Senate Bill S7272

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7272

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the tax law, in relation to
providing tax credit for foster care placements

 PURPOSE :

To provide a $2,500 credit against tax for every acceptance by a
foster care parent of a foster care placement.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 amends § 606 of the Tax Law by adding a new subsection
establishing a credit for a foster care parent equal to $2,500 for
each foster care placement.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 EXISTING LAW :

Section 606 of the Tax Law, provides state credits against the
personal income tax. Currently, there are no state credits against tax
specifically for foster care parenting. At the federal level, the
