Assembly Bill A6839A

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

                                 6839--A

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             April 19, 2013
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. TITUS, SILVER, NOLAN, HEASTIE, LUPARDO, RUSSELL,
  MOSLEY, CLARK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of  A.  BRAUNSTEIN,  DAVILA,
  FAHY,  JAFFEE,  LAVINE, ROBINSON, SEPULVEDA, SOLAGES, STECK, WEINSTEIN
  -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on  Social  Services  --
  recommitted  to  the  Committee  on Social Services in accordance with
  Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
  reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the twelve month
  work exemption for certain parents or relatives providing child care

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

  Section  1. Subdivision 2 of section 410-x of the social services law,
as amended by chapter 416 of the laws of 2000, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  2.  (a)  A  social  services district may establish priorities for the
families which will be eligible to receive funding;  provided  that  the
priorities  provide that eligible families will receive equitable access
to child care assistance funds to the extent that these funds are avail-
able.
  (b) A social services district shall  set  forth  its  priorities  for
child  care assistance in the district's consolidated services plan. The
commissioner of the office of children and  family  services  shall  not
approve  any  plan  that  does not provide for equitable access to child
care assistance funds.
  (c) A social services  district  shall  be  authorized  to  set  aside
portions  of  its  block  grant  allocation  to serve one or more of its
priority groups and/or to discontinue funding  to  families  with  lower
priorities  in  order to serve families with higher priorities; provided
that the method of disbursement to priority groups provides that  eligi-
ble  families  within  a priority group will receive equitable access to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10226-02-4

              

A. 6839--A                          2

child care assistance funds to the extent that these  funds  are  avail-
able.
  (d)  NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE CONTRARY, THE
COMMISSIONER IN ANY SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT THAT DOES NOT  HAVE  SUFFI-
CIENT  FUNDING  TO SERVE ALL ELIGIBLE WORKING FAMILIES UNDER TWO HUNDRED
PERCENT OF THE STATE INCOME STANDARD, SHALL OFFER THE TWELVE MONTH  WORK
EXEMPTION  PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH (D) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION THREE
HUNDRED THIRTY-TWO OF THIS CHAPTER, TO ALL PARENTS OR OTHER RELATIVES IN
RECEIPT OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE WHO ARE PERSONALLY  PROVIDING  CARE  FOR  A
CHILD  UNDER  ONE YEAR OF AGE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH PARENT OR OTHER
RELATIVE HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN OFFERED AN  EXEMPTION  UNDER  SUCH  SECTION
THREE  HUNDRED  THIRTY-TWO.  THIS SECTION SHALL NOT APPLY TO INDIVIDUALS
WHO:
  (I) SOLELY PARTICIPATE IN WORK ACTIVITIES THAT PROVIDE EARNED  INCOME;
OR
  (II)  PARTICIPATE IN A COMBINATION OF WORK ACTIVITIES; FOR THE PORTION
OF WORK ACTIVITIES THAT PROVIDE EARNED INCOME.
  (E) IN THE EVENT THAT A  SOCIAL  SERVICES  DISTRICT  MUST  DISCONTINUE
FUNDING  TO  A PRIORITY GROUP IT SHALL NOTIFY THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND
FAMILY SERVICES WITHIN TEN DAYS OF SUCH ACTION, IDENTIFYING THE  PARTIC-
ULAR  GROUP  AFFECTED. IN THE EVENT THAT FUNDING IS RESTORED, THE SOCIAL
SERVICES DISTRICT  SHALL  NOTIFY  THE  OFFICE  OF  CHILDREN  AND  FAMILY
SERVICES WITHIN TEN DAYS OF SUCH RESTORATION.
  (F)  Each  social  services  district  shall collect and submit to the
commissioner of the office of children and family services in  a  manner
to be specified by the commissioner of the office of children and family
services  information  concerning the disbursement of child care assist-
ance funds showing geographic distribution of children receiving assist-
ance within the district, THE NUMBER OF WORKING FAMILIES WHO WERE OTHER-
WISE ELIGIBLE FOR CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE BUT WHO WERE DENIED BECAUSE  THE
DISTRICT  LACKED  SUFFICIENT  FUNDING TO SERVE ALL ELIGIBLE FAMILIES AND
THE NUMBER AND AGE OF CHILDREN WHO COULD NOT BE SERVED AS A RESULT.
  [(e)] (G) The commissioner  of  the  office  of  children  and  family
services  shall  submit a report to the governor, temporary president of
the senate and the speaker of the assembly on or before  August  thirty-
first[, two thousand one] OF EVERY YEAR concerning the implementation of
this  section.  This  report  shall  include  information concerning the
disbursement of child care assistance funds showing geographic  distrib-
ution  of  children  receiving  assistance  within  the state. BEGINNING
AUGUST THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND FIFTEEN, SUCH REPORT, AND EACH  SUBSE-
QUENT REPORT THEREAFTER, SHALL ALSO:
  (I)  IDENTIFY  THE COUNTIES THAT HAVE DISCONTINUED OR RESTORED FUNDING
TO PRIORITY GROUPS, AS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION (E) OF THIS SECTION;
  (II) LIST THE PRIORITY GROUPS AFFECTED;
  (III) PROVIDE FOR EACH COUNTY FOR EACH OF THE TWELVE MONTHS COVERED BY
THIS REPORT THE NUMBER OF WORKING FAMILIES WHO WERE  OTHERWISE  ELIGIBLE
FOR  CHILD  CARE  ASSISTANCE  BUT  WHO  WERE DENIED BECAUSE THE DISTRICT
LACKED SUFFICIENT FUNDING TO SERVE ALL ELIGIBLE FAMILIES; AND
  (IV) THE NUMBER AND AGE OF CHILDREN WHO  COULD  NOT  BE  SERVED  AS  A
RESULT.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.