State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > New-york > Mhy > Title-e > Article-29 > 29-27§ 29.27 Inmate-patients placed in the custody of the department. (a) As used in this section, the term "inmate-patient" means a person committed pursuant to the provisions of article sixteen of the correction law to the custody of the department of mental hygiene for care and treatment. (b) The commissioner shall provide a facility or facilities in which inmate-patients may be retained for care and treatment. (c) An inmate-patient may be retained for care and treatment in the facility designated by the commissioner for the period stated in the order committing the inmate-patient to the custody of the department unless sooner transferred or discharged in accordance with law. If the inmate-patient requires inpatient care and treatment for mental illness beyond such authorized period, the director of the facility where he is kept in custody shall apply for an order of retention or subsequent orders of retention in accordance with the procedures set forth in article nine of this chapter for the retention of patients. The provisions of this chapter applying to the rights of patients with respect to notices, hearings, judicial review, writ of habeas corpus, and the services of the mental hygiene legal service shall apply to inmate-patients except that in no case shall an inmate-patient be discharged or released from custody prior to the time that such inmate-patient has completed his term of imprisonment or that his release from custodial confinement in the correctional facility or jail from which he was delivered to the department has been duly authorized. (d) During the period of his custody in the department of mental hygiene pursuant to this section, an inmate-patient shall be entitled to the rights to care and treatment set forth in section 15.03 of this chapter and to such other rights granted to patients by this chapter, as determined by regulation of the commissioner, which are not inconsistent with his status as a person legally subject to confinement in a correctional facility or jail or with the mandate of secure custody of such inmate-patient. (e) When the director of the facility in which the inmate-patient is in custody finds that the inmate-patient is no longer mentally ill or no longer requires hospitalization for care and treatment, he shall so notify the inmate-patient and commissioner of correctional services or, in the case of an inmate-patient coming from a jail or correctional institution operated by local government, the officer in charge of the jail or correctional institution from which the inmate-patient was committed. The commissioner of correctional services or such officer, as the case may be, shall immediately arrange to take such inmate-patient into custody and return him to a correctional facility or to the jail or correctional institution operated by local government. (f) Upon delivery of the inmate-patient to the representative of the commissioner of correctional services or of an officer in charge of a jail or correctional institution operated by local government, the responsibility of the department and its facilities for the custody of the inmate-patient shall terminate. Where the inmate is returned to a state correctional facility, the department shall continue to be responsible for the inmate-patient's psychiatric care if the inmate-patient upon his return is in a program established pursuant to section four hundred one of the correction law. (g) If an inmate-patient in the custody of the department escapes from custody, immediate notice shall be given to the commissioner of correctional services or, in the case of an inmate-patient coming from a jail or correctional institution operated by local government, to the officer in charge of such jail or correctional institution. Notice shall also be given to appropriate law enforcement authorities.(h) The cost of care and treatment of an inmate-patient in a department facility shall be a charge upon the department if the inmate-patient was committed from a state correctional facility or upon the local government from which the inmate-patient was committed. (i) Upon release of an inmate-patient from a facility, the director shall forward a copy of all health and psychiatric records to the commissioner of correctional services or to the officer in charge of a jail or correctional institution operated by local government, as the case may be. (j) If the sentence for which an inmate-patient is confined expires or is vacated or modified by court order, the director shall so notify the commissioner of correctional services or such officer in charge of a jail or correctional institution operated by local government, as appropriate.
