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

                                  1861

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 13, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. MAYER, ABINANTI, AUBRY, BUCHWALD, GALEF, JAFFEE,
  LAVINE,  OTIS,  SCHIMEL,  PAULIN,  LUPARDO,  ROBERTS,  PEOPLES-STOKES,
  SKOUFIS,  ZEBROWSKI  --  Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, COOK,
  THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services

AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring  local
  social  services districts to obtain approval by the governing body of
  such district prior to applying to the office of children  and  family
  services to amend the consolidated services plan

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

  Section 1. Section 34-a of the  social  services  law  is  amended  by
adding a new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
  9.  AN  APPLICATION  BY  A LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT TO AMEND ITS
CONSOLIDATED SERVICES PLAN,  SUBMIT  AN  ANNUAL  PLAN  UPDATE,  OR  SEEK
APPROVAL  FOR  ANY  ACTION  WHICH WOULD REDUCE THE AVAILABILITY OF CHILD
CARE SERVICES, LOWER ELIGIBILITY FOR CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES, OR MODIFY THE
CO-PAYMENT STRUCTURE SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED BY THE OFFICE  UNLESS  SUCH
APPLICATION  IS  ACCOMPANIED  BY  PROOF  THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF SUCH
DISTRICT HAS APPROVED THE APPLICATION AFTER PUBLIC NOTICE AND HEARING.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.




 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00269-01-5


              

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

                                 1861--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 13, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. MAYER, ABINANTI, AUBRY, BUCHWALD, GALEF, JAFFEE,
  LAVINE,  OTIS,  SCHIMEL,  PAULIN,  LUPARDO,  ROBERTS,  PEOPLES-STOKES,
  SKOUFIS,  ZEBROWSKI  --  Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, COOK,
  THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on  Social  Services
  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
  and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring  local
  social  services districts to obtain approval by the governing body of
  such district prior to applying to the office of children  and  family
  services to amend the consolidated services plan

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

  Section 1. Section 34-a of the  social  services  law  is  amended  by
adding a new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
  10.  AN  APPLICATION  BY A LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT TO AMEND ITS
CONSOLIDATED SERVICES PLAN,  SUBMIT  AN  ANNUAL  PLAN  UPDATE,  OR  SEEK
APPROVAL  FOR  ANY  ACTION  WHICH WOULD REDUCE THE AVAILABILITY OF CHILD
CARE SERVICES, LOWER ELIGIBILITY FOR CHILD CARE SUBSIDIES, OR MODIFY THE
CO-PAYMENT STRUCTURE SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED BY THE OFFICE  UNLESS  SUCH
APPLICATION  IS  ACCOMPANIED  BY  PROOF  THAT THE GOVERNING BODY OF SUCH
DISTRICT HAS APPROVED THE APPLICATION AFTER PUBLIC NOTICE AND HEARING.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.




 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00269-03-5


              

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

                                 1861--B

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 13, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. MAYER, ABINANTI, AUBRY, BUCHWALD, GALEF, JAFFEE,
  LAVINE,  OTIS,  SCHIMEL,  PAULIN,  LUPARDO,  ROBERTS,  PEOPLES-STOKES,
  SKOUFIS,  ZEBROWSKI  --  Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, COOK,
  THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on  Social  Services
  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
  and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said  commit-
  tee  with  amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to
  said committee

AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring  local
  social  services districts to obtain approval by the governing body of
  such district prior to applying to the office of children  and  family
  services to amend the consolidated services plan

