§ 216. Additional duties of the chief administrator; certain cases. 1.
The chief administrator of the courts shall designate the appropriate
persons, including but not limited to district attorneys, criminal and
family court clerks, corporation counsels, county attorneys, victims
assistance unit staff, probation officers, warrant officers, sheriffs,
police officers or any other law enforcement officials, to inform any
petitioner bringing a proceeding under article eight of the family court
act or a complainant in an action which would be subject to the
provisions of section 530.11 of the criminal procedure law, before such
proceeding or action is commenced, of the procedures available for the
institution of family offense proceedings, including but not limited to
the following:

(a) That there is concurrent jurisdiction with respect to family
offenses in both family court and the criminal courts;

(b) That a family court proceeding is a civil proceeding and is for
the purpose of attempting to keep the family unit intact. Referrals for
counseling, or counseling services, are available through probation for
this purpose;

(c) That a proceeding in the criminal courts is for the purpose of
prosecution of the offender and can result in a criminal conviction of
the offender;

(d) That a proceeding or action subject to the provisions of this
section is initiated at the time of the filing of an accusatory
instrument or filing a family court petition, not at the time of arrest,
or request for arrest, if any;

(f) That an arrest may precede the commencement of a family court or a
criminal court proceeding, but an arrest is not a requirement for
commencing either proceeding.

2. No official or other person designated pursuant to subdivision one
of this section shall discourage or prevent any person who wishes to
file a petition or sign or initiate a proceeding in a criminal court
from having access to any court for that purpose.

3. The chief administrator shall prescribe an appropriate form to
implement subdivision two of this section.

4. The chief administrator of the courts shall collect data in
relation to the number of cases in which the basic child support
obligation, as defined in section two hundred forty of the domestic
relations law and section four hundred thirteen of the family court act,
was ordered; the number of cases in which the order deviated from such
basic child support obligation and the reasons therefor; the incomes of
the parties; the number of children, and the amount of child support
awarded pursuant to the child support standards act; and amounts of
alimony or maintenance, or allocations of property included in orders or
judgments that include a provision for child support pursuant to the
child support standards act, and shall report such data to the temporary
president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chairpersons of the
judiciary and children and families committees, and the governor on or
before the first day of April of each year. In collecting such data, the
chief administrator shall not disclose the identities of the parties or
disclose information that would tend to reveal the identities of the
parties.

5. The chief administrator of the courts, in conjunction with the
division of criminal justice services, shall collect data and report
every six months regarding pretrial release and detention. Such data and
report shall contain information categorized by age, gender, racial and
ethnic background; regarding the nature of the criminal offenses,
including the top charge of each case; the number and type of charges in
each defendant's criminal record; whether the prosecutor requested that
the court fix bail, the amounts and forms of bail requested by the
prosecutor, and the amounts and forms of bail set by the court; the
number of individuals released on recognizance; the number of
individuals released on non-monetary conditions, including the
conditions imposed; the number of individuals committed to the custody
of a sheriff prior to trial; the rates of failure to appear and
rearrest; the outcome of such cases or dispositions; the length of the
pretrial detention stay and any other such information as the chief
administrator and the division of criminal justice services may find
necessary and appropriate. Further, the chief administrator of the
courts shall collect data and report every month regarding pretrial
commitments to local correctional facilities. Such data shall include
but not be limited to age, gender, racial and ethnic background of the
principal; both beginning and end dates of pretrial commitment to the
custody of the sheriff; total days of pretrial commitment to the custody
of the sheriff; the type of commitment ordered by the court; the top
charge at arrest and arraignment; and whether the principal had been
previously released from custody in the case. Such report shall
aggregate the data collected by county; court, including city, town and
village courts; and judge. The data shall be aggregated in order to
protect the identity of individual defendants. The report shall be
released publicly and published on the websites of the office of court
administration and the division of criminal justice services. The first
report shall be published twelve months after this subdivision shall
have become a law, and shall include data from the first six months
following the enactment of this section. Reports for subsequent periods
shall be published every six months thereafter; provided, however, that
the pretrial detention admissions and discharges report will be
published every month.

6. The chief administrator of the courts, in conjunction with the
division of criminal justice services, shall collect data and report
annually regarding the impact of article two hundred forty-five of the
criminal procedure law. Such data and report shall contain information
regarding the implementation of article two hundred forty-five of the
criminal procedure law, including procedures used to implement the
article, resources needed for implementation, monies received pursuant
to section ninety-nine-hh of the state finance law, including the amount
of money utilized for the services and expenses eligible pursuant to
subdivision three of such section, information regarding cases where
discovery obligations are not met, and information regarding case
outcomes. The report shall be released publicly and published on the
websites of the office of court administration and the division of
criminal justice services. The first report shall be published eighteen
months after the effective date of this section, and shall include data
from the first twelve months following the enactment of this section.
Reports for subsequent years shall be published annually thereafter.