Board of Correction Interim Executive Director introduces BOC oversight role
Melissa Cintron Hernandez identifies herself as BOC Interim Executive Director and General Counsel, joined by Katrina Blackman and Chensi Augustin. She describes BOC's mandate to set and enforce minimum standards for care, custody, and safety in city jails.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Chair Brooks-Powers, Chair Farias, and members of the New York City Council Committees on Criminal Justice and Women and Gender Equity.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony on behalf of the New York City Board of Correction regarding maternal and mental health care.
In city jails.
I am Melissa Cintron Hernandez, BOC's Interim Executive Director and General Counsel.
I am joined by Katrina Blackman, Assistant Executive Director of Monitoring, and Chensi Augustin, Director of Programming and Community Support.
As an independent oversight body established pursuant to the New York City Charter, the board serves as a mechanism to keep our city's jail system accountable.
The board establishes, monitors, and monitors the city's jail system.
and enforces minimum standards governing the care, custody, and safety of people detained in New York City jails.
Oversight of maternal and mental health care is a vital part of this mandate.
To carry it out, the board monitors not only compliance with its minimum standards through regular facility visits and inspections,
but also identifies trends and potential areas of improvement.
The board conducts its investigations and system-wide reviews of critical issues, which encompass access to maternal and mental health care,
the delivery of services, conditions of confinement, and the systems intended to support the health and well-being of people in custody.