29.27 - Inmate-patients placed in the custody of the department.

§ 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.