Establishes a twenty-four hour, toll-free hotline and website for runaway and homeless youth that provides immediate support, referrals, resource lists and other information to such youth.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3590
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a twen-
ty-four hour, toll-free hotline and website for runaway and homeless
youth
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (g) and (h) of subdivision 1 of section 532-b of
2 the executive law, as added by section 3 of part M of chapter 56 of the
3 laws of 2017, are amended and a new paragraph (i) is added to read as
4 follows:
5 (g) contact the appropriate local social services district if it is
6 believed that the youth may be a destitute child, as such term is
7 defined in section one thousand ninety-two of the family court act. The
8 office of children and family services shall provide appropriate guid-
9 ance to the runaway and homeless youth crisis services program on how to
10 accurately identify a youth that may be a destitute child; [and]
11 (h) provide information to eligible youth about their ability to
12 re-enter foster care in accordance with article ten-B of the family
13 court act, and in appropriate cases, refer any such youth who may be
14 interested in re-entering foster care to the applicable local social
15 services district. The office of children and family services shall
16 provide the runaway and homeless youth crisis services program with the
17 appropriate educational materials to give to eligible youth regarding
18 their ability to re-enter foster care. The office of children and family
19 services shall also provide appropriate guidance to the runaway and
20 homeless youth crisis services program on how to accurately identify
21 youth that may be eligible to re-enter foster care and how to refer such
22 youth to the applicable local social services district if
23 appropriate[.]; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07637-01-5
A. 3590 2
1 (i) establish a twenty-four hour, toll-free hotline and website for
2 runaway and homeless youth that shall provide immediate support, refer-
3 rals, resource lists and other information to such youth, including, but
4 not limited to, the location and phone number of relevant services or
5 programs in the area of the state where the youth is located, such as
6 food and hygiene pantries, public transportation, shelters, youth
7 centers, mental health clinics, suicide prevention programs, gender
8 identity counseling, reproductive health clinics, immigration services,
9 veteran's assistance, disability services, domestic violence and crime
10 victims services, addiction counseling, rape and sexual assault
11 prevention and counseling, police stations, medical clinics, and legal
12 aid offices, as well as information on obtaining legal identification.
13 The hotline shall provide linguistic and culturally competent advice for
14 high-risk and specialized populations.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
16 law.