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

  Section 1. Subdivisions 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of section 34-a of the social
services law, subdivision 5 as added by chapter 681 of the laws of 1981,
subdivision 6 as added by chapter 160 of the laws of 2004, paragraph (a)
of subdivision 6 as amended by section 8 of part G of chapter 57 of  the
laws of 2013, subdivision 7 as added by chapter 524 of the laws of 2005,
subdivision  8  as added by chapter 543 of the laws of 2006 and subdivi-
sion 9 as added by chapter 495 of the laws of 2014, are amended to  read
as follows:
  5.  AMENDMENTS MADE TO THE MULTI-YEAR CONSOLIDATED SERVICES PLAN.  (A)
A  LOCAL  SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT MAY PROPOSE AMENDMENTS TO THE PLAN AT
ANY TIME. IF A LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT PROPOSES AN  AMENDMENT  TO
THE  CHILD  CARE  PORTION  OF  ITS  CHILD  AND FAMILY SERVICES PLAN THAT
REDUCES ELIGIBILITY OR INCREASES THE FAMILY SHARE PERCENTAGE  FOR  CHILD
CARE  SERVICES,  THE AMENDMENT SHALL BE PUBLISHED FOR PUBLIC COMMENT AND
SHALL BE PRESENTED TO THE LOCAL ADVISORY BOARD FOR  APPROVAL,  PRIOR  TO
SUBMISSION  TO THE OFFICE. IF AN AMENDMENT IS APPROVED BY THE OFFICE, IT
BECOMES EFFECTIVE ON THE DATE SO DESIGNATED BY THE COMMISSIONER.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD00269-04-5
              

A. 1861--B                          2

  (B) AFTER AN AMENDMENT IS APPROVED BY THE OFFICE  AND  IMPLEMENTED  BY
THE  LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT, THE DISTRICT SHALL SUPPLY THE CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OR FOR LOCAL  SOCIAL  SERVICES  DISTRICTS  WITHOUT  A
CHIEF  EXECUTIVE  OFFICER,  THE  LOCAL  LEGISLATIVE  BODY, WITH EVIDENCE
SUPPORTING THE NEED FOR SUCH AMENDMENT.
  6.  The  commissioner shall promulgate regulations concerning the time
by which:
  (a) each local social services district shall  submit  its  multi-year
services plan and annual implementation report;
  (b)  the  commissioner  shall,  in writing, notify a local district of
approval or disapproval of all or parts of  such  district's  multi-year
services plan or annual implementation reports; and
  (c) each local social services district shall submit a revised version
of  its  multi-year  services  plan  or annual implementation report, or
parts thereof.
  [6.] 7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office  of
children  and  family  services shall plan for the statewide implementa-
tion, by the thirty-first day of December, two thousand  eight,  of  the
use  by  counties  of a child and family services plan that combines the
multi-year consolidated services plan required by this section  and  the
comprehensive plan required by section four hundred twenty of the execu-
tive law into a single plan.
  (b)  All  counties  shall implement a county child and family services
plan prior to or by the two thousand eight plan year in accordance  with
a  schedule  developed by the office of children and family services and
shall continue to implement such a plan thereafter. With the approval of
such office, a county may implement such a plan before the date required
by such schedule.
  (c) The office of children and family services may waive any regulato-
ry requirements relating to the content and timing of multi-year consol-
idated services plans and annual implementation reports that may  impede
the  ability of a county to implement a county child and family services
plan.
  (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to affect county plan-
ning requirements under the mental hygiene law.
  [7.] 8. (a) From monies appropriated to the  office  of  children  and
family  services  for the family and children's services foster care and
adoption program, the office  shall  give  assistance  to  local  social
services  districts to enable them to collect statistics and to describe
the steps being taken regarding: the number of families needing  preven-
tive services as provided for in title four of article six of this chap-
ter  for  which  services  are  provided;  the effectiveness of specific
preventive services in preventing unnecessary foster care placements and
reducing the length of stay in foster care; the efforts made to  prevent
unnecessary  placements;  the  use of the least restrictive settings and
the proximity of foster care placements to the child's home; the use  of
kinship  placements;  the  placement  of  siblings  with  one another at
initial placement or as soon  thereafter  as  possible;  the  number  of
transfers  of  children  in  foster  care placements and the reasons for
those transfers; the number of families reunited in fulfillment  of  the
child's  service goal plan and the length of placement prior to reunifi-
cation; the number of children  prepared  for  independent  living;  the
number  of  children with adoption as a service plan goal; the number of
children freed for adoption and the  length  of  time  taken  to  secure
terminations of parental rights; the number of children placed in pre-a-

