Requires each social services district to maintain a waiting list of eligible families who have applied for child care assistance; requires the local districts to report such list to the office of children and family services who shall then compile such reports and issue one report to the legislature annually; requires the social services districts to collect data regarding the income of families who have applied, were denied and received child care assistance and issue a report to the office of children and family services who shall then compile such reports and issue one report to the legislature annually.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7724--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
October 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. PERSAUD, KAVANAGH, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Rules -- recommitted to the Committee on Children and Families in
accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- 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 social
services districts to maintain a waiting list of certain families
applying for child care assistance
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 410-z of the social services law, as added by
2 section 52 of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 § 410-z. Reporting requirements. 1. Each social services district
5 shall collect and submit to the [department] office of children and
6 family services, in such form and at such times as specified by the
7 [department] office of children and family services, such data and
8 information regarding child care assistance provided under the block
9 grant as the [department] office of children and family services may
10 need to comply with federal reporting requirements.
11 2. (a) Each social services district shall maintain a waiting list of
12 eligible families who have applied for child care assistance pursuant to
13 this title and who have not received such assistance. Such waiting list
14 shall contain information including, but not limited to:
15 (i) the date the child care assistance was requested;
16 (ii) the date the child care assistance was received;
17 (iii) the age of the child or children the assistance was requested on
18 behalf of; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05295-04-4
S. 7724--B 2
1 (iv) the total number of families on such waiting list as of the first
2 day of each month.
3 (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of children and
4 family services by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty-five, and
5 annually thereafter detailing month-to-month information required pursu-
6 ant to this subdivision for the preceding period of October first
7 through September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
8 (i) the average length of time for families on the waiting list;
9 (ii) the number of families on the waiting list for each of the
10 following time periods:
11 (A) less than two weeks,
12 (B) two weeks to less than a month,
13 (C) one month to less than three months,
14 (D) three months to less than six months,
15 (E) six months to less than a year, and
16 (F) one year or more;
17 (iii) the average age of children represented on the waiting list;
18 (iv) the number of children represented on the waiting list eligible
19 for each:
20 (A) infant,
21 (B) toddler,
22 (C) pre-school, and
23 (D) school-aged subsidized child care slots; and
24 (v) the number of existing infant, toddler, pre-school and school-aged
25 subsidized child care slots;
26 (vi) the number of families who would receive child care assistance
27 except that they are waiting for available slots in a particular child
28 care program; and
29 (vii) other information as the district deems appropriate.
30 3. (a) Each social services district shall collect data regarding the
31 income of families who applied for child care assistance pursuant to
32 this title, specifying:
33 (i) the number of families who were denied;
34 (ii) the number of families who received such assistance; and
35 (iii) a listing of the incomes pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
36 subdivision of the families who applied for such assistance.
37 (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of children and
38 family services by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty-five, and
39 annually thereafter, detailing month-to-month information collected
40 pursuant to this subdivision for the preceding period of October first
41 through September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
42 (i) the number of all families who applied for and received child care
43 assistance pursuant to this title whose:
44 (A) incomes were under fifty percent of the state median income level
45 for their family size,
46 (B) incomes were between fifty percent and seventy-five percent of the
47 state median income level for their family size, and
48 (C) incomes were between seventy-five and eighty-five percent of the
49 state median income level for their family size; and
50 (ii) the number of all families who applied for and were denied child
51 care assistance pursuant to this title whose:
52 (A) incomes were under fifty percent of the state median income level
53 for their family size,
54 (B) incomes were between fifty percent and seventy-five percent of the
55 state median income level for their family size, and
S. 7724--B 3
1 (C) incomes were between seventy-five percent and eighty-five percent
2 of the state median income level for their family size.
3 4. The office of children and family services shall compile such
4 reports pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two, and paragraph (b)
5 of subdivision three of this section, into one comprehensive report
6 containing all required information on a county by county basis. Such
7 report shall be provided to the governor, the speaker of the assembly,
8 the temporary president of the senate, the chairperson of the assembly
9 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the senate
10 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the assembly
11 committee on social services, the chairperson of the senate committee on
12 social services, the chairperson of the assembly ways and means commit-
13 tee and the chairperson of the senate finance committee no later than
14 December first, two thousand twenty-five, and annually thereafter.
15 5. Reports issued and compiled under this section shall not use the
16 name, address, or any other identifying information of an individual who
17 is the subject of the report and shall ensure the anonymity of those
18 included in the reports.
19 § 2. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require local social
20 services districts to maintain waiting lists for dates preceding the
21 effective date of this act, or to collect data pursuant to subdivision 3
22 of section 410-z of the social services law, as added by section one of
23 this act, for persons who applied for subsidized child care prior to the
24 effective date of this act.
25 § 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2024. Effective immediate-
26 ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
27 necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
28 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
