STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7694
IN SENATE
February 7, 2020
___________
Introduced by Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Social Services
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 twenty-one, and annu-
23 ally thereafter detailing month-to-month information required pursuant
24 to this subdivision for the preceding period of October first through
25 September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
26 (i) the average length of time for families on the waiting list;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14523-01-9
S. 7694 2
1 (ii) the number of families on the waiting list for each of the
2 following time periods:
3 (A) less than two weeks,
4 (B) two weeks to less than a month,
5 (C) one month to less than three months,
6 (D) three months to less than six months,
7 (E) six months to less than a year, and
8 (F) one year or more;
9 (iii) the average age of children represented on the waiting list;
10 (iv) the number of children represented on the waiting list eligible
11 for each:
12 (A) infant,
13 (B) toddler,
14 (C) pre-school, and
15 (D) school-aged subsidized child care slots; and
16 (v) the number of existing infant, toddler, pre-school and school-aged
17 subsidized child care slots;
18 (vi) the number of families who would receive child care assistance
19 except that they are waiting for available slots in a particular child
20 care program; and
21 (vii) other information as the district deems appropriate.
22 (c) For purposes of this subdivision, "eligible family" shall include
23 all families with incomes at or below two hundred percent of the federal
24 poverty level, as most recently reported by the federal department of
25 health and human services, who are otherwise eligible, but who may have
26 been denied assistance because the local social services district does
27 not have enough funds to serve all eligible families and has opted to
28 apply its funds to lower income families as a priority population.
29 3. (a) Each social services district shall collect data regarding the
30 income of families who applied for child care assistance pursuant to
31 this title, specifying:
32 (i) the number of families who were denied;
33 (ii) the number of families who received such assistance; and
34 (iii) a listing of the incomes pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
35 subdivision of the families who applied for such assistance.
36 (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of children and
37 family services by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty-one, and annu-
38 ally thereafter, detailing month-to-month information collected pursuant
39 to this subdivision for the preceding period of October first through
40 September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
41 (i) the number of all families who applied for and received child care
42 assistance pursuant to this title whose:
43 (A) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
44 level for their family size and were in receipt of cash public assist-
45 ance;
46 (B) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
47 level for their family size and were not in receipt of cash public
48 assistance;
49 (C) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred twen-
50 ty-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
51 (D) incomes were between one hundred twenty-six and one hundred fifty
52 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
53 (E) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and one hundred
54 seventy-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
55 and
S. 7694 3
1 (F) incomes were between one hundred seventy-six and two hundred
2 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
3 (ii) the number of all families who applied for and were denied child
4 care assistance pursuant to this title whose:
5 (A) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
6 level for their family size, and who were in receipt of cash public
7 assistance;
8 (B) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal poverty
9 level for their family size and who were not in receipt of cash public
10 assistance;
11 (C) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred twen-
12 ty-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
13 (D) incomes were between one hundred twenty-six percent and one
14 hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty level for their family
15 size;
16 (E) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and one hundred
17 seventy-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
18 and
19 (F) incomes were between one hundred seventy-six and two hundred
20 percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
21 (iii) any other information as the office of children and family
22 services deems appropriate.
23 4. The office of children and family services shall compile such
24 reports pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two, and paragraph (b)
25 of subdivision three of this section, into one comprehensive report
26 containing all required information on a county by county basis. Such
27 report shall be provided to the governor, the speaker of the assembly,
28 the temporary president of the senate, the chairperson of the assembly
29 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the senate
30 committee on children and families, the chairperson of the assembly
31 committee on social services, the chairperson of the senate committee on
32 social services, the chairperson of the assembly ways and means commit-
33 tee and the chairperson of the senate finance committee no later than
34 December first, two thousand twenty-one, and annually thereafter.
35 § 2. Nothing in this act shall be construed to require local social
36 services districts to maintain waiting lists for dates preceding the
37 effective date of this act, or to collect data pursuant to subdivision 3
38 of section 410-z of the social services law, as added by section one of
39 this act, for persons who applied for subsidized child care prior to the
40 effective date of this act.
41 § 3. This act shall take effect October 1, 2020; provided, however,
42 that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
43 rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its
44 effective date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on
45 or before such effective date.