Requires local social services districts to obtain approval by the governing body of such district prior to applying to amend the consolidated services plan.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1861C
SPONSOR: Mayer (MS) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to requiring local social services districts to obtain approval by the
governing body of such district prior to applying to the office of chil-
dren and family services to amend the consolidated services plan
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would provide that before a county can submit a consolidated
plan amendment which includes provisions to reduce or limit child care
availability or subsidy to the Office of Children and Family Services,
it must first obtain the approval of the county's governing body.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one would amend Section 34-a of the social services law to
require that an application by a local services district to alter its
plans and provisions for subsidized child care, which would reduce the
availability of child care services, lower eligibility for child care
subsidies, or modify the co-payment structure, will not be considered by
the Office until it is provided proof that the governing body of the
county has approved the application after public notice and hearing.
Section 2 sets out the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Some counties restrict child care access and limit availability of child
care subsidies even when their County Legislature has expressly author-
ized funding for these services. In these cases, the counties have
received approval from the Office of Children and Family Services for
amended consolidated services plans which reduce eligibility and
increase co-payments for subsidized child care. In Westchester County,
for example, the county submitted an amendment to its consolidated
services plan which limited child care services and increased the co-pay
on subsidized child care in the middle of the county's fiscal year, even
though the county Board of Legislators had approved a fiscal year budget
which allocated funds for these subsidies. This bill would correct that
deficiency by requiring that prior to submission of an amended consol-
idated service plan to reduce eligibility or increase co-payments for
subsidized child care, the county's governing body must approve the
application after a public hearing.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2013: A6231 A (Mayer) referred to social services
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1861--C
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 13, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. MAYER, ABINANTI, AUBRY, BUCHWALD, GALEF, JAFFEE,
LAVINE, OTIS, SCHIMEL, PAULIN, LUPARDO, PEOPLES-STOKES, SKOUFIS,
ZEBROWSKI -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, COOK, THIELE --
read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services -- commit-
tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
mitted to said committee -- again reported from said committee with
amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee -- ordered to a third reading -- committed to the Committee
on Social Services in accordance with Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring local
social services districts to obtain approval by the governing body of
such district prior to applying to the office of children and family
services to amend the consolidated services plan
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of section 34-a of the social
2 services law, subdivision 5 as added by chapter 681 of the laws of 1981,
3 subdivision 6 as added by chapter 160 of the laws of 2004, paragraph (a)
4 of subdivision 6 as amended by section 8 of part G of chapter 57 of the
5 laws of 2013, subdivision 7 as added by chapter 524 of the laws of 2005,
6 subdivision 8 as added by chapter 543 of the laws of 2006 and subdivi-
7 sion 9 as added by chapter 144 of the laws of 2015, are amended to read
8 as follows:
9 5. Amendments made to the multi-year consolidated services plan. (a)
10 A local social services district may propose amendments to the plan at
11 any time. If a local social services district proposes an amendment to
12 the child care portion of its child and family services plan that
13 reduces eligibility or increases the family share percentage for child
14 care services, the amendment shall be published for public comment and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00269-06-6
A. 1861--C 2
1 shall be presented to the local advisory board for approval, prior to
2 submission to the office. If an amendment is approved by the office, it
3 becomes effective on the date so designated by the commissioner.
4 (b) After an amendment is approved by the office and implemented by
5 the local social services district, the district shall supply the chief
6 executive officer, or for local social services districts without a
7 chief executive officer, the local legislative body, with evidence
8 supporting the need for such amendment.
9 6. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations concerning the time
10 by which:
11 (a) each local social services district shall submit its multi-year
12 services plan and annual implementation report;
13 (b) the commissioner shall, in writing, notify a local district of
14 approval or disapproval of all or parts of such district's multi-year
15 services plan or annual implementation reports; and
16 (c) each local social services district shall submit a revised version
17 of its multi-year services plan or annual implementation report, or
18 parts thereof.
19 [6.] 7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office of
20 children and family services shall plan for the statewide implementa-
21 tion, by the thirty-first day of December, two thousand eight, of the
22 use by counties of a child and family services plan that combines the
23 multi-year consolidated services plan required by this section and the
24 comprehensive plan required by section four hundred twenty of the execu-
25 tive law into a single plan.
26 (b) All counties shall implement a county child and family services
27 plan prior to or by the two thousand eight plan year in accordance with
28 a schedule developed by the office of children and family services and
29 shall continue to implement such a plan thereafter. With the approval of
30 such office, a county may implement such a plan before the date required
31 by such schedule.
32 (c) The office of children and family services may waive any regulato-
33 ry requirements relating to the content and timing of multi-year consol-
34 idated services plans and annual implementation reports that may impede
35 the ability of a county to implement a county child and family services
36 plan.
37 (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to affect county plan-
38 ning requirements under the mental hygiene law.
39 [7.] 8. (a) From monies appropriated to the office of children and
40 family services for the family and children's services foster care and
41 adoption program, the office shall give assistance to local social
42 services districts to enable them to collect statistics and to describe
43 the steps being taken regarding: the number of families needing preven-
44 tive services as provided for in title four of article six of this chap-
45 ter for which services are provided; the effectiveness of specific
46 preventive services in preventing unnecessary foster care placements and
47 reducing the length of stay in foster care; the efforts made to prevent
48 unnecessary placements; the use of the least restrictive settings and
49 the proximity of foster care placements to the child's home; the use of
50 kinship placements; the placement of siblings with one another at
51 initial placement or as soon thereafter as possible; the number of
52 transfers of children in foster care placements and the reasons for
53 those transfers; the number of families reunited in fulfillment of the
54 child's service goal plan and the length of placement prior to reunifi-
55 cation; the number of children prepared for independent living; the
56 number of children with adoption as a service plan goal; the number of
A. 1861--C 3
1 children freed for adoption and the length of time taken to secure
2 terminations of parental rights; the number of children placed in pre-a-
3 doptive homes and the number of adoptions completed and the length of
4 time taken to complete them.
