's access to treatment,\nproperty, services or privileges in a residential mental health\ntreatment unit. A recommendation or determination shall direct the\ninmate's removal from segregated confinement except in the following\nexceptional circumstances: (1) when the reviewer finds that removal\nwould pose a substantial risk to the safety of the inmate or other\npersons, or a substantial threat to the security of the facility, even\nif additional restrictions were placed on the inmate's access to\ntreatment, property, services or privileges in a residential mental\nhealth treatment unit; or (2) when the assessing mental health clinician\ndetermines that such placement is in the inmate's best interests based\non his or her mental condition and that removing such inmate to a\nresidential mental health treatment unit would be detrimental to his or\nher mental condition. Any determination not to remove an inmate with\nserious mental illness from segregated confinement shall be documented\nin writing and include the reasons for the determination.\n (iii) Inmates with serious mental illness who are not diverted or\nremoved from segregated confinement shall be offered a heightened level\nof care, involving a minimum of two hours each day, five days a week, of\nout-of-cell therapeutic treatment and programming. This heightened level\nof care shall not be offered only in the following circumstances:\n (A) The heightened level of care shall not apply when an inmate with\nserious mental illness does not, in the reasonable judgment of a mental\nhealth clinician, require the heightened level of care. Such\ndetermination shall be documented with a written statement of the basis\nof such determination and shall be reviewed by the Central New York\nPsychiatric Center clinical director or his or her designee. Such a\ndetermination is subject to change should the inmate's clinical status\nchange. Such determination shall be reviewed and documented by a mental\nhealth clinician every thirty days, and in consultation with the Central\nNew York Psychiatric Center clinical director or his or her designee not\nless than every ninety days.\n (B) The heightened level of care shall not apply in exceptional\ncircumstances when providing such care would create an unacceptable risk\nto the safety and security of inmates or staff. Such determination shall\nbe documented by security personnel together with the basis of such\ndetermination and shall be reviewed by the facility superintendent, in\nconsultation with a mental health clinician, not less than every seven\ndays for as long as the inmate remains in segregated confinement. The\nfacility shall attempt to resolve such exceptional circumstances so that\nthe heightened level of care may be provided. If such exceptional\ncircumstances remain unresolved for thirty days, the matter shall be\nreferred to the joint central office review committee for review.\n (iv) Inmates with serious mental illness who are not diverted or\nremoved from segregated confinement shall not be placed on a restricted\ndiet, unless there has been a written determination that the restricted\ndiet is necessary for reasons of safety and security. If a restricted\ndiet is imposed, it shall be limited to seven days, except in the\nexceptional circumstances where the joint case management committee\ndetermines that limiting the restricted diet to seven days would pose an\nunacceptable risk to the safety and security of inmates or staff. In\nsuch case, the need for a restricted diet shall be reassessed by the\njoint case management committee every seven days.\n (v) All inmates in segregated confinement in a level one or level two\nfacility who are not assessed with a serious mental illness at the\ninitial assessment shall be offered at least one interview with a mental\nhealth clinician within fourteen days of their initial mental health\nassessment, and additional interviews at least every thirty days\nthereafter, unless the mental health clinician at the most recent\ninterview recommends an earlier interview or assessment. All inmates in\nsegregated confinement in a level three or level four facility who are\nnot assessed with a serious mental illness at the initial assessment\nshall be offered at least one interview with a mental health clinician\nwithin thirty days of their initial mental health assessment, and\nadditional interviews at least every ninety days thereafter, unless the\nmental health clinician at the most recent interview recommends an\nearlier interview or assessment.\n (e) An inmate has a serious mental illness when he or she has been\ndetermined by a mental health clinician to meet at least one of the\nfollowing criteria:\n (i) he or she has a current diagnosis of, or is diagnosed at the\ninitial or any subsequent assessment conducted during the inmate's\nsegregated confinement with, one or more of the following types of Axis\nI diagnoses, as described in the most recent edition of the Diagnostic\nand Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and such diagnoses shall be\nmade based upon all relevant clinical factors, including but not limited\nto symptoms related to such diagnoses:\n (A) schizophrenia (all sub-types),\n (B) delusional disorder,\n (C) schizophreniform disorder,\n (D) schizoaffective disorder,\n (E) brief psychotic disorder,\n (F) substance-induced psychotic disorder (excluding intoxication and\nwithdrawal),\n (G) psychotic disorder not otherwise specified,\n (H) major depressive disorders, or\n (I) bipolar disorder I and II;\n (ii) he or she is actively suicidal or has engaged in a recent,\nserious suicide attempt;\n (iii) he or she has been diagnosed with a mental condition that is\nfrequently characterized by breaks with reality, or perceptions of\nreality, that lead the individual to experience significant functional\nimpairment involving acts of self-harm or other behavior that have a\nseriously adverse effect on life or on mental or physical health;\n (iv) he or she has been diagnosed with an organic brain syndrome that\nresults in a significant functional impairment involving acts of\nself-harm or other behavior that have a seriously adverse effect on life\nor on mental or physical health;\n (v) he or she has been diagnosed with a severe personality disorder\nthat is manifested by frequent episodes of psychosis or depression, and\nresults in a significant functional impairment involving acts of\nself-harm or other behavior that have a seriously adverse effect on life\nor on mental or physical health; or\n (vi) he or she has been determined by a mental health clinician to\nhave otherwise substantially deteriorated mentally or emotionally while\nconfined in segregated confinement and is experiencing significant\nfunctional impairment indicating a diagnosis of serious mental illness\nand involving acts of self-harm or other behavior that have a serious\nadverse effect on life or on mental or physical health.\n (f) The superintendent shall make a full report to the commissioner at\nleast once a week concerning the condition of such inmate and shall\nforthwith report to the commissioner any recommendation relative to\nhealth maintenance or health care delivery made by the facility health\nservices director and any recommendation relative to mental health\ntreatment or confinement of an inmate with a serious mental illness made\nby the mental health clinician pursuant to paragraphs (d) and (e) of\nthis subdivision that is not endorsed or carried out, as the case may\nbe, by the superintendent.\n