N.Y. Correction Law § 622: Sex offender treatment program

§ 622. Sex offender treatment program. 1. The department shall make

available a sex offender treatment program for those incarcerated

individuals who are serving sentences for felony sex offenses, or for

other offenses defined in subdivision (p) of section 10.03 of the mental

hygiene law, and are identified as having a need for such program in

accordance with sections eight hundred three and eight hundred five of

this chapter. In developing the treatment program, the department shall

give due regard to standards, guidelines, best practices, and

qualifications recommended by the office of sex offender management. The

department shall make such treatment programs available sufficiently in

advance of the time of the incarcerated individual's consideration by

the case review team, pursuant to section 10.05 of the mental hygiene

law, so as to allow the incarcerated individual to complete the

treatment program prior to that time.

2. The primary purpose of the program shall be to reduce the

likelihood of reoffending by assisting such offenders to control their

chain of behaviors that lead to sexual offending. The length of

participation for each incarcerated individual to achieve successful

completion shall be dependent upon the initial assessment of the

incarcerated individual's specific needs and the degree of progress made

by the incarcerated individual as a participant but shall not be less

than six months.

3. The department's sex offender treatment program shall include

residential programs, which shall require that at each correctional

facility where the residential program is provided, incarcerated

individual participants shall be housed within the same housing area in

order to provide clinically appropriate treatment, and to provide a more

structured and controlled setting.

4. Each residential program shall be staffed with a licensed

psychologist who shall provide clinical supervision to the treatment

staff, review, approve and modify treatment plans as appropriate for

individual incarcerated individuals, provide clinical assessments for

participating incarcerated individuals, observe and participate in group

sessions and make treatment recommendations. Each residential program

shall also be staffed with a licensed clinical social worker or other

mental health professional who shall be knowledgeable about the

administration of testing instruments that are designed to measure the

degree of a sex offender's psychopathy and his or her program needs. The

assigned licensed psychologist shall also be knowledgeable about the

application of such testing instruments.

5. Any incarcerated individual committed to the custody of the

department on or after the effective date of this section for a felony

sex offense, or for any of the other offenses listed in subdivision (p)

of section 10.03 of the mental hygiene law, shall, as soon as

practicable, be initially assessed by staff of the office of mental

health who shall be knowledgeable regarding the diagnosis, treatment,

assessment or evaluation of sex offenders. The assessment shall include,

but not be limited to, the determination of the degree to which the

incarcerated individual presents a risk of violent sexual recidivism and

his or her need for sex offender treatment while in prison.

6. Staff of the office of mental health and the office for people with

developmental disabilities may be consulted about the incarcerated

individual's treatment needs and may assist in providing any additional

treatment services determined to be clinically appropriate to address

the incarcerated individual's underlying mental abnormality or disorder.

Such treatment services shall be provided using professionally accepted

treatment protocols.