BILL NUMBER: S5087
SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the correction law, in relation to establishing the
family reunion program
 
PURPOSE:
To provide for a family reunion program in NY state prisons.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the correction law by adding a new section 138-b to
create a family reunion program.
Section 2 is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Visitation is the most important predictor of recidivism for people who
are incarcerated. People who receive visits recidivate significantly
less than people who do not receive visits. Visits keep incarcerated
people in touch with their families, their homes and their futures.
DOCCS has a tremendously popular family reunion program (FRP) that
allows inmates to visit their families in a home-like setting for two
nights every few months. It is a tremendous incentive for good behavior.
Visits may include spouses, children, parents and other related family
members. This bill codifies and slightly expands that program, increas-
ing eligibility to all inmates who maintain good behavior and program
compliance. It also provides that the family reunion program must be
available at all general confinement maximum-security prisons. Currently
the program is available at all such prisons but two. It also would
require the department to open FRP's at Albion, the women's medium
facility near Attica, and at Mid-State, a large medium facility near
Rome, New York. The cost of such programs is insignificant compared to
the humanizing and civilizing effect of family visits on the inmate
population. The FRP is a vital component of rehabilitative programming
at DOCCS.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.4315 Of 2023-2023; Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction;
S. 4519 of 2021-22: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction S.
S. 588 of 2019-20: Referred to Crime Victims, Crime and Correction
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
One year after it shall have become a law.