Establishes the peer advocacy and mentoring program

Summary of provisions

Sections 1 of the bill adds a new section 522-a to the executive law directing OCFS within amounts appropriated to establish a Peer Advocacy and Mentoring Program through contract with a not-for-profit organization(s) specializing Providing peer support and advocacy to youth. Services would be provided to youth residing in residential care licensed or operated by OCFS or OMH, as well as those youth transitioning or preparing to transition out of such placements, but priority would be given to services for youth placed or committed to state operated secure, limited-secure and non-secure juvenile detention facilities and other residential facilities licensed to care for court placed youth. This section sets out who can serve as peer advocates and mentors, the access they shall have to youth in residential care and to other offices designed to assist youth.

Section 2 provides that the bill shall take effect on the 90th day after enactment.

Justification

New York State licenses and operates various residential care facilities and homes for youth including foster care, residential treatment and juvenile justice. The support of peers, or individuals who have had similar residential experiences, are valuable for people in all areas and youth peer supports are no exception. Youth in residential care have often experienced various traumas in their young lives and associate some of those traumas with the adults in authority who are making decisions on their behalf.

Youth who have experienced similar settings and hardships only to navigate their lives in a positive way are uniquely equipped to gain the trust and serve as a role model for youth in care. Peer advocates would be between the ages of 16 and 30, have resided in a state operated or licensed residential Placement as a youth and have completed training approved by the Commissioners. The peer advocacy and mentoring program would serve as an outside, independent advocate for youth Placed in OCFS operated or licensed residential care to help ensure their rights are protected and they have positive role models as they heal wounds and prepare to transition back into the community.

Given the recently revealed disturbing results of a 2007 US Department of Justice investigation of four OCFS operated juvenile justice

facilities which found the use of excessive force and failure to provide mental health care and treatment, the program would prioritize services to youth in state operated juvenile justice facilities. Independent oversight to protect the rights of the approximately 1,000 youth in these particular care settings is essential. Some distinguishing features of youth in the juvenile detention facilities are that at least 65% have a mental health diagnosis, more than half are on a psychotropic medication, more than half are special education students with an IEP and the majority have experienced some form of trauma in their lives and have been involved in the child welfare system before being placed in a juvenile detention facilities. These children need all the supports they can get.

These defining characteristics combined with the appalling findings of inadequate mental health treatment and treatment plans, insufficient substance abuse services and improper medication management coupled with evidence of brutal treatment for behavioral issues clearly demonstrate that some outside oversight is needed. While a peer advocacy and mentoring program is not sufficient to provide the independent oversight that is necessary in our state operated juvenile detention centers, it can play an important role in bringing a voice to these youth and some transparency to the system while at the same time providing real examples and connections to a future filled with hope and opportunities.

Legislative history

2011-12: S.3076/A.7038 - Died in Children and Families S.6961/A.10806 - 2010 - Referred to Finance

Fiscal implications

To be determined.

Effective date

90 days after enactment.