Bill Text: NY A09291 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes four mental health coordinators to provide mental health support and education for members of law enforcement; establishes that coordinators shall provide training, assistance, reporting and set standards for continuing mental health education.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-23 - referred to governmental operations [A09291 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A09291-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9291

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 23, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. BURKE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to law enforcement mental
          health coordinators

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

     1    Section  1. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 214-h
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 214-h. Mental health coordinators. 1. There  is  hereby  established
     4  within  the  division  a  mental  health  coordinator program to provide
     5  mental health support and education for law enforcement in New York.
     6    2. Four mental health coordinators shall be appointed by the governor,
     7  by and with the advice and consent of the senate. Each shall serve for a
     8  term of six years. Mental health coordinators  shall  receive  a  salary
     9  within  amounts  appropriated  therefor and shall be eligible for re-ap-
    10  pointment.
    11    3. (a) Each mental health coordinator shall  have  a  specific  region
    12  they  are  responsible  for. The four groupings, comprised of individual
    13  state troop regions are: (i) A, E and C; (ii) B, D and G; (iii) F, K and
    14  L; and (iv) NYC. Troopers should  belong  to  one  of  the  state  troop
    15  regions they serve as coordinator.
    16    (b) Each mental health coordinator shall:
    17    (i)  be  an  active  duty  state trooper with an established career in
    18  different aspects of law enforcement, including,  but  not  limited  to,
    19  patrol  officer  and  detective, and have served in both urban and rural
    20  settings;
    21    (ii) be a law enforcement professional with a  history  of  developing
    22  and  disseminating  evidence-based training in mental health and resili-
    23  ence; and
    24    (iii) have an established history  of  working  with  police  adminis-
    25  trations and police unions.
    26    4. Mental health coordinators shall:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14119-02-2
        A. 9291                             2

     1    (a)  cooperate  with  police  training  academies  to introduce police
     2  recruits to mental health issues they could face throughout their career
     3  in law enforcement;
     4    (b) assist in establishing mental health training for law enforcement,
     5  including  resilience training, trauma-based training, inter- and intra-
     6  departmental training, and training for law enforcement families;
     7    (c) contribute to updating the office of mental health's environmental
     8  analysis of mental health and wellness resources for first responders;
     9    (d) cooperate with police agencies to establish peer support programs;
    10    (e) cooperate with private limited liability companies  who  train  in
    11  mental  health  and wellness to ensure that their programs are scientif-
    12  ically sound and factual;
    13    (f) utilize the state university  system  to  establish  training  and
    14  produce research documentation of training effectiveness; and
    15    (g)  set  standards  for continuing education in mental health with an
    16  emphasis on meeting the developmental training  needs  for  officers  at
    17  various stages of their career.
    18    5.  Mental  health  coordinators  shall report to the office of mental
    19  health on the development and implementation of  programs  and  training
    20  for  law  enforcement  officers  and  shall  advise the office of mental
    21  health and receive advice from the office of mental health on  direction
    22  and  training  needs  for  law  enforcement  agencies that vary in size,
    23  location, and demographics.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.