STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1607 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL, KELLES, CRUZ, GLICK, SEAWRIGHT, REYES, DAVILA, LUCAS, SIMON, SHIMSKY, LEVENBERG, TAPIA, SIMONE, RAGA, BURDICK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Correction AN ACT to amend the correction law, in relation to providing breast pumps to certain incarcerated nursing birth parents The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 611 of the correction law is amended by adding four 2 new subdivisions 5, 6, 7 and 8 to read as follows: 3 5. A person who gives birth in a hospital or medical facility while in 4 the custody of an institution or local correctional facility shall be 5 permitted to keep all health and newborn related supplies and equipment 6 provided to them by the hospital or medical facility upon their return 7 to the institution or local correctional facility, including but not 8 limited to diapers, breast pump equipment, breastfeeding supplies, 9 breast pads, sanitary napkins, underwear, water bottle, heating pad, 10 perineal squirt bottles, sitz baths, and health creams, ointments, and 11 sprays. Such person and their newborn shall be provided with uninter- 12 rupted access to therapeutically equivalent medication as prescribed by 13 medical personnel at the hospital or medical facility for a duration 14 consistent with the timeframe prescribed by such personnel. 15 6. (a) For purposes of this subdivision, a breastfeeding parent is 16 defined as: 17 (i) a parent in custody of an institution or local correctional facil- 18 ity who lives with their child pursuant to subdivisions two and three of 19 this section; and 20 (ii) a parent in custody of an institution or local correctional 21 facility who is able to produce breast milk of any amount and whose 22 child is living in the community and is thirty-six months of age or 23 younger. 24 (b) (i) A breastfeeding parent shall have the right to: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04407-01-5
A. 1607 2 1 (A) breastfeed their child consistent with the rights enumerated in 2 subdivision three of section twenty-five hundred five-a of the public 3 health law; 4 (B) breastfeed their child in any location consistent with section 5 seventy-nine-e of the civil rights law or use a breast pump or express 6 breast milk in any location, provided that the institution or local 7 correctional facility has authorized such parent and their child to be 8 in such location; 9 (C) breastfeed and express breast milk at a frequency determined by 10 such parent; 11 (D) store breast milk at the institution or local correctional facili- 12 ty in a fashion consistent with the requirements set forth in paragraphs 13 (f) and (g) of this subdivision; and 14 (E) if such parent is not living with their child, designate an indi- 15 vidual in the community to gather breast milk from the institution or 16 local correctional facility for the purpose of delivering the breast 17 milk to their child. 18 (ii) An institution or local correctional facility shall not require a 19 parent to breastfeed or discriminate against or penalize in any way a 20 parent for their breastfeeding decisions and actions. 21 (c) A breastfeeding parent participating in jobs and programs shall 22 not be penalized for engaging in activities consistent with section two 23 hundred six-c of the labor law, and shall be provided with the same 24 accommodations as required under such section of the labor law. 25 (d) An institution or local correctional facility shall provide a 26 breastfeeding parent, as defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, 27 with the following: 28 (i) a personal electric pump with associated parts including flanges, 29 valves, membranes, connections, tubes, and collection bottles; 30 (ii) a personal manual pump; 31 (iii) a personal breastfeeding cover, personal pillow, and other 32 personal items that allow for comfort and privacy during breastfeeding 33 and expressing breast milk; 34 (iv) comprehensive current information about breastfeeding and lacta- 35 tion that reflects standards of the department of health in a language 36 and manner understandable to such parent; 37 (v) access to breastfeeding and lactation assistance from personnel 38 with relevant expertise and, if available, other individuals incarcerat- 39 ed at the institution or local correctional facility who work in or 40 otherwise support pregnancy or child related programming and are able to 41 provide breastfeeding and lactation support; and 42 (vi) access to breastfeeding and lactation support resources, includ- 43 ing in-person or online support groups and/or digital resources. 44 (e) Upon such parent's request for infant formula, the institution or 45 local correctional facility shall provide such parent with formula that 46 meet standards and nutrient requirements set forth by the United States 47 food and drug administration. If such parent determines that their 48 infant is intolerant to or otherwise made physically uncomfortable by 49 the formula provided, the institution or local correctional facility 50 shall provide alternate formulas until such parent determines that one 51 is sufficient for their infant. Prior to making their determination, 52 such parent shall be afforded the opportunity to discuss formula related 53 issues with personnel providing lactation care and pediatric care in 54 that institution or local correctional facility. 55 (f) An institution or local correctional facility shall acquire breast 56 pump parts and breast milk storage devices only from organizations and
