Williams supports Intro 902 and Resolutions 497 and 498

Today, the council is hearing intro 902 by Councilmember Lee, which will require the Department of Corrections and coordination with the correctional

health services to establish and maintain written protocols related to identification, screening, referral, monitoring, and follow-up of pregnant and postpartum individuals with mental health needs.

These specific protocols will be made public, available, and shared with all staff involved in their care.

This would address the importance of keeping a reference point so that all health concerns can be properly addressed.

It is imperative that these protocols support timely referrals, appropriate psychiatric evaluations, and establish coordination between medical and mental health providers.

There must be procedures to help individuals maintain access to medications or support services as they transition out of a facility.

The council will also hear Reso 498 by Councilmember Hudson, which calls on the state legislature to pass and the governor to sign legislation to postpone court proceedings as requested by individuals in the later stages of pregnancy.

Court appearances often involve transportation, arraignment processing, and prolonged waiting, which often proposes substantial burdens on individuals who are also

close to birth, which can often lead to deeply disturbing incidents in the courtroom akin to what happened in May with Samantha Randazzo, who gave birth while shackled in a courtroom in Brooklyn.

Reso 497 also by Councilman Hudson will call on the state to pass and governor to sign a bill in relation to prohibiting the use of restraints in incarcerated individuals during labor, absent extraordinary circumstances, and on pregnant persons during custodial interrogation.