The New York State Office of Mental Health today announced that the Daniel’s Law Task Force will host the next in a series of stakeholder listening sessions aimed at gathering feedback from the public. Registration is now open for the second stakeholder listening session at the at the State University of New York at Stony Brook’s Charles B. Wang Conference Center from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, and also streamed live.

Established in response to the death of 41-year-old Daniel Prude in 2020, the task force is charged with developing recommendations to guide behavioral health crisis response and explore avenues for related diversion services. Following its inaugural meeting in August, the task force hosted its first stakeholder listening session virtually in late November, which resulted in more than 50 comments from the roughly 100 participants.

The sessions scheduled for this month are aimed at gathering additional input from communities, governmental entities, and the public on the best practices for engaging individuals in crisis, with a specific emphasis on equity. The task force is also examining a variety of models –both national and international –that could be used in developing a crisis response system.

“The input we are gathering during these listening sessions will become a critical component of the task force’s work to improve crisis response across our state,” Office of Mental Health Commissioner and Task Force Chairwoman Dr. Ann Sullivan said. “I look forward to hearing from the public during this listening session and gathering the feedback necessary to improve crisis response statewide.”

Members of the public wanting to comment at the listening session must register to speak online at the Daniel’s Law Task Force website. The Wang Conference Center is located at 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, with parking for attendees adjacent to the building.

Registration is also open for a second session to be hosted at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and streamed live from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Jan. 18.  The task force is also conducting a virtual member meeting from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 26, which will also be streamed live.