Pass S.7719 to Make County Jails Safer
Members of the New York State Legislature
As members of Council 82, we are proud to protect our communities. Many of us are county corrections officers who keep our communities safe every day. Our members in county jails are not trained medical professionals and we should not have to distribute prescription medications to incarcerated individuals without the proper medical training.
We have the opportunity to finally stop this practice that's been happening for too long. The New York State Legislature is considering a bill, S.7719, that would stop employers from forcing county COs to distribute prescription medications.
Sign this petition to ask the state legislature to pass S.7719!
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Members of the New York State Legislature
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[Your Name]
Members of AFSCME Council 82 are proud to protect our communities. Many of us are corrections officers who maintain the security, supervision and safety of incarcerated individuals in county jails across New York State.
Corrections officers are not trained medical professionals. But every day, COs in counties throughout the state are responsible for distributing prescription medications without the necessary training on the medications we are handing out. Some county jails do not have medical professionals on site around the clock. Medications must be delivered in the early mornings and at night, and on weekends -- at these times, it falls to correctional officers to handle this care.
Passing out prescriptions prevents COs from performing our other duties, and that creates potential safety issues for staff, incarcerated individuals and the communities we serve. Since some medicines like insulin involve using a needle, officers and incarcerated individuals are at additional risk during the process.
The passing of medication by untrained and uncertified staff needs to stop. Please pass S.7719 to right this wrong, and send it to the governor so she can sign it into law.