A. 1861--B                          3

doptive  homes  and  the number of adoptions completed and the length of
time taken to complete them.
  (b)  Such data submitted to the office of children and family services
shall be aggregated and submitted with a narrative report on these chil-
dren's services, to the governor and the majority leader of  the  senate
and  the  speaker  of the assembly on or before July first, two thousand
five and semiannually thereafter.
  [8.] 9. The commissioner of the office of children and family services
shall, in conjunction with the commissioner of education, develop  model
practices  and procedures for local social services districts and school
districts regarding  the  reporting  and  investigation  of  educational
neglect.  Such  model  practices  and  procedures  shall be available to
social services districts and school districts and shall  be  posted  on
the office of children and family services website and the state depart-
ment  of education website by September first, two thousand seven.  Each
social  services  district  shall,  in  conjunction  with  local  school
districts  within  its  district, submit written policies and procedures
regarding the reporting of educational neglect by each  school  district
within  such  social  services  district and the investigation of educa-
tional neglect allegations by child protective services.  Such  policies
and  procedures  shall be submitted to the office of children and family
services for review by January first, two thousand eight and the  office
shall  approve  or  disapprove such local policies and procedures, based
upon the model practices and procedures established in conjunction  with
the state department of education, within sixty days of submission.
  [9.]  10.  (a)  In  order  to allow families time to properly plan for
their financial needs and for the safety, social and emotional needs  of
their children, in the event that a social services district proposes to
amend  its consolidated services plan, submits an annual plan update, or
takes any other action that would lower the financial eligibility  level
for  child  care  assistance  so that families receiving subsidies would
lose  eligibility  [therefore]  THEREFOR,  the  local  social   services
district shall notify the office of children and family services of that
fact  at  least  sixty  days  before  the effective date of the proposed
change in eligibility level. The office of children and family  services
shall  post notice of the proposed change on the office's website within
five days of receiving said notice, and within twenty days of  receiving
said  notice  shall  notify  all licensed, registered and legally-exempt
child care providers in the affected  district,  the  state  child  care
resource and referral agency, the local child care resource and referral
agency,  as  well  as  all certified employee organizations representing
licensed, registered and legally-exempt  child  care  providers  in  the
affected  district. Said notice may be made by e-mail or regular mail in
the form of a letter or postcard, and shall inform the recipient of  the
date  of  the  proposed change and a description of the proposed change.
The notice shall also require that child care providers that receive the
notice immediately post the notice in a place which is likely to be seen
by the families who have children in the provider's care and that certi-
fied employee organizations representing licensed, registered and legal-
ly-exempt child care providers in the affected district post the  notice
on  their  official  website.  This  notice shall not be considered as a
substitute for any notice to parents which is required by law.
  (b) In order to allow families time to properly plan for their  finan-
cial needs and for the safety, social and emotional needs of their chil-
dren, in the event that a social services district proposes to amend its
consolidated  services  plan  or  to  submit  an annual plan update that

