Bill Text: NY A06987 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the "New York City Training And Comprehension of Trauma in Children (TACTIC) Act"; establishes the TACTIC council; provides for a trauma informed care training program to teachers in schools located in the city of New York; creates a department of child trauma informed care to assist with parenting workshops, to assign trauma informed care specialists to schools and to report to the TACTIC council regarding child trauma informed care provided to schools in the city of New York.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 29-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to cities [A06987 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06987-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6987

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. DE LOS SANTOS -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Cities

        AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the  administrative  code  of
          the  city  of  New  York,  in  relation to enacting the "New York City
          Training and Comprehension of Trauma in Children (TACTIC) Act"

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
     2  the "New York City Training and  Comprehension  of  Trauma  in  Children
     3  (TACTIC) Act".
     4    § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 7.51 to
     5  read as follows:
     6  § 7.51 New  York  city  training and comprehension of trauma in children
     7           (TACTIC) council.
     8    (a) For purposes of this section the following terms  shall  have  the
     9  following meanings:
    10    1. "Trauma informed care" shall mean trauma informed care as described
    11  by  the substance abuse and mental health services administration of the
    12  United States department of health and human services, or any  successor
    13  agency, department, or governmental entity.
    14    2.  "Teacher"  shall mean all persons engaged in classroom teaching of
    15  students, on a full-time or part-time basis, including but  not  limited
    16  to, instructors, counselors, assistants or aides.
    17    (b)  (i) There is hereby established within the office a New York city
    18  training and comprehension of trauma in children (TACTIC) council.
    19    (ii) The TACTIC council shall consist of eight members, four  of  whom
    20  shall be appointed by the speaker of the assembly and four of whom shall
    21  be  appointed  by  the  temporary president of the senate.   Of the four
    22  members appointed by the speaker of the assembly, one shall be a  pedia-
    23  trician,  one  shall  be  a  child  psychologist and two shall be trauma
    24  informed care specialists. Of the four members appointed by  the  tempo-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07778-01-3
        A. 6987                             2

     1  rary  president of the senate, one shall be a behavioral health special-
     2  ist, one shall be a neurologist and two shall be  trauma  informed  care
     3  specialists.
     4    (iii)  The  office, in conjunction with the TACTIC council and the New
     5  York city department of child trauma informed care shall:
     6    (1) provide an annual trauma informed care training program to  teach-
     7  ers  in  schools  located  in  the city of New York.  Such program shall
     8  include training and instruction led by a district trauma informed  care
     9  specialist,  including, but not be limited to, understanding the effects
    10  of trauma on students, recognizing the signs and symptoms of  trauma  in
    11  students  and  learning  best  practices  for  assisting  and supporting
    12  students who are experiencing or have experienced trauma;
    13    (2) establish a mandatory trauma informed care  certification  program
    14  for teachers. Such program shall be conducted through an online platform
    15  over a span of six to nine months; and
    16    (3)  establish,  in  conjunction  with  the department of child trauma
    17  informed care, monthly trauma  informed  care  parenting  workshops,  to
    18  assist  parents  of  children  who  are experiencing or have experienced
    19  trauma. Such workshops shall be offered by the city school  district  of
    20  the  city  of New York and shall be led by district trauma informed care
    21  specialists.
    22    (c) The TACTIC council shall review the information  provided  by  the
    23  department  of  child  trauma informed care pursuant to paragraph two of
    24  subdivision b of section 21-970 of the administrative code of  the  city
    25  of  New  York  and  shall report to the office and the state legislature
    26  with recommendations to effectively implement and improve  child  trauma
    27  informed care provided in schools.
    28    §  3. Title 21-A of the administrative code of the city of New York is
    29  amended by adding a new chapter 8-A to read as follows:
    30                                  CHAPTER 8-A
    31                  DEPARTMENT OF CHILD TRAUMA INFORMED CARE
    32    § 21-970 Department of child trauma informed care.
    33    a. There is hereby established within the department, a department  of
    34  child trauma informed care.
    35    b. The department of child trauma informed care shall:
    36    1.  Assist  in  establishing  trauma informed care parenting workshops
    37  pursuant to section 7.51 of the mental hygiene law.
    38    2. Compile and report to the training and comprehension of  trauma  in
    39  children council, pursuant to section 7.51 of the mental hygiene law, on
    40  child  trauma  informed  care provided to schools within the city school
    41  district, including, but not limited to, providing information regarding
    42  school involvement, the number of students  identified  as  experiencing
    43  trauma,  details of teacher certification, trauma incidents occurring in
    44  schools and parental assistance provided.
    45    3. Administer the mandatory trauma informed care certification program
    46  for all teachers within the city school district.
    47    4. Assign trauma informed care specialists to each borough superinten-
    48  dent's office to supervise district trauma informed care specialists.
    49    5. Assign district trauma informed care  specialists  to  each  school
    50  located  within  the city school district to implement the annual trauma
    51  informed care training program to teachers and to present the  parenting
    52  workshops  within  the  district.  Such  district  trauma  informed care
    53  specialists  shall  report  to  the  trauma  informed  care  specialists
    54  assigned to each borough superintendent's office.
    55    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.