Relates to discharge planning to assist incarcerated individuals in obtaining housing before release to community supervision

• Democratic1
• Republican1

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Luis R. Sepúlveda says this is needed

Individuals face a multitude of challenges upon discharge from correc- tional facilities. Chief among them is relocating to an affordable, permanent home and re-acclimating to living independently in the commu- nity. The New York State Department of Correction and Community Super- vision (DOCCS) has a legal and moral responsibility to implement poli- cies that ensure formerly incarcerated individuals are able to successfully reintegrate into society and to mitigate obstacles that may lead to re-incarceration. This bill will help achieve these goals by addressing the current DOCCS practice of discharging parolees to shelter without adequate pre- and post-discharge assistance to secure independ- ent housing in the community and shifting costs to Local Social Services Districts (LSSD). The bill calls for regular reporting on all of DOCCS efforts to assist parolees to obtain permanent housing. Far too often, inmates are released to temporary shelter in the absence of appropriate pre-discharge planning to avert shelter entry and then DOCCS does not provide appropriate follow up assistance to relocate parolees from shel- ter to housing in the community. Consequently, the responsibility of assisting the individual in locating permanent housing is left to the LSSDs, instead of with DOCCS where it belongs. In 2016, nearly 21,000 inmates were released to community supervision from New York State correctional facilities, many of whom were sent to New York City. A significant number of formerly incarcerated individuals are discharged into the local shelter system directly from state correc- tional facility. This does little to support the parolee or lower reci- divism rates, and it exacerbates the homelessness crisis in local commu- nities across the State to which parolees are being discharged. The City social services district has implemented a broad range of programs and services aimed at lowering the shelter census and for the first time in a decade the number of people in its shelter system has stabilized. The current number of formerly incarcerated individuals entering shelter comes at great cost to New York City and other localities, and under- mines local efforts to control spending and reduce the number of people in shelters. Research suggests that securing stable housing is a crit- ical first step to successful re-entry. A 2004 study of over 40,000 individuals returning to New York City from state correctional facili- ties reveals a strong correlation between shelter use and risk of reci- divism. This bill addresses the relationship between housing instability and recidivism and will give formerly incarcerated individuals the best chance to achieve true independence.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.