STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4130 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 3, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the executive law, in relation to providing legal assistance to youth ordered by the court into the custody of the office of children and family services and placed or committed to a state operated juvenile detention center The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 47.01 of the mental hygiene law, 2 as amended by chapter 658 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 3 follows: 4 (a) There shall be a mental hygiene legal service of the state in each 5 judicial department. The service shall provide legal assistance to 6 patients or residents of a facility as defined in section 1.03 of this 7 chapter, patients or residents of residential healthcare facilities 8 licensed and operating pursuant to article twenty-eight of the public 9 health law who have been admitted directly from a facility as defined in 10 section 1.03 of this chapter and who have a serious mental illness as 11 defined in section 1.03 of this chapter and are receiving services 12 related to such illness, or any other place or facility which is 13 required to have an operating certificate pursuant to article sixteen or 14 thirty-one of this chapter, and to persons alleged to be in need of care 15 and treatment in such facilities or places, and to persons entitled to 16 such legal assistance as provided by article ten of this chapter. The 17 service shall also provide legal assistance to youth offered by the 18 court into the custody of the office of children and family services and 19 placed or committed to a state operated juvenile detention center. The 20 head of such service in each judicial department and such assistants and 21 such staff as may be necessary shall be appointed and may be removed by 22 the presiding justice of the appellate division of the judicial depart- 23 ment. Appointments and transfers to the service shall comply with the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07677-01-5
S. 4130 2 1 provisions of the civil service law. Standards for qualifications of the 2 personnel in the service shall be established by the presiding justice 3 of the appellate division of the judicial department. The presiding 4 justice of the appellate division of the judicial department shall 5 promulgate such rules or regulations as may be necessary to effectuate 6 the purposes of this article. 7 § 2. Section 47.03 of the mental hygiene law, as added by chapter 789 8 of the laws of 1985, subdivision (c) as amended by chapter 408 of the 9 laws of 1999, subdivisions (d) and (e) as amended and subdivision (f) as 10 added by chapter 7 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows: 11 § 47.03 Functions, powers and duties of the service. 12 The mental hygiene legal service in each judicial department of the 13 state shall perform the following duties: 14 (a) To study and review the admission and retention of all patients or 15 residents which shall include a review of the willingness of the patient 16 or resident to remain in [his or her] their status and the determination 17 of the facility director as to suitability of such status, as provided 18 for by this chapter; 19 (b) To inform patients or residents and, in proper cases, others 20 interested in such persons' welfare of procedures for admission and 21 retention and of the patients' or residents' right to have judicial 22 hearing and review, to be represented by legal counsel, and to seek 23 independent medical opinion; 24 (c) To provide legal services and assistance to patients or residents 25 and their families related to the admission, retention, and care and 26 treatment of such persons, to provide legal services and assistance to 27 subjects of a petition or patients subject to section 9.60 of this chap- 28 ter, and to inform patients or residents, their families and, in proper 29 cases, others interested in the patients' or residents' welfare of the 30 availability of other legal resources which may be of assistance in 31 matters not directly related to the admission, retention, and care and 32 treatment of such patients or residents; 33 (d) To provide legal services and assistance to youth residing in 34 juvenile detention centers and their families related to the retention, 35 care and treatment of such persons, and to inform youth and their fami- 36 lies and in proper cases, others interested in the youths' welfare, of 37 the availability of other legal resources which may be of assistance in 38 matters not directly related to the retention, care and treatment of 39 such youth; 40 (e) To be granted access at any and all times to any facility or place 41 or part thereof described in subdivision (a) of section 47.01 of this 42 article, and to all books, records and data pertaining to any such 43 facility or place deemed necessary for carrying out its functions, 44 powers and duties. The mental hygiene legal service may require from the 45 officers or employees of such facility or place any information deemed 46 necessary for the purpose of carrying out the service's functions, 47 powers and duties. Information, books, records or data which are confi- 48 dential and any limitations on the release thereof imposed by law upon 49 the party furnishing the information, books, records or data shall apply 50 to the service. Provided, however, whenever federal regulations 51 restrict, or as a condition of federal aid require that a facility 52 restrict the release of information contained in the clinical record of 53 a patient or client, or restrict disclosure of the identity of a patient 54 or access to that patient, to a greater extent than is allowed under 55 this section, the provisions of such federal law or federal regulation 56 shall be controlling;
S. 4130 3 1 [(e)] (f) To initiate and take any legal action deemed necessary to 2 safeguard the right of any patient [or], resident or youth to protection 3 from abuse or mistreatment, which may include investigation into any 4 such allegations of abuse or mistreatment of any such patient or resi- 5 dent; and 6 [(f)] (g) To provide legal services and assistance in accordance with 7 article ten of this chapter. 8 § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 508-a to 9 read as follows: 10 § 508-a. Legal services and assistance to youth. In addition to any 11 law guardian, court appointed counsel or private counsel a youth may 12 have, the mental hygiene legal service in each judicial department of 13 the state, established pursuant to article forty-seven of the mental 14 hygiene law, shall provide legal services and assistance to youth and 15 their family relating to the retention, care and treatment of such youth 16 when such youth is ordered by the court into the custody of the office 17 of children and family services and placed or committed to a state oper- 18 ated juvenile detention center. 19 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 20 have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to subdivision 21 (c) of section 47.03 of the mental hygiene law made by section two of 22 this act shall not affect the expiration and reversion of such subdivi- 23 sion and shall be deemed to expire therewith. Effective immediately, the 24 addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary 25 for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized 26 and directed to be made and completed on or before such effective date.