Assembly Bill A10611

                                BILL NUMBER:A10611

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act  to amend the correction law, in relation to
significant programmatic accomplishments for limited credit time  allow-
ances

Purpose  of  the Bill:  This bill would amend the Correction Law (CL) to
add four new advanced skills programs to-the list of significant program
accomplishments that would enable an inmate to qualify for the six-month
limited credit time allowance program.

Summary of Provisions:    Section  1  of  the  bill  would  amend  CL
803-b(1)(3)  to  add  four new advanced skills programs as bases for the
potential award of limited credit time:  the  Division  of  Correctional
Industries  (Corcraft)  Optical Program, the Corcraft Asbestos Abatement
Program, the sign language interpreter program, and the  Puppies  Behind
Bars Program.

Existing Law:  Currently, CL § 803-b allows certain inmates, who are not
eligible   to  earn  merit  time  pursuant  to  Correction  Law  section
803(1)(d), to earn a possible six-month credit toward their sentence  if
they maintain a positive disciplinary record, have not filed a frivolous
lawsuit,  and  complete  one  of  five possible significant programmatic
accomplishments: two years of college programming, a masters of  profes-
sional  studies  degree,  two  years  participation as an inmate program
associate, a certification from the Department of Labor for  an  appren-
              

ticeship program, or two years of work as an inmate hospice aid.

Under  § 803-b, all eligible inmates with a conditional release date who
meet the criteria by successfully completing one of  the  five  programs
are  authorized  to  be  released  six months prior to their conditional
release date. All eligible inmates who are serving sentences with  maxi-
mum terms of life who met the criteria by successfully completing one of
the five programs are accorded the potential to be granted discretionary
release  on  parole  six months prior to their actual parole eligibility
date. For these inmates, release is discretionary, riot mandatory.

No inmate convicted of murder in the  first  degree  or  a  sex  offense
defined in article one hundred thirty of the penal law, or an attempt or
conspiracy  to  commit  any  such  offense, is eligible for or a limited
credit time allowance.

Legislative History:  This is a new bill.

Statement in Support:  The limited credit time allowance law was enacted
in April of 2009.

The original concept for a limited credit time allowance law  was  based
upon  the  work  of  the  eleven-member Commission on Sentencing Reform,
which was established in March of 2007 by Executive Order.

The Commission heard several presentations and  reviewed  a  substantial
amount  of data on the DOCS merit time program, and discussed the expan-
sion of traditional merit time in detail in both its initial  and  final
reports.

The  Commission noted that maintaining safe correctional institutions is
directly related to the balanced ability to punish negative behavior and
poor program participation and reward positive behavior and good program
participation. A correctional system that disproportionately  relies  on
one approach to the detriment of the other will not be nearly as safe or
successful as a system that relies on a balanced approach.

The Commission's Final Report also noted the following.

Current law does not provide a means by which offenders serving a deter-
minate  or indeterminate sentence for violent felony offenses, or offen-
ders serving indeterminate sentences for non-drug  Class  A-I  felonies,
can earn any type of merit reduction from their sentences.  As a general
rule, many of these offenders tend to receive much longer sentences than
the  typical  non-violent  inmates who currently qualify for merit time.
However,  there  is  no  institutional  program  to  reward  exceptional
programming  and  efforts  by  these  inmates...Undeniably, many violent
felony offenders have committed egregious criminal acts that would argue
against eligibility for a merit time release. By the same  token,  DOCS'
experts  point  out  that  a number of these offenders have demonstrated
over a span of many years, a deep sense of remorse, recognition  of  the
harm  they have caused, a strong determination to reform their lives and
a desire to serve the common good by becoming law-abiding  citizens.  In
some  instances,  these same offenders have made themselves available in
peer counseling programs at DOCS to counsel young,  at-risk  individuals
from making the same mistakes they made in their own lives...On balance,
the  Commission finds that affording a merit time incentive to incarcer-
ated offenders with a past history  of  violence  for  participation  in
programs likely to lead to a change in criminogenic attitudes and better
prepare  them  to  lead  law-abiding  lives  after release is a positive
public safety measure that should be implemented in New  York.  Further-
more, the merit criteria requiring that such offenders also refrain from
any serious disciplinary infractions will help to foster a safer correc-
tional environment for the more than 31,000 men and women who work with-
in  DOCS'  facilities,  as  well as the under-custody population of more
than 60,000 inmates...The Commission believes that in order  to  achieve
the  desired  public  safety  outcome,  the requirements for an expanded
merit time program for offenders with a history of violent behavior must
be rigorous and designed to promote life-changing  behaviors.  In  order
for  an  inmate to be eligible for the contemplated benefit, the Commis-
sion recommends that the program criteria should be  significantly  more
demanding  than  the  present merit time criteria for non-violent offen-
ders...The Commission believes that the creation of a limited, but mean-
ingful, merit time program for the State's highest risk  offenders  will
significantly  enhance  institutional  safety  in New York's prisons and
improve the chances that eligible offenders  will  live  as  law-abiding
citizens upon release to the community.

The FY 2009-10 budget adopted all of the Commission's recommendations on
this subject, including the five current significant program accomplish-
ments  that  are  listed  in  Correction Law Section 803-b. The four new
proposed programs that are identified in this bill  would  also  satisfy
the  Commission's charge that such programs be exceptional, rigorous and
designed to promote life-changing behaviors.

The Corcraft Optical Program is located at Wallkill Correctional Facili-
ty. Under this program, inmate participants grind lenses that  are  used
to fill orders for eyeglasses for the inmate population and for Medicaid
recipients  in  the  community.  The test for optician is offered once a
year in May at Wallkill, by the American Board of Opticianry (ABO).  The
fee  for  taking  the test is $150, for which the inmate is responsible.
Certification is recognized throughout  the  United  States  in  optical
establishments.  An  inmate  who leaves prison with an ABO certification
has his chances of obtaining gainful employment significantly  enhanced.
Once it is obtained, such certification is good for a three year period.
In  order  to  renew  the certification, the individual must have twelve
credits of continuing education classes. According to  a  representative
with the ABO, the passing rate for this challenging examination at Wall-
kill is higher than the national average.

The  Corcraft  Asbestos  Abatement  Program  initially  requires  inmate
participants to undergo a 32-hour training program.  Successful  inmates
then  receive  an  asbestos  handling certificate from the Department of
Labor. Ultimately, this certificate can be converted to a license  as  a
civilian  handler.  Inmate participants in this program work as asbestos
handlers in the title of either Hazardous Materials  Removal  Worker  or
Group  Leader.  Inmate asbestos abatement crews are assigned to asbestos
removal projects at buildings in DOCS as well as  outside  buildings  of
the  State  or  political  subdivision of the State.  This experience is
very useful for the pursuit of gainful employment by inmate participants
upon their release from prison.

The program to qualify inmates as sign language interpreters is located.
at Wende Correctional Facility. Interested inmates with positive  insti-
tutional  records who are accepted into the program must take the course
curriculum of Signing Naturally Level I and II. This requires that  they
have  an  extensive  vocabulary, be knowledgeable of sentence structure,
and learn about other forms of non-verbal communication such  as  facial
expressions  and  body language. The curriculum also includes an in-cell
study component where the inmates learn about Deaf Culture and History.

Upon completion of the curriculum for Signing Naturally Levels I and II,
the actual Interpreter Training begins. The inmate must study  the  Code
of  Ethics  of  the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and must also
study different interpreting situations, problems and solutions.   Writ-
ten  tests  are  then administered and the inmate must obtain a score of
80% or better to pass.

If the inmate passes these tests, he is then eligible to take the  Mini-
mum  Competency  Screening Process (MCSP) Performance Examination, which

consists of three videotaped segments. The inmate must do voice to  sign
interpretation on the first segment, and voice to sign and sign to voice
on  the  remaining segments. If the inmate then passes the MCSP Perform-
ance  Exam,  he  is awarded an MCSP Certificate by DOCS which will allow
him to perform as an inmate interpreter  within  the  DOCS  system.  The
inmate  must  then sign a contract and commit to working for one year as
an interpreter.

The Puppies Behind Bars Program prepares inmates at Bedford Hills, Fish-
kill, Otisville and Mid-Orange Correctional Facilities to  become  puppy
raisers,  handlers and trainers. The program is operated in coordination
with a privately funded, volunteer organization that relies on donations
and private funding. The goal of the program is  to  pair  puppies  with
incarcerated  individuals,  who will then train them to become potential
guide dogs and service dogs for disabled individuals in the community.

An eligible inmate must first be screened and then undergo an  intensive
training  program  before  having  a  puppy  assigned to him or her. The
training sessions include lessons and homework assignments which contin-
ue for the duration of the program. An inmate who successfully completes
the lessons earns a Puppies Behind Bars certificate and  also  qualifies
for  the  vocational  job  title,  Animal Caretaker. Inmates who wish to
continue their studies can take additional courses to become pet  groom-
ers and trainers.

The  puppies  arrive at the correctional facility when they are approxi-
mately eight weeks old and require  everything  from  socialization,  to
house  breaking and basic commands. They remain in the program for about
sixteen months, when they are then  tested  for  future  service,  which
includes  serving  as  companion  dogs for veterans who suffer from Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder. During  their  stay  with  the  inmates,  the
puppies are also socialized by community volunteers, so the inmates also
learn  to  interact  with members of the community who take the dogs out
for weekends to expose them to a variety of experiences.

The inmates acquire a unique skill and develop confidence and a level of
maturity as they learn to care for  another  living  creature  with  the
ultimate goal of enabling a disabled individual to function independent-
ly. From the puppies, the inmates receive unconditional love. From those
individuals  who  are ultimately helped, the inmates often receive enor-
mous gratitude. This program  has  received  considerable  national  and
local  attention  in  the media and serves as a model for other programs
which seek to pair incarcerated individuals with animals.

Fiscal Impact:  It is anticipated that there will be some limited, budg-
etary savings of approximately $100,000, by virtue  of  some  number  of
inmates  qualifying  for the limited credit time allowance who would not
otherwise have qualified.

Effective Date:  This bill would take effect immediately.