N.Y. Correct. Law § 622

§ 622. Sex offender treatment program. 1. The department shall make\navailable a sex offender treatment program for those inmates who are\nserving sentences for felony sex offenses, or for other offenses defined\nin subdivision (p) of section 10.03 of the mental hygiene law, and are\nidentified as having a need for such program in accordance with sections\neight hundred three and eight hundred five of this chapter. In\ndeveloping the treatment program, the department shall give due regard\nto standards, guidelines, best practices, and qualifications recommended\nby the office of sex offender management. The department shall make such\ntreatment programs available sufficiently in advance of the time of the\ninmate's consideration by the case review team, pursuant to section\n10.05 of the mental hygiene law, so as to allow the inmate to complete\nthe treatment program prior to that time.\n 2. The primary purpose of the program shall be to reduce the\nlikelihood of reoffending by assisting such offenders to control their\nchain of behaviors that lead to sexual offending. The length of\nparticipation for each inmate to achieve successful completion shall be\ndependent upon the initial assessment of the inmate's specific needs and\nthe degree of progress made by the inmate as a participant but shall not\nbe less than six months.\n 3. The department's sex offender treatment program shall include\nresidential programs, which shall require that at each correctional\nfacility where the residential program is provided, inmate participants\nshall be housed within the same housing area in order to provide\nclinically appropriate treatment, and to provide a more structured and\ncontrolled setting.\n 4. Each residential program shall be staffed with a licensed\npsychologist who shall provide clinical supervision to the treatment\nstaff, review, approve and modify treatment plans as appropriate for\nindividual inmates, provide clinical assessments for participating\ninmates, observe and participate in group sessions and make treatment\nrecommendations. Each residential program shall also be staffed with a\nlicensed clinical social worker or other mental health professional who\nshall be knowledgeable about the administration of testing instruments\nthat are designed to measure the degree of a sex offender's psychopathy\nand his or her program needs. The assigned licensed psychologist shall\nalso be knowledgeable about the application of such testing instruments.\n 5. Any inmate committed to the custody of the department on or after\nthe effective date of this section for a felony sex offense, or for any\nof the other offenses listed in subdivision (p) of section 10.03 of the\nmental hygiene law, shall, as soon as practicable, be initially assessed\nby staff of the office of mental health who shall be knowledgeable\nregarding the diagnosis, treatment, assessment or evaluation of sex\noffenders. The assessment shall include, but not be limited to, the\ndetermination of the degree to which the inmate presents a risk of\nviolent sexual recidivism and his or her need for sex offender treatment\nwhile in prison.\n 6. Staff of the office of mental health and the office of mental\nretardation and developmental disabilities may be consulted about the\ninmate's treatment needs and may assist in providing any additional\ntreatment services determined to be clinically appropriate to address\nthe inmate's underlying mental abnormality or disorder. Such treatment\nservices shall be provided using professionally accepted treatment\nprotocols.\n