Requires each social services district to maintain a waiting list of eligible families who have applied for child care assistance; further 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; further 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
________________________________________________________________________
6286
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 11, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
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
19 (iv) the total number of families on such waiting list as of the first
20 day of each month.
21 (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of children and
22 family services by October fifteenth, two thousand nineteen, and annual-
23 ly thereafter detailing month-to-month information required pursuant to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06187-01-7
S. 6286 2
1 this subdivision for the preceding period of October first through
2 September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
3 (i) the average length of time for families on the waiting list;
4 (ii) the number of families on the waiting list for each of the
5 following time periods:
6 (A) less than two weeks,
7 (B) two weeks to less than a month,
8 (C) one month to less than three months,
9 (D) three months to less than six months,
10 (E) six months to less than a year, and
11 (F) one year or more;
12 (iii) the average age of children represented on the waiting list;
13 (iv) the number of children represented on the waiting list eligible
14 for each:
15 (A) infant,
16 (B) toddler,
17 (C) pre-school, and
18 (D) school-aged subsidized child care slots; and
19 (v) the number of existing infant, toddler, pre-school and school-aged
20 subsidized child care slots;
21 (vi) the number of families who would receive child care assistance
22 except that they are waiting for available slots in a particular child
23 care program; and
24 (vii) other information as the district deems appropriate.
25 3. (a) Each social services district shall collect data regarding the
26 income of families who applied for child care assistance pursuant to
27 this title, specifying:
28 (i) the number of families who were denied;
29 (ii) the number of families who received such assistance; and
30 (iii) a listing of the incomes pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
31 subdivision of the families who applied for such assistance.
32 (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of children and
33 family services by October fifteenth, two thousand nineteen, and annual-
34 ly thereafter, detailing month-to-month information collected pursuant
35 to this subdivision for the preceding period of October first through
36 September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
37 (i) the number of all families who applied for and received child care
38 assistance pursuant to this title whose:
39 (A) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
40 level for their family size,
41 (B) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred fifty
42 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size, and
43 (C) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and two hundred
44 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
45 (ii) the number of all families who applied for and were denied child
46 care assistance pursuant to this title whose:
47 (A) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
48 level for their family size,
49 (B) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred fifty
50 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size, and
51 (C) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and two hundred
52 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size.
53 4. The office of children and family services shall compile such
54 reports pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two, and paragraph (b)
55 of subdivision three of this section, into one comprehensive report
56 containing all required information on a county by county basis. Such
S. 6286 3
1 report shall be provided to the governor, the speaker of the assembly,
2 the temporary president of the senate, the chairperson of the assembly
3 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the senate
4 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the assembly
5 committee on social services, the chairperson of the senate committee on
6 social services, the chairperson of the assembly ways and means commit-
7 tee and the chairperson of the senate finance committee no later than
8 December first, two thousand nineteen, and annually thereafter.
9 § 2. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require local social
10 services districts to maintain waiting lists for dates preceding the
11 effective date of this act, or to collect data pursuant to subdivision 3
12 of section 410-z of the social services law, as added by section one of
13 this act, for persons who applied for subsidized child care prior to the
14 effective date of this act.
15 § 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2018; provided, however,
16 that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
17 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
18 effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on
19 or before such effective date.