A. 1861--B                          4

increases the parental co-payment multiplier for child  care  assistance
so  that  families receiving subsidies would pay an increased percentage
of their income as a child care co-payment, the  local  social  services
district shall notify the office of children and family services of that
fact  at  least  sixty  days  before  the effective date of the proposed
change in eligibility level. The office of children and family  services
shall  post notice of the proposed change on the office's website within
five days of receiving said notice, and within twenty days of  receiving
said  notice  shall  notify  all licensed, registered and legally-exempt
child care providers in the affected  district,  the  state  child  care
resource and referral agency, the local child care resource and referral
agency,  as  well  as  all certified employee organizations representing
licensed, registered and legally-exempt  child  care  providers  in  the
affected  district. Said notice may be made by e-mail or regular mail in
the form of a letter or postcard, and shall inform the recipient of  the
date  of  the  proposed change and a description of the proposed change.
The notice shall also require that child care providers that receive the
notice immediately post the notice in a place which is likely to be seen
by the families who have children in the provider's care and that certi-
fied employee organizations representing licensed, registered and legal-
ly-exempt child care providers in the affected district post the  notice
on  their  official  website.  This  notice shall not be considered as a
substitute for any notice to parents which is required by law.
  S 2. Subdivision 6 of section 34-a of  the  social  services  law,  as
added by chapter 160 of the laws of 2004, is amended to read as follows:
  [6.]  7. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office of
children and family services shall plan for  the  statewide  implementa-
tion,  by  the  thirty-first day of December, two thousand eight, of the
use by counties of a child and family services plan  that  combines  the
multi-year  consolidated  services plan required by this section and the
county comprehensive plan required by section four hundred twenty of the
executive law into a single plan.
  (b) All counties shall implement a county child  and  family  services
plan  prior to or by the two thousand eight plan year in accordance with
a schedule developed by the office of children and family  services  and
shall continue to implement such a plan thereafter. With the approval of
such office, a county may implement such a plan before the date required
by such schedule.
  (c) The office of children and family services may waive any regulato-
ry requirements relating to the content and timing of multi-year consol-
idated  services plans and annual implementation reports that may impede
the ability of a county to implement a county child and family  services
plan.
  (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to affect county plan-
ning requirements under the mental hygiene law.
  S  3.  The social services law is amended by adding a new section 34-b
to read as follows:
  S 34-B. LOCAL ADVISORY BOARDS. 1. EACH LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES  DISTRICT
SHALL ESTABLISH A LOCAL ADVISORY BOARD THAT WILL ASSIST THE COMMISSIONER
IN THE CREATION OF THE MULTI-YEAR CONSOLIDATED SERVICES PLAN, AS WELL AS
APPROVE  ANY AMENDMENTS PROPOSED PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION
THIRTY-FOUR-A OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW. EXCEPT WHEN  AN  AMENDMENT  IS
PROPOSED,  THE  LOCAL  ADVISORY  BOARD  SHALL BE INVOLVED IN AN ADVISORY
CAPACITY ONLY, IN POLICY DEVELOPMENT, PROGRAM PLANNING AND PROGRAM EVAL-
UATION CARRIED ON BY THE SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT WITH RESPECT TO PUBLIC
ASSISTANCE, MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AND SERVICES.

A. 1861--B                          5

  2. (A) FOR LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES  DISTRICTS  WITH  A  CHIEF  EXECUTIVE
OFFICER  THE  LOCAL  ADVISORY  BOARD SHALL CONSIST OF NINE MEMBERS, FOUR
MEMBERS SHALL BE APPOINTED  BY  THE  LOCAL  LEGISLATIVE  BODY  AND  FIVE
MEMBERS  SHALL  BE  APPOINTED  BY  THE  CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER UPON THE
RECOMMENDATION  OF THE COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SERVICES. FOR LOCAL SOCIAL
SERVICES DISTRICTS WITHOUT A CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, THE LOCAL ADVISORY
BOARD SHALL CONSIST OF FIFTEEN MEMBERS, FIVE MEMBERS SHALL BE  APPOINTED
BY  THE COMMISSIONER OF THE LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT, FIVE MEMBERS
SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE  LOCAL  LEGISLATIVE  BODY  AND
FIVE SHALL BE APPOINTED BY THE MINORITY OF THE LOCAL LEGISLATIVE BODY.
  (B) THE LOCAL ADVISORY BOARD SHALL BE COMPOSED OF THE FOLLOWING CLASS-
ES OF PERSONS:
  (1)  RECIPIENTS  OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE (INCLUDING SSI AND FOOD STAMPS),
MEDICAL  ASSISTANCE  AND  CHILD  CARE  SERVICES--AT  LEAST   TWENTY-FIVE
PERCENT;
  (2)  PROVIDERS  OF  SOCIAL  SERVICES, MEDICAL SERVICES AND DOMICILIARY
CARE (OTHER THAN EMPLOYEES OF THE STATE OR LOCAL DEPARTMENTS  OF  SOCIAL
SERVICES); AND
  (3) MEMBERS OF THE GENERAL PUBLIC (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO REPRE-
SENTATIVES  OF  PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORK ASSOCIATIONS, SCHOOLS OF SOCIAL
WORK, LABOR ORGANIZATIONS, PUBLIC  INTEREST  GROUPS,  CLIENT  ADVOCATES,
COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL COMMUNITY).
  S  4.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the amendments to paragraph (a) of subdivision 6 of section 34-a of  the
social  services law made by section one of this act shall be subject to
the expiration and reversion of such paragraph when upon such  date  the
provisions of section two of this act shall take effect.