N.Y. Social Services Law § 483-e: Restraint and crisis intervention technique committee

§ 483-e. Restraint and crisis intervention technique committee. 1.

Committee established. There is hereby established within the council a

restraint and crisis intervention technique committee comprised of the

commissioner of children and family services, the commissioner of mental

health, the commissioner of the office for people with developmental

disabilities, the commissioner of education and the commissioner of

health. The committee shall include at least two representatives of

statewide and regional provider organizations that represent providers

of educational and residential services to children, at least two mental

health professionals who provide direct care on a regular basis to

children served by the program types provided in subdivision two of this

section and at least one representative of parents of children requiring

special services.

2. Establishment of coordinated standards. The committee shall

identify the most effective, least restrictive and safest techniques for

the modification of a child's behavior in response to an actual or

perceived threat by such child of harm or bodily injury to such child,

or to another person, where such child is a resident of, or otherwise

served by a residential treatment facility, a children's day treatment

program, a family based treatment home, a community residence, an

individualized residential alternative, a family care home, day

habilitation, day treatment, an intermediary care facility, residential

habilitation, an agency operated boarding home, an approved private

residential school or an approved private non-residential school. Such

techniques shall include, but not be limited to, the use of physical

restraint, therapeutic crisis intervention, crisis management or such

other de-escalation techniques designed to help staff assist children to

manage crisis situations. The committee shall review models of crisis

prevention and intervention, including the use of physical restraints.

The committee shall establish uniform and coordinated standards giving

preference to the least restrictive alternative for the use of such

techniques in such children service settings.

3. Recommendations and report. The committee shall develop additional

recommendations regarding crisis intervention as it deems appropriate

including, but not limited to, appropriate staffing patterns to safely

implement such techniques, specific training curriculum and regulatory

amendments governing the oversight of staff training efforts implemented

by the commissioners. Such recommendations, together with proposed

regulations relating thereto, shall be included in a report submitted to

the governor and the legislature no later than September first, two

thousand seven.

4. Future responsibilities. In addition to the duties provided in

subdivisions one through three of this section, the committee shall have

the following responsibilities:

(a) the committee shall report to the governor and legislature, on or

before October thirty-first, two thousand nine, on the progress made to

implement the recommendations outlined in the September, two thousand

seven report; on aggregate agency-specific data and improvements in

agency-specific tracking systems in order to provide evidence of system

changes; and shall revise the report to specifically include children's

day treatment programs and any other setting serving children that

authorizes the use of restraints in each of the findings and

recommendations presented in such report; and

(b) the committee shall report to the governor and legislature, no

later than October thirty-first, two thousand ten, and each year

thereafter, on the progress made to implement the recommendations

outlined in the September, two thousand seven report, and any new

recommendations made in the two thousand nine report, along with any

other outstanding issues and recommendations for implementing uniform

and coordinated standards that the committee deems appropriate. The

committee shall include in its report the implementation of the

coordinated standards by each agency, including but not limited to the

revision and coordination of regulations, modifications to training

curricula and staffing models, and may include a recommendation as to

whether the committee should be continued as its exists, expanded, or

discontinued.