New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH)
Division of Forensic Services
Donna L. Hall, Ph.D., Associate Commissioner, Division of Forensic Services
The Division of Forensic Services (DFS) is the administrative unit within the New York State Office of Mental Health that is responsible for coordinating the delivery of mental health services to individuals involved with New York State's criminal justice system. DFS has two bureaus: (1) the Bureau of Institutional and Transitional Services (BITS) and (2) the Bureau of Sex Offender Evaluation and Treatment (BSOET).
Mental health services for justice-involved individuals in New York State have grown into a system of care that includes three JCAHO accredited maximum security forensic psychiatric centers, one of which serves the NYS prison population, two maximum security regional forensic units, a network of prison-based mental health satellite units and residential programs located within prison facilities, and an array of community-based training and technical assistance services that enable local governmental units to better serve forensic mental health populations.
Justice-involved, mentally ill individuals come within the purview of DFS pursuant to various sections of the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL), Correction Laws (CL) and Mental Hygiene Law (MHL). Populations served by forensic facilities include:
- Felony defendants found incompetent to stand trial pursuant to CPL § 730.
- Defendants found Not Responsible for Criminal Conduct due to Mental Disease or Defect pursuant to CPL § 330.20.
- Pre-trial detainees in local correctional facilities in need of inpatient care pursuant to CL § 508.
- Inmates sentenced to State and local correctional facilities in need of inpatient care pursuant to CL § 402.
- Civil patients transferred to a forensic facility pursuant to NYCRR, Title 14, Section 57.2
- Individuals committed to Sex Offender Treatment Programs (SOTPs) within a Secure Treatment Facility (STF), pursuant to MHL Art. 10.
The bed capacity and types of admissions in each of the forensic facilities are shown in the table below.
| NYS Forensic Facility | Bed Capacity | Admission Types |
|---|---|---|
| Central New York PC | 191 | CL 402 |
| Kirby Forensic PC | 168 | CPL 330 and 730; Part 57 |
| Mid-Hudson Forensic PC | 264 | CPL 330 and 730; Part 57 |
| Northeast Regional FU | 17 | CL 508; CPL 730 |
| Rochester Regional FU | 55 | CPL 330 and 730; CL 508 |
| Central New York PC STF | 157 | MHL Art. 10 |
| St. Lawrence PC STF | 92 | MHL Art. 10 |
In addition, CNYPC "outpatient" services in prison maintain a caseload of approximately 8,000, with 29 satellite and mental health units and nearly 1,200 mental health beds across a multitude of mental health staffed prison programs.
Comments or questions about the information on this page can be directed to the Division of Forensic Services.