Bill Text: NY A01368 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires the out-of-state placement committee to develop standards, regulations and recommendations for aversive crisis intervention methods and techniques; establishes a holistic autism spectrum disorder treatment center.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to children and families [A01368 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A01368-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1368
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 15, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  SIMON, PICHARDO, D'URSO, GOTTFRIED, BLAKE --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. MOSLEY, PERRY -- read once and referred
          to the Committee on Children and Families
        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the  development
          of  standards  for  the  use of aversive interventions for children in
          public and private schools and programs, including residential facili-
          ties; and to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to  a  holistic
          autism spectrum disorder treatment center
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 7, 8 and 9 of  section  483-d  of  the  social
     2  services  law are renumbered subdivisions 8, 9 and 10 and a new subdivi-
     3  sion 7 is added to read as follows:
     4    7. Aversive interventions.  (a) No public funding shall support place-
     5  ment of a child in any program or school that  engages  in  the  use  of
     6  aversive  interventions on children in violation of this subdivision.  A
     7  school or program using aversive  interventions  in  violation  of  this
     8  subdivision  shall  be  removed from any registry of approved schools or
     9  programs after written notice by the member agency.
    10    (b) Definitions. As used in this subdivision:
    11    (i) "Aversive interventions" means an intervention known  or  intended
    12  to  induce pain or discomfort for the purpose of eliminating or reducing
    13  maladaptive behaviors, and include but are not limited to:
    14    (1) contingent application of noxious, painful, intrusive  stimuli  or
    15  activities;
    16    (2)  any form of noxious, painful, or intrusive taste, spray, or inha-
    17  lant;
    18    (3) withholding sleep, shelter, bedding, bathroom facilities or cloth-
    19  ing;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01748-01-9

        A. 1368                             2
     1    (4) contingent food programs that include denial or delay of meals  or
     2  intentionally  altering  staple  food  or  drink  in  order  to  make it
     3  distasteful;
     4    (5) movement limitation used as a punishment, including but not limit-
     5  ed to use of helmets and mechanical restraint devices;
     6    (6) electric shock therapy; and
     7    (7) other similar stimuli, treatments, interventions, or actions.
     8    The  foregoing to the contrary notwithstanding, aversive interventions
     9  do not include interventions such as voice  control,  limited  to  loud,
    10  firm commands; time-limited ignoring of a specific behavior; token fines
    11  as  part  of a token economy system; brief physical prompts to interrupt
    12  or prevent a specific behavior; interventions  medically  necessary  for
    13  the  treatment  or  protection  of  the student; or other similar inter-
    14  ventions.
    15    (ii) "Child" means an individual who is twenty-one  years  of  age  or
    16  less,  provided  that  a  member agency may utilize an alternative defi-
    17  nition of a child, including specifying a different age, for purposes of
    18  compliance with this subdivision, so long as such definition is standard
    19  and appropriate to its placement procedures.
    20    (iii) "Member agency" means a state agency that is  a  member  of  the
    21  out-of-state placement committee.
    22    (iv)  "Public funding" means funding for care, services, programs, and
    23  services programs which are provided or approved directly or  indirectly
    24  by  or  under  the jurisdiction of a member agency, exclusive of funding
    25  for which federal requirements or  directives  override,  supersede,  or
    26  require approval in a manner contrary to the requirements of this subdi-
    27  vision,  or  for which, in the judgment of the member agency, compliance
    28  with this subdivision would violate federal law or regulations.
    29    (v) The terms "care," "services," and  "services  programs"  have  the
    30  same  meanings  as  in  subdivision  one of section four hundred eighty-
    31  three-b of this article.
    32    (vi) "School" means  any  residential  or  non-residential  public  or
    33  private  school  located  within  or  outside  the  state  that provides
    34  instruction to  a  child  and  that:    (A)  is  subject  to  oversight,
    35  inspection,  regulation,  approval  or licensure or certification by any
    36  member agency; or (B) receives public funding, including funding for the
    37  placement of any child in such school.  School as used herein includes a
    38  public school, BOCES, charter school, preschool program, private school,
    39  state-operated or state-supported school in this state, approved out-of-
    40  state day  or  residential  school,  or  registered  nonpublic  nursery,
    41  kindergarten, elementary or secondary school in this state.
    42    (vii)  "Program"  means  any  residential or non-residential public or
    43  private program, other than a  school,  that  provides  care,  services,
    44  programs,  and  services programs to a child and that: (A) is subject to
    45  oversight, inspection, regulation,  approval  or  licensure  or  certif-
    46  ication  by any member agency; or (B) receives public funding, including
    47  funding for the placement of any child in such school.
    48    § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new  section  13.44
    49  to read as follows:
    50  § 13.44 Holistic autism spectrum disorder treatment center.
    51    (a) There is hereby established within the children's hospital at SUNY
    52  downstate  medical  center a holistic autism spectrum disorder treatment
    53  center. The center shall focus on innovative and demonstrably  effective
    54  treatments  that avoid any of the aversive interventions as described in
    55  subdivision seven of section four hundred eighty-three-d of  the  social
    56  services  law, and that attempt, to the extent feasible, to minimize the

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     1  use of prescription drugs and focus  on  complementary  and  alternative
     2  medicine.
     3    (b)  The  center  shall  also  attempt to integrate holistic treatment
     4  techniques into existing communities with special emphasis on  providing
     5  access  to  affordable  holistic care and treatment, organic and natural
     6  food regimens, family respite opportunities,  violence  prevention  best
     7  practices, and educational course coordination.
     8    (c) The holistic autism spectrum disorder treatment center shall serve
     9  as  the applied medicine focus of the autism spectrum disorders advisory
    10  board as established in section 13.42 of this article.
    11    (d) The autism spectrum disorders advisory  board  shall,  within  one
    12  year  of  the effective date of this section, recommend to the chairs of
    13  the senate and assembly health committees a minimum budget  and  funding
    14  for  the  holistic  spectrum  disorder  treatment  center  and oversee a
    15  selection search for a chair of the center.
    16    (e) The center shall also serve as a designated center  of  excellence
    17  for  research  into holistic therapies for the treatment of the array of
    18  autism spectrum disorders.
    19    (f) In order to tap fully the benefits to the people of New York state
    20  the holistic autism spectrum  disorder  treatment  center  will  require
    21  affiliation  with  and  cooperation  among  all  major centers of higher
    22  learning, including medical colleges, and existing life science research
    23  institutes in the state.  The board of trustees of the state  university
    24  is  encouraged to enter into appropriate legal agreements to enable this
    25  cooperation to prosper.
    26    § 3. Severability. If any portion of this act or the application ther-
    27  eof to any person or circumstances shall be adjudged invalid by a  court
    28  of  competent  jurisdiction, such order or judgment shall be confined in
    29  its operation to the controversy in which it was rendered, and shall not
    30  affect or invalidate the remainder of any provision of this act  or  the
    31  application of any part thereof to any other person or circumstances and
    32  to this end each of the provisions of this act are hereby declared to be
    33  separable.
    34    § 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020; provided that, effec-
    35  tive  immediately, member agencies of the out-of-state placement commit-
    36  tee are authorized and directed to promulgate any regulations  necessary
    37  to implement the provisions of this act on such effective date.
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