S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  5924

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 18, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to commission a  study  regarding  the  quality  of  health  care
  services received by foster children in New York state

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. 1. The commissioner of the office of  children  and  family
services shall contract with an external research organization to evalu-
ate the implementation and effectiveness of New York state's health care
delivery system for children in the care, custody or guardianship of the
office  of  children  and  family  services  or  local  social  services
districts pursuant to articles 3, 7 and 10 of the family  court  act  or
section  358-a,  384-a  or 384-b of the social services law.  The evalu-
ation shall include recommendations for improving the access to, and the
quality of, health and behavioral health services for  children  in  the
care,  custody  or  guardianship  of  the  office of children and family
services or the local social services district. Such commissioner  shall
select  such  research  organization pursuant to a request for proposals
process.  Preference shall be given to an organization based on adequacy
of the proposed research  design,  research  staff  qualifications,  and
availability  of  non-state  dollars  to  support the project, and other
criteria as determined by the commissioner of the office of children and
family services. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, an
examination of:
  (a) the quality of health and behavioral health services  provided  to
children  in the care, custody or guardianship of the office of children
and family services or the local social  services  district,  including,
but  not  limited to, whether children are receiving effective or neces-
sary treatment in a timely fashion and  in  accordance  with  the  regu-
lations of the office of children and family services;
  (b)  the  average  length  of  time from referrals for children in the
care, custody or guardianship of  the  office  of  children  and  family
services  or the local social services district, to receive treatment to
the date of initial treatment;

              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD07737-01-9

S. 5924                             2

  (c) whether sufficient  information  is  provided  to  educate  foster
parents  on the health care delivery system for foster children, includ-
ing identification of providers and appropriate billing arrangements;
  (d) the existence and adequacy of current oversight practice regarding
health  care  services for children in the care, custody or guardianship
of the office of children  and  family  services  or  the  local  social
services  district,  including monitoring or record keeping practices of
voluntary agencies, social services districts, family courts, the office
of children and family services and the department of health;
  (e) whether foster children who receive health care coverage under the
medicaid per-diem system receive adequate health and  behavioral  health
services;
  (f) whether foster children who receive health care coverage under the
medicaid  fee-for  service system receive adequate health and behavioral
health services;
  (g) to what extent the medicaid per-diem is used in  conjunction  with
direct  billing under fee-for service and whether this practice provides
foster children with adequate health and behavioral health services;
  (h) whether foster children who receive health care  services  through
enrollment  in  a medicaid managed care plan receive adequate health and
behavioral health services;
  (i) whether any difficulties exist in accessing prescription drugs for
foster children;
  (j) whether foster children or foster parents  are  being  billed  for
health care services provided to foster children which should be covered
under medicaid;
  (k) the number of voluntary agencies throughout the state that provide
health  care  services  to  foster children in their care through health
care professionals employed by their agency;
  (l) the quality of health care provided by health  care  professionals
hired  by  voluntary  agencies  and the benefits and drawbacks of having
health care services provided by voluntary agencies;
  (m) whether children leaving foster  care  or  placement  in  juvenile
justice  facilities, who would be otherwise eligible for medicaid cover-
age upon leaving placement, experience difficulty in  accessing  transi-
tional medicaid coverage or medicaid coverage in the community; and
  (n) what barriers exist for children in the care, custody or guardian-
ship  of  the office of children and family services or the local social
services district, to access health care services in the community.
  2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the selected  organ-
ization  shall  have access to necessary non-identifiable data collected
by the office of children and family services, the department of health,
local social  services  districts  and  voluntary  agencies,  and  shall
collect supplemental data as needed to conduct a thorough and comprehen-
sive  evaluation. Data collected shall not reveal the name, social secu-
rity number or any other information which may be used to  identify  the
child or the family of the child.
  3.  The  commissioner  of  the  office of children and family services
shall submit a report detailing the findings of such study to the gover-
nor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly,
and the chairperson of the senate committee on social services, children
and families, the chairperson of the assembly committee on children  and
families  and  the chairpersons of the senate and assembly committees on
health on or before June 30, 2011.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.