5 (b) Such data submitted to the office of children and family services
6 shall be aggregated and submitted with a narrative report on these chil-
7 dren's services, to the governor and the majority leader of the senate
8 and the speaker of the assembly on or before July first, two thousand
9 five and semiannually thereafter.
10 [8.] 9. The commissioner of the office of children and family services
11 shall, in conjunction with the commissioner of education, develop model
12 practices and procedures for local social services districts and school
13 districts regarding the reporting and investigation of educational
14 neglect. Such model practices and procedures shall be available to
15 social services districts and school districts and shall be posted on
16 the office of children and family services website and the state depart-
17 ment of education website by September first, two thousand seven. Each
18 social services district shall, in conjunction with local school
19 districts within its district, submit written policies and procedures
20 regarding the reporting of educational neglect by each school district
21 within such social services district and the investigation of educa-
22 tional neglect allegations by child protective services. Such policies
23 and procedures shall be submitted to the office of children and family
24 services for review by January first, two thousand eight and the office
25 shall approve or disapprove such local policies and procedures, based
26 upon the model practices and procedures established in conjunction with
27 the state department of education, within sixty days of submission.
28 [9.] 10. (a) If a social services district proposes an amendment to
29 the child care portion of its child and family services plan that
30 reduces eligibility or increases the family share percentage for child
31 care services such district must: (i) no later than the first day the
32 public notice appears in a newspaper pursuant to subdivision three of
33 this section or the regulations of the office of children and family
34 services, as applicable, prominently post on the district's website a
35 notice of the proposed amendment describing the categories of families
36 whose cases will be impacted; and (ii) at the time the public notice is
37 submitted to the newspaper for publication in accordance with subdivi-
38 sion three of this section or the regulations of the office of children
39 and family services, as applicable, provide a copy of such notice to the
40 office of children and family services.
41 (b) If a social services district implements its process for closing
42 child care cases, as set forth in its approved child and family services
43 plan, due to the district determining that it cannot maintain its
44 current caseload because all of the available funds are projected to be
45 needed for open cases, the district must: (i) no later than the day the
46 social services district begins to send individual notices to impacted
47 families in accordance with subdivision eight of section four hundred
48 ten-w of this chapter, prominently post a notice on their website that
49 states that such district is implementing the child care case closing
50 process set forth in its approved child and family services plan and
51 that describes the categories of families whose cases will be closed;
52 and (ii) immediately provide a copy of such notice to the office of
53 children and family services.
54 (c) The office of children and family services shall prominently post
55 notices received pursuant to paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subdivision
56 on its website.
A. 1861--C 4
1 § 2. Subdivision 6 of section 34-a of the social services law, as
2 added by chapter 160 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
3 [6.] 7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office of
4 children and family services shall plan for the statewide implementa-
5 tion, by the thirty-first day of December, two thousand eight, of the
6 use by counties of a child and family services plan that combines the
7 multi-year consolidated services plan required by this section and the
8 county comprehensive plan required by section four hundred twenty of the
9 executive law into a single plan.
10 (b) All counties shall implement a county child and family services
11 plan prior to or by the two thousand eight plan year in accordance with
12 a schedule developed by the office of children and family services and
13 shall continue to implement such a plan thereafter. With the approval of
14 such office, a county may implement such a plan before the date required
15 by such schedule.
16 (c) The office of children and family services may waive any regulato-
17 ry requirements relating to the content and timing of multi-year consol-
18 idated services plans and annual implementation reports that may impede
19 the ability of a county to implement a county child and family services
20 plan.
21 (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to affect county plan-
22 ning requirements under the mental hygiene law.
23 § 3. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 34-b
24 to read as follows:
25 § 34-b. Local advisory boards. 1. Each local social services district
26 shall establish a local advisory board that will assist the commissioner
27 in the creation of the multi-year consolidated services plan, as well as
28 approve any amendments proposed pursuant to subdivision five of section
29 thirty-four-a of the social services law. Except when an amendment is
30 proposed, the local advisory board shall be involved in an advisory
31 capacity only, in policy development, program planning and program eval-
32 uation carried on by the social services district with respect to public
33 assistance, medical assistance and services.
34 2. (a) For local social services districts with a chief executive
35 officer the local advisory board shall consist of nine members, four
36 members shall be appointed by the local legislative body and five
37 members shall be appointed by the chief executive officer upon the
38 recommendation of the commissioner of social services. For local social
39 services districts without a chief executive officer, the local advisory
40 board shall consist of fifteen members, five members shall be appointed
41 by the commissioner of the local social services district, five members
42 shall be appointed by the majority of the local legislative body and
43 five shall be appointed by the minority of the local legislative body.
44 (b) The local advisory board shall be composed of the following class-
45 es of persons:
46 (1) recipients of public assistance (including SSI and food stamps),
47 medical assistance and child care services--at least twenty-five
48 percent;
49 (2) providers of social services, medical services and domiciliary
50 care (other than employees of the state or local departments of social
51 services); and
52 (3) members of the general public (including but not limited to repre-
53 sentatives of professional social work associations, schools of social
54 work, labor organizations, public interest groups, client advocates,
55 community organizations and the business and financial community).
A. 1861--C 5
1 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
2 the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of section 34-a of the
3 social services law made by section one of this act shall be subject to
4 the expiration and reversion of such paragraph when upon such date the
5 provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.
