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Abstract: 

In 2007, with the passage of the Sex Offender Management and Treatment Act (SOMTA), New York State became the twenty-second jurisdiction to enact a sex offender civil commitment (SOCC) law. Unlike the SOCC laws in other states, New York’s law allows dangerous sex offenders to be confined in a secure treatment facility operated by the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) or to be managed in the community under a Strict and Intensive Supervision and Treatment (SIST) order. To carry out the terms of the new law, OMH established a Risk Assessment and Record Review (RARR) unit within the Bureau of Sex Offender Evaluation and Treatment (Bureau). This article examines the structure, staffing, and protocols used by the RARR and the Bureau, charged with developing and implementing a comprehensive assessment process to identify and refer sex offenders who suffer from a mental abnormality and pose a high risk for sexual recidivism, as defined in the statute.

Keywords: Civil Management; New York State M.H.L. § 10.01

Affiliations:  1: New York State Office of Mental Health; 2: New York State Office of Mental Health.