Relates to services available to immigrants residing in certain family and adult shelter facilities; requires the office of New Americans to establish a program to deliver comprehensive case management services to immigrants residing in certain shelters.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8088REVISED 1/12/24
SPONSOR: Forrest TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to services available to
immigrants residing in certain family and adult shelter facilities
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill will require that the Office of New Americans establish a
program tc offer social services needed to assist asylum seekers in
integrating into New York communities within shelter facilities
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends paragraph (m) and (n) of subdivision 5 of 94-b of the
executive law and adds a new paragraph (o) requiring the Office of New
Americans to implement a program to deliver comprehensive case manage-
ment services to immigrants in shelter facilities and to report on the
results of such a program.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
It is essential to the successful integration of new asylum seekers into
New York State that they receive case management services including ESOL
courses, legal assistance, workforce training, and referral to relevant
programs, among others. These services should be made as accessible as
possible to immigrant individuals most in need of them.
The Office of New Americans has extensive experience providing such
services through its Opportunity Centers and has cultivated an expert
network of community-based organizations who have expertise in doing so,
yet they are currently being underutilized as resources to aid in the
integration of a sudden surge of asylum seekers. This bill would bring
the services offered in the Opportunity Centers into shelters, where
many asylum seekers are being directed to stay. This will allow asylum
seekers to more easily access these essential services, and position
providers to best deliver them.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE BASTORY:
None
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8088
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
September 29, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. FORREST -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to services available to
immigrants residing in certain family and adult shelter facilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs (m) and (n) of subdivision 5 of section 94-b of
2 the executive law, as added by chapter 206 of the laws of 2014, are
3 amended and a new paragraph (o) is added to read as follows:
4 (m) Encourage and assist local governments in the development of
5 activities to enhance civic engagement among immigrants and in immigrant
6 communities; [and]
7 (n) Beginning in two thousand fifteen, by June fifteenth of each year,
8 produce a report to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the
9 temporary president of the senate describing the activities of the
10 office, including but not limited to, summarizing calls received through
11 the hotline and website, information on ESOL training services provided
12 by the office, the number of immigrants assisted through the opportunity
13 centers and within shelters, or an estimation thereof, information on
14 services provided within shelters, the status of any workforce develop-
15 ment programs, and any other relevant information[.]; and
16 (o) Subject to available appropriations, establish a program to deliv-
17 er comprehensive case management services to immigrants residing in
18 family and adult shelter facilities operated within the state by a local
19 government or provider under contract or similar agreement with a state
20 agency or a local government.
21 (i) Such program shall contract with established community-based not-
22 for-profit corporations, charitable organizations, or wholly-owned
23 subsidiaries of a not-for-profit corporation or of a charitable organ-
24 ization that has a documented history of assisting immigrant individuals
25 and has at least three years experience providing services to such indi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13261-01-3
A. 8088 2
1 viduals including, but not limited to, ESOL services, legal assistance
2 related to obtaining asylum or other documented statuses, naturalization
3 programs, workforce development programs, and referral to other appro-
4 priate social services and programs.
5 (ii) Services offered by such a program shall be with the explicit
6 goal of transitioning immigrants out of shelter facilities into stable
7 long-term living arrangements.
8 (iii) For the purposes of carrying out such a program, providers shall
9 be given access to shelter facilities and individuals who are residing
10 therein, as well as access to a permanent space within or adjacent to
11 such facilities which shall serve as an office and resource center.
12 (iv) Operators of facilities shall collaborate with contracted organ-
13 izations and prioritize provider's recommendations regarding how to
14 better integrate case management and services into their current oper-
15 ations and shall cooperate with providers to the maximal extent possi-
16 ble.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