A. 1607 3 1 agencies that are in compliance with section 37-0505 of the environ- 2 mental conservation law, and shall clean or allow a breastfeeding 3 parent, as defined in paragraph (a) of this subdivision, to clean breast 4 pump parts and breast milk storage devices at a frequency consistent 5 with regulations set forth by the department of health. 6 (g) An institution or local correctional facility shall store breast- 7 milk safely in a refrigerator or comparable cooling unit consistent with 8 guidelines set forth by the department of health until it is ready for 9 consumption by the child of a breastfeeding parent, as defined in para- 10 graph (a) of this subdivision, or for pick up by a designated individual 11 pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision. 12 7. (a) The department and commission shall compile data outlined in 13 paragraph (b) of this subdivision for an annual report to the governor, 14 the temporary president of the senate, the minority leader of the 15 senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the assem- 16 bly, the chairperson of the senate health committee, the chairperson of 17 the senate crime victims, crime and correction committee, the chair- 18 person of the assembly health committee, the chairperson of the assembly 19 correction committee, the chairperson of the legislative women's caucus, 20 and the chairperson of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian 21 legislative caucus. Such data shall be disaggregated by institution and 22 local correctional facility and reported in a de-identified fashion. 23 Reports issued pursuant to this paragraph shall be posted on the 24 websites maintained by the department and the commission. 25 (b) Each institution and local correctional facility shall work with 26 relevant personnel and contracted external health care providers to 27 collect the following data and provide it in a de-identified fashion to 28 the department for the purpose outlined in paragraph (a) of this subdi- 29 vision: 30 (i) the number of individuals known to be pregnant upon admission; 31 (ii) the number of individuals identified as being pregnant while in 32 custody, including the number participating in a work release program 33 and the number in custody for a parole violation; 34 (iii) the average daily census of pregnant individuals; 35 (iv) the number of ectopic pregnancies, molar pregnancies, abortions, 36 miscarriages, stillbirths, vaginal deliveries, and caesarean deliveries; 37 (v) the number of pregnancies determined by medical personnel to be 38 high risk and the reasons for such determinations; 39 (vi) for each newborn, the gestational age at delivery, birth weight, 40 and length of stay, if any, in a neonatal intensive care unit; 41 (vii) for pregnant individuals, their race, ethnicity, gender identi- 42 ty, age, crime of conviction, and county of conviction; 43 (viii) for individuals who apply for a nursery program, their race, 44 ethnicity, gender identity, age, crime of conviction, and county of 45 conviction, whether those individuals were approved or denied for the 46 program, along with specific and detailed reasons for denials, including 47 how they may relate to the crime of conviction, criminal record, custo- 48 dial history, history of violence, history of involvement with child 49 protective services, or history of substance use of the individual, the 50 mental or physical health conditions of the individual or child, or the 51 safety of the individual, child, or others in the nursery; 52 (ix) the number of babies who do not return to an institution with 53 their parent and the reasons, including denial for a nursery program, 54 and where those babies are placed, including non-kinship foster care, 55 kinship foster care, with the other parent, with a friend, and with a 56 family member not in foster care;
A. 1607 4 1 (x) for institutions with a nursery program, the number of nursery 2 beds available and the number of beds utilized each month; 3 (xi) the length of time between each nursery application and decision, 4 the length of time between each decision and the birth of the child, and 5 if admission is granted, the length of time between the decision and 6 placement of the individual in the nursery; 7 (xii) the number of individuals participating in the nursery program; 8 (xiii) the number of children who enter a nursery from the community; 9 (xiv) the number of individuals removed from the nursery disaggregated 10 by race, ethnicity, gender identity, age, crime of conviction, county of 11 conviction, and length of nursery stay, along with specific and detailed 12 reasons for removals, including how they may relate to the crime of 13 conviction, criminal record, custodial history, history of violence, 14 history of involvement with child protective services, or history of 15 substance use of the individual, the mental or physical health condi- 16 tions of the individual or child, and the safety of the individual, 17 child, or others in the nursery; 18 (xv) the number of babies removed from a nursery program and where 19 those babies are placed, including non-kinship foster care, kinship 20 foster care, with the other parent, with a friend, and with a family 21 member not in foster care; and 22 (xvi) the number of babies who return to the community with their 23 parent after being in a nursery program and the length of time spent in 24 the nursery. 25 8. Any person confined in an institution or local correctional facili- 26 ty that houses pregnant or postpartum individuals or individuals who may 27 become pregnant shall receive notice in writing in a language and manner 28 understandable to them about the requirements contained in each subdivi- 29 sion of this section upon their admission and again, regardless of the 30 institution or local correctional facility in which they are housed, if 31 they are known to be pregnant or to be a breastfeeding parent, or to be 32 eligible for their child to join them in an institution or local correc- 33 tional facility pursuant to subdivisions two and three of this section. 34 The superintendent or sheriff shall publish notice of the requirements 35 contained in each subdivision of this section in prominent locations 36 where pregnancy related care and child related care are provided. The 37 department and the sheriff shall provide annual training on the 38 provisions contained in each subdivision of this section for all correc- 39 tional, civilian and volunteer personnel who are involved in the trans- 40 portation, supervision or care of pregnant people or breastfeeding 41 parents, as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision six this section, or 42 parents eligible for their child to join them in an institution or local 43 correctional facility pursuant to subdivisions two and three of this 44 section. 45 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.