A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to establishing an office of crime victim services

By Council Members Cumbo, The Speaker (Council Member Mark-Viverito), Gibson, Rose, Cohen, Koslowitz, Crowley, Gentile, Vacca, Deutsch, Williams, Menchaca, Kallos and Ulrich

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Chapter 1 of the New York city charter is amended by adding a new section 13-d to read as follows:

§ 13-d. Office of crime victim services. a. Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

Coordinator. The term “coordinator” means the crime victim services coordinator.

Crime victim. The term “crime victim” means a person who is a victim of a sex offenses as defined in article 130 of the penal law, robbery as defined in article 160 of the penal law, assault as defined in article 120 of the penal law, burglary as defined in article 140 of the penal law, larceny as defined in article 155 of the penal law, domestic violence offenses as defined in section 530.11(1)(a) of the criminal procedure law, or any other offense determined by the coordinator.

Service provider. The term “service provider” means any non-government organization, funded in whole or in part by the city, or any agency under the jurisdiction of the mayor, that provides social services to crime victims, including but not limited to case management, crisis intervention, legal services, restorative justice, emergency or transitional shelter, permanent housing, health care, mental health counseling, drug addiction screening and treatment, language interpretation, public benefits, domestic and family matters safety planning, job training and economic empowerment, immigration advocacy or other services which may be offered to crime victims, provided, however, that social services shall not be construed to include the provision of services by first responders in response to public safety incidents.

b. The mayor shall establish an office of crime victim services. Such office may, but need not, be established in the executive office of the mayor, or may be established as a separate office within any other office of the mayor, or within any department, the head of which is appointed by the mayor. Such office shall be headed by a coordinator who shall be appointed by the mayor or the head of such department.

c. Powers and duties. The coordinator shall have the power and the duty to:

1. advise and assist the mayor in planning for increased coordination and cooperation among service providers to ensure the efficient delivery of services for crime victims;

2. work with the office to combat domestic violence to ensure that services for crime victims are coordinated.

3. advise and assist the director of the office to combat domestic violence in developing methods to improve the coordination of systems and services for victims of intimate partner violence;

4. publish and annually update a directory of service providers in the city, organized by service type, location of services, hours of operation, contact information, eligibility criteria for services, language access, any specific cultural competencies, and accessibility. Notwithstanding this paragraph, the coordinator shall not be required to publish the location of services that could compromise the safety of the victim;

5. compile information on the nature of services the service providers have contracted with the city to provide for crime victims;

6. prepare and submit to the mayor and the council an annual report of service providers which shall include: (a) the nature of assistance to crime victims provided by such service providers; and (b) an assessment of the need for increased coordination for such crime victims;

7. make recommendations with respect to the coordination of services;

8. provide outreach and education on the availability of services for crime victims; and

9. perform other duties as the mayor may assign.

§ 2. This local law takes effect 120 days after it becomes law.

LS 6497

11/21/2016

7:45P