§ 6-19 Programming.
RCNY § 6-19
(a)The Department must provide people in restrictive housing and people who step down from restrictive housing to a RRU (as set forth in 40 RCNY § 6-26) with programming both inside and outside of the cell. The Department shall utilize programming that addresses the unique needs of those in restrictive housing. The programming must be informed by research evidence, be age-appropriate, individualized, trauma-informed, including positive incentive behavior modification models, and be tailored to each person’s individual behavior support plan. The programming must also be designed to facilitate rehabilitation, address the root causes of violence, follow best practices for violence interruption, and minimize idleness. In addition, the Department must also provide people confined in restrictive housing with productive activities inside and outside of the cell, core educational and other programming comparable to core programs in the general population.
(b)The Department shall make at least seven (7) hours of daily out-of-cell congregate programming available to people confined in restrictive housing, in addition to one (1) hour of daily recreation. Meals, showers, and sick call shall not count towards the seven (7) hour daily out-of-cell congregate programming requirement.
(c)All programming to fulfill the seven (7) hour daily out-of-cell congregate programming requirement shall be led by staff or external providers with expertise in providing programming and therapeutic services.
(d)The Department shall offer each person at least one (1) hour of in-person therapeutic programming per day, led by therapeutic programming staff in a separate shared space not adjacent to a cell.
(e)In-person therapeutic programming shall only be offered in physical spaces that ensure privacy from non-participating staff and others in custody.
(f)For young adults confined in restrictive housing, the 7 hours of daily out-of-cell congregate programming may include activities and/or services provided during school hours by entities or persons other than the Department. For young adults in restrictive housing who are eligible for educational services provided by or through the New York City Department of Education” (“DOE”) pursuant to N.Y. Education Law 3202(7) and implementing state regulation, the Department shall offer such young adults access to DOE-provided educational services each school day that DOE’s school program is in session during the 10-month school year (or extended school year, if set forth on the student’s special education plan), provided that the young adult indicates in writing that they wish to attend and demonstrates their eligibility for such services.
(g)The Department shall provide and regularly update the Board with information on program offerings in restrictive housing and to people who step down from restrictive housing to the RRU. The Department shall maintain accurate and up-to-date programming schedules in each restrictive housing and RRU unit.
(h)If a person voluntarily chooses not to participate in congregate out-of-cell programming, they shall be offered access to comparable individual programming. The Department shall document by date and videotape each individual’s participation in each program session offered and any refusals to participate in congregate or individual programming and the reasons therefor.
(i)The Department shall provide the Board with quarterly public reports on restrictive housing programming and programming to people who have stepped down from restrictive housing to a RRU, including but not limited to the following information for adults and young adults by restrictive housing or RRU status, disaggregated by month: (1) the name, description, and type of program offered and staff delivering each program offered; (2) the number of sessions of each program offered; (3) where and how each program was offered (e.g.,. in-cell or in-dayroom by tablet, out-of-cell in separate programming space led by staff, etc.); (4) whether each program offered was individual or congregate; (5) the average number of participants per session and the number of unique individuals in restrictive housing overall and the number of unique individuals participating in each program during the reporting period; (6) the number of programming hours received per day (minimum, maximum, mean, median) by individuals in restrictive housing during the reporting period; (7) the number of programming hours received per day in a separate programming space not adjacent to cell (minimum, maximum, mean, median) by individuals in restrictive housing during the reporting period; (8) Any other information the Department or the Board deems relevant to the assessment of programming in restrictive housing.
(j)The Department shall provide the Board with the individually identified data used to create the public reports required in this section.
(k)The Board and the Department shall jointly develop the reporting templates for the public reports required by 40 RCNY § 6-19(i), which shall be subject to approval by the Board. (Added City Record 6/9/2021, eff. 7/9/2021; amended City Record 6/28/2024, eff. 7/28/2024)
