Bill Text: NY A08242 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the office of pretrial services to certify and establish guidelines for pretrial services agencies in the state; establishes a working group to prepare for the transition for pretrial services from public entities to private, non-profit entities and provides for the repeal of such working group upon the expiration thereof.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to codes [A08242 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A08242-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8242 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY November 6, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Codes AN ACT to amend the criminal procedure law and the executive law, in relation to establishing an office of pretrial services; provides for the establishment of a working group to prepare for the transition of pretrial services agencies; and provides for the repeal of such work- ing group upon the expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 4 and 5 of section 510.45 of the criminal 2 procedure law, as added by section 8 of part JJJ of chapter 59 of the 3 laws of 2019, are amended and a new subdivision 6 is added to read as 4 follows: 5 1. The office of [court administration] pretrial services shall certi- 6 fy and [regularly] review for recertification every three years one or 7 more pretrial services agencies in each county to monitor [principals] 8 people released under non-monetary conditions. In order to be certified 9 by the office, each pretrial services agency shall demonstrate that such 10 agency has: the ability to perform the responsibilities for pretrial 11 services agency required in accordance with subdivision three-a of 12 section 500.10 of this title; experience working with individuals 13 involved in the criminal legal system; and the capacity to create indi- 14 vidualized plans to support individuals released under non-monetary 15 conditions. Such office shall maintain a listing on its public website 16 identifying by county each pretrial services agency [so] certified in 17 the state, including a phone number and email contact information for 18 each pretrial services agency. 19 4. Supervision by a pre-trial services agency may be ordered as a 20 non-monetary condition pursuant to this title only if the court finds, 21 after notice, an opportunity to be heard and an individualized determi- 22 nation explained on the record or in writing, that no other realistic EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13450-01-3A. 8242 2 1 non-monetary condition or set of non-monetary conditions will suffice to 2 reasonably assure the [principal's] person's return to court. Under no 3 circumstances shall someone receiving pretrial services be required to 4 pay out-of-pocket for services provided or mandated by the pretrial 5 services agency. Pretrial services agencies shall make every effort to 6 limit transportation and other costs to accessing mandated services. 7 5. [Each] The office of pretrial services shall gather information 8 from each pretrial [service] services agency [certified by] and the 9 office of court administration [pursuant to this section shall] at the 10 end of each year [prepare and file with such office an annual report,] 11 which the office of pretrial services shall compile, publish on its 12 website and make available upon request to members of the public. Such 13 reports shall not include any personal identifying information for any 14 individual [defendants]. Each such report, in addition to other rele- 15 vant information, shall set forth, disaggregated by each county served: 16 (a) the number of [defendants] individuals supervised by the agency; 17 (b) the length of time (in months) each such person was supervised by 18 the agency prior to acquittal, dismissal, release on recognizance, revo- 19 cation of release on conditions, and sentencing; 20 (c) the race, ethnicity, age [and], sex and gender identity of each 21 person supervised, where available; 22 (d) the crimes with which each person supervised was charged; 23 (e) the number of persons supervised for whom release conditions were 24 modified by the court, describing generally for each person or group of 25 persons the type and nature of the condition or conditions added or 26 removed; 27 (f) the number of persons supervised for whom release under conditions 28 was revoked by the court, and the basis for such revocations; and 29 (g) the court disposition in each supervised case, including sentenc- 30 ing information. 31 6. Pretrial services agency shall be responsible for making periodic, 32 individualized recommendations for each case on whether the conditions 33 of non-monetary release imposed by the court should be modified or elim- 34 inated. The court shall review any recommendations to modify or elimi- 35 nate the non-monetary conditions the court imposed and make an individ- 36 ualized determination on the record or in writing explaining the reasons 37 for the court's determination and for any changes to the conditions 38 imposed. 39 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 510.45 of the criminal procedure law, as 40 added by section 8 of part JJJ of chapter 59 of the laws of 2019, is 41 amended to read as follows: 42 2. Every such agency shall be a [public entity under the supervision43and control of a county or municipality or a] non-profit entity under 44 contract to [the county, municipality] one or more counties, munici- 45 palities, or the state. [A county or municipality shall be authorized to46enter into a contract with another county or municipality in the state47to monitor principals under non-monetary conditions of release in its48county, but counties] A pretrial services agency may be certified to 49 provide services in more than one county. Counties, municipalities and 50 the state shall not contract with any private for-profit entity for such 51 purposes. 52 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 837-y to 53 read as follows: 54 § 837-y. Office of pretrial services. 1. There shall be in the divi- 55 sion of criminal justice services an office of pretrial services, here- 56 inafter in this section referred to as the "office".A. 8242 3 1 2. The office shall have the following duties and responsibilities: 2 (a) to certify and contract with at least one agency providing 3 pretrial services in each county pursuant to section 510.45 of the crim- 4 inal procedure law; 5 (b) to identify and disseminate best practices for the provision of 6 pretrial services that will maximize the likelihood that individuals 7 successfully attend court proceedings; 8 (c) to develop initial and ongoing training materials for staff work- 9 ing at pretrial services agencies, consistent with guidelines estab- 10 lished by the national association of pretrial services agencies. Train- 11 ing materials shall include relevant information regarding pretrial laws 12 in New York, cultural competency, trauma-informed care, risk-needs 13 responsivity, verbal de-escalation and crisis intervention, motivational 14 interviewing, foundational concepts of cognitive-behavioral therapy, and 15 effective practices in community supervision; 16 (d) to work with pretrial services agencies to identify or develop an 17 appropriate questionnaire, instrument or tool that meets the require- 18 ments for such questionnaire, instrument or tool set forth in subdivi- 19 sion three of section 510.45 of the criminal procedure law for use in 20 determining whether a person poses a risk of flight to avoid prosecution 21 in order to inform the agency's recommendation to the court regarding 22 whether to impose non-monetary conditions and, where necessary, on the 23 types of conditions that would be appropriate; 24 (e) to work with agencies providing pretrial services to establish 25 performance measures; 26 (f) to identify and develop solutions to address barriers to making 27 court appearances by: 28 (i) working with pretrial services agencies to identify common chal- 29 lenges and barriers to making court appearances in each county; 30 (ii) determining services needed to address the challenges and barri- 31 ers identified in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph including, where 32 necessary, by piloting new strategies to address these challenges using 33 national best practices and research from this and other fields; and 34 (iii) collaborating with other agencies, including the office of 35 mental health, the office of addiction services and supports, the office 36 for the prevention of domestic violence, the office of temporary and 37 disability assistance, and the department of health to develop strate- 38 gies for addressing the needs of those under pretrial supervision; 39 (g) to collect, receive and publish in a machine readable format on 40 the office's website on an annual basis the aggregate information and 41 data required pursuant to section 510.45 of the criminal procedure law 42 regarding the provision of services as well as any other aggregate 43 information or data identified by the office including, but not limited 44 to: 45 (i) any tool used to make decisions regarding placement with a 46 pretrial services agency and conditions of release, as well as the 47 research validating such tool and demonstrating that such tool is free 48 from discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, sex, or any 49 other protected class, as required pursuant to section 510.45 of the 50 criminal procedure law; 51 (ii) the categories of supervision used by each pretrial services 52 agency and the number of individuals starting under each level of super- 53 vision, disaggregated by race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, 54 age, and ethnicity, to the extent such information is easily available; 55 (iii) pretrial failure to appear rates of individuals receiving 56 pretrial services, including the number who missed one or more courtA. 8242 4 1 dates, any information collected regarding reasons for failure to appear 2 collected by the pretrial services agency, how many individuals appeared 3 in court voluntarily following a failure to appear, how many warrants 4 for failures to appear were issued, and how many individuals were 5 detained pretrial or placed on electronic monitoring pretrial after a 6 failure to appear in court, broken down by race, sex, sexual orien- 7 tation, gender identity, age, ethnicity, pretrial services agency and 8 conditions of supervision, to the extent such information is easily 9 available; 10 (iv) information on the pretrial rearrest of individuals receiving 11 pretrial services, including the number of individuals arrested and 12 charged with a new misdemeanor offense while released, the number 13 arrested and charged with a new non-violent felony offense while 14 released, and the number arrested and charged with a new violent felony 15 offense while released, the outcome of any rearrest, and how long after 16 release such arrests occurred; 17 (v) the types of services to which each pretrial services agency is 18 making referrals, any challenges identified in linking participants to 19 services and the names of the organizations to whom referrals are being 20 made; 21 (vi) information regarding any evaluation of a pretrial services agen- 22 cy conducted by the office; 23 (vii) information regarding persons placed on electronic monitoring 24 programs pretrial, including, but not limited to: the number of partic- 25 ipants; the demographics of the participant population, including race, 26 sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and ethnicity; the charg- 27 es on which participants are ordered to the program; and the average 28 length of participation in the program, to the extent such information 29 is easily available; and 30 (viii) the average caseloads of staff providing such services; 31 (h) to request and receive from any department, division, board, 32 bureau, commission or other agency of the state or any political subdi- 33 vision of the state or any public authority such assistance, information 34 and data, subject to limitations on the disclosure of information, as 35 shall enable the office to properly carry out its functions, powers and 36 duties; 37 (i) to analyze and evaluate all collected data, and commission or 38 undertake any necessary research and studies, to improve the delivery of 39 pretrial services in a manner that is consistent with meeting the needs 40 and circumstances of each county and of the individuals receiving 41 services, ensuring the appropriate use of services, and preventing 42 racial or other disparities; 43 (j) to work with local jurisdictions to develop training materials for 44 judges and court staff on research and other relevant information 45 regarding best practices on the use of pretrial services and non-mone- 46 tary release; 47 (k) to evaluate the performance of agencies providing pretrial 48 services, assist agencies to improve services where programs do not meet 49 performance standards set by the office, and decertify programs that 50 remain unable to meet the standards; 51 (l) to assist local jurisdictions to regularly elicit feedback from 52 current and former recipients of pretrial services regarding the court 53 process, the services they received, recommendations to improve such 54 services, and any other information that the office deems appropriate; 55 (m) to investigate and monitor any other matter related to pretrial 56 services as needed;A. 8242 5 1 (n) to develop recommendations regarding the distribution and expendi- 2 ture of any monies appropriated for pretrial services. In making such 3 recommendations, the office may consider, in addition to measures of 4 performance, the commitment of local resources to such services and the 5 changes thereto, the geographic balance of funding among the regions of 6 the state, population, crime rates, poverty rates and individual commu- 7 nity needs; 8 (o) to apply for and accept any grant or gift for any of the purposes 9 of the office. Any monies so received may be expended by the office to 10 effectuate any such purpose, subject to the same limitations as to 11 approval of expenditures and audit as are prescribed for state monies 12 appropriated for such purposes; and 13 (p) to target grants in support of innovative and cost-effective 14 solutions that enhance the provision of quality pretrial services, 15 including collaborative efforts serving multiple counties. 16 3. The office shall establish an advisory board on pretrial services 17 for the purposes of providing the office with recommendations for 18 improving services. Such advisory board shall consist of pretrial 19 services agency staff, current or former recipients of pretrial 20 services, representatives from the New York state association of 21 pretrial services agencies and national experts or researchers as need- 22 ed. 23 4. The office may coordinate with local governments on contracting 24 with certified pretrial services agencies and in collecting data from 25 the agencies. 26 5. Within amounts appropriated therefor, funding shall be made avail- 27 able to pay for pretrial services programs certified under this section 28 pursuant to criteria established by the office of pretrial services in 29 consultation with local governmental units, which shall take into 30 consideration the local needs and resources as identified by local 31 governmental units, the average number of people receiving such services 32 at any one time, the level of services required by individuals under 33 supervision, and such other factors as may be deemed necessary. 34 § 4. The office of pretrial services, in collaboration with the office 35 of court administration and any other entity deemed necessary, shall 36 establish a working group to prepare for the transition of pretrial 37 services from public entities to private, non-profit entities. The work- 38 ing group shall organize meetings with relevant stakeholders and the 39 general public to provide education and solicit feedback regarding the 40 transition of services. 41 § 5. This act shall take effect on April 1, 2024; provided, however, 42 that section two of this act shall take effect three years after it 43 shall have become a law; and provided further, however, that section 44 four of this act shall expire and be deemed repealed on April 1, 2026. 45 Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule 46 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec- 47 tive date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such 48 effective date.
