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
________________________________________________________________________
9287
IN ASSEMBLY
February 11, 2016
___________
Introduced by M. of A. RICHARDSON -- 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 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. Youth in progress.
6 § 394. Youth in progress. 1. The youth in progress statewide advisory
7 board is hereby established for the purposes of bringing together youth
8 age fourteen and older who are or have been in foster care in order to
9 discuss common experiences, ideas and concerns. The local social
10 services departments, authorized agencies serving adolescents in foster
11 care, the office of children and family services, and contractors of the
12 office may recruit appropriate youth to participate in the youth in
13 progress advisory board and regional teams on a voluntary basis.
14 2. The office of children and family services shall facilitate the
15 formation of regional youth in progress teams and assist in identifying
16 an adult mentor for each youth team member. The regional youth in
17 progress teams and adult mentors shall meet on a regular basis and shall
18 conduct periodic regional forums for foster care youth to speak out on
19 issues of interest to adolescents in foster care.
20 3. The youth in progress statewide advisory board, shall include a
21 representative from the regional teams that will advise the office of
22 children and family services and the council on children and families on
23 issues relating to foster care. In each of the six office of children
24 and family services regions the youth in progress regional team or teams
25 shall nominate up to four youth members and their adult mentors to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02293-01-5
A. 9287 2
1 participate in the statewide youth in progress advisory board. In addi-
2 tion, four youth currently or formerly placed with the office of chil-
3 dren and family services' division of juvenile justice and opportunities
4 for youth shall be selected by the members of the statewide youth in
5 progress advisory board, to be members of the advisory board's member-
6 ship. The statewide youth in progress advisory board shall have up to
7 twenty-eight youth participants and shall meet at least three times each
8 year.
9 4. (a) The statewide youth in progress board may issue an annual
10 report with its recommendations on issues of interest to adolescents in
11 foster care. The report may include other information on the activities
12 of the youth in progress board. The office of children and family
13 services shall provide technical assistance to the statewide youth in
14 progress board, including distribution of the annual report. Such
15 reports shall be made available to the public and shall be submitted to:
16 the governor, the legislature, the director of the council on children
17 and families, and the member agencies of the council on children and
18 families. The contents of the youth in progress annual report shall be
19 solely the work product of the youth in progress board and its members,
20 and shall not be revised or edited by the office of children and family
21 services.
22 (b) At least sixty days prior to the commissioner of the office of
23 children and family services final approval of rules and regulations
24 pertaining to foster care or services for adolescents who are or have
25 been in foster care, other than emergency rules and regulations, the
26 commissioner shall submit the proposed rules and regulations to the
27 statewide youth in progress advisory board for review. The statewide
28 youth in progress board may report its recommendations thereon to the
29 commissioner of the office of children and family services within sixty
30 days.
31 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
32 have become a law.
