Establishes the youth in progress advisory board and regional teams for adolescents in foster care to provide mentorship of youths in foster care; requires reporting.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1760
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Children and Families
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the
youth in progress statewide advisory board and regional teams for
adolescents in foster care for the state
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a
2 new title 1-B to read as follows:
3 TITLE 1-B
4 YOUTH IN PROGRESS
5 Section 394-h. Youth in progress.
6 § 394-h. Youth in progress. 1. The youth in progress statewide advi-
7 sory board is hereby established for the purposes of bringing together
8 youth age fourteen and older who are or have been in foster care in
9 order to discuss common experiences, ideas and concerns. The local
10 social services departments, authorized agencies serving adolescents in
11 foster care, the office of children and family services, and contractors
12 of the office may recruit appropriate youth to participate in the youth
13 in progress statewide advisory board and regional teams on a voluntary
14 basis.
15 2. The office of children and family services shall facilitate the
16 formation of regional youth in progress teams and assist in identifying
17 an adult mentor for each youth team member. The regional youth in
18 progress teams and adult mentors shall meet on a regular basis and shall
19 conduct periodic regional forums for foster care youth to speak out on
20 issues of interest to adolescents in foster care.
21 3. The youth in progress statewide advisory board shall include a
22 representative from the regional teams that will advise the office of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01960-01-5
A. 1760 2
1 children and family services and the council on children and families on
2 issues relating to foster care. In each of the six office of children
3 and family services regions the youth in progress regional team or teams
4 shall nominate up to four youth members and their adult mentors to
5 participate in the youth in progress statewide advisory board. In addi-
6 tion, four youth currently or formerly placed with the office of chil-
7 dren and family services' division of juvenile justice and opportunities
8 for youth shall be selected by the members of the youth in progress
9 statewide advisory board, to be members of the advisory board's member-
10 ship. The youth in progress statewide advisory board shall have up to
11 twenty-eight youth participants and shall meet at least three times each
12 year.
13 4. (a) The youth in progress statewide advisory board may issue an
14 annual report with its recommendations on issues of interest to adoles-
15 cents in foster care. The report may include other information on the
16 activities of the youth in progress statewide advisory board. The office
17 of children and family services shall provide technical assistance to
18 the youth in progress statewide advisory board, including distribution
19 of the annual report. Such reports shall be made available to the public
20 and shall be submitted to: the governor, the legislature, the director
21 of the council on children and families, and the member agencies of the
22 council on children and families. The contents of the youth in progress
23 annual report shall be solely the work product of the youth in progress
24 statewide advisory board and its members, and shall not be revised or
25 edited by the office of children and family services.
26 (b) At least sixty days prior to the commissioner of the office of
27 children and family services final approval of rules and regulations
28 pertaining to foster care or services for adolescents who are or have
29 been in foster care, other than emergency rules and regulations, the
30 commissioner shall submit the proposed rules and regulations to the
31 youth in progress statewide advisory board for review. The youth in
32 progress statewide advisory board may report its recommendations thereon
33 to the commissioner of the office of children and family services within
34 sixty days.
35 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
36 have become a law.
