New York Senate Bill S09916

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 4/14/26
• Refer: 4/14/26
• Engrossed: 5/13/26
• Refer: 5/13/26

Caption

Establishes an employee mental health services program for all employees who work for the department of corrections and community supervision and all employees of the office of mental health who deliver services to incarcerated individuals overseen by the department of corrections and community supervision.

Summary

S09916 would add a new section to the correction law requiring the superintendent of the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, in consultation with the commissioner of mental health, to create and offer a confidential mental health counseling program for department employees and for Office of Mental Health employees who provide services to incarcerated individuals under the department’s oversight. The program must be available free of charge and is intended to give covered employees access to counseling without routine disclosure of treatment information. The bill also creates a limited confidentiality framework for participants in the program. It provides that the mandatory reporting provisions in section 9.46(b) of the mental hygiene law would not apply to employees using this counseling service unless the counselor, in reasonable professional judgment, believes the employee is likely to cause immediate and serious harm to self or others. In that circumstance, the counselor must notify the Division of Criminal Justice Services and the superintendent as soon as practicable. The bill further bars the superintendent from taking punitive administrative action against an employee for seeking counseling under the program.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would amend the correction law by adding a new employee mental health assistance program specifically for correctional staff and certain mental health workers serving incarcerated individuals. It would create a statutory obligation for DOCCS, in coordination with the Department of Mental Health, to provide confidential, no-cost counseling and would carve out a limited exception to existing mental health reporting rules for participants in the program. The measure would also restrict administrative retaliation against employees who seek help, affecting agency personnel practices, confidentiality obligations, and the handling of mental health disclosures within the correctional system.

Sentiment

The available voting record suggests strong bipartisan or at least broad institutional support for the bill. It passed the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Correction Committee unanimously, 7-0, and later passed the Senate floor by a vote of 57-0. No committee transcript or recorded debate is provided, so there is no direct evidence of opposition in the supplied materials. Overall, the bill appears to have been viewed favorably as a workplace support measure for correctional and related mental health employees.

Contention

The main policy tension in the bill is between encouraging employees to seek confidential mental health care and preserving public safety reporting obligations. The bill narrows the usual reporting requirement only for participants in the program, but still requires disclosure if a counselor believes there is a risk of immediate and serious harm. Another possible point of concern is the prohibition on punitive administrative action, which limits managerial discretion and could raise questions about how agencies respond to employee fitness-for-duty or workplace safety issues. No specific opponents are identified in the provided record, and the unanimous votes indicate little visible contention in the legislative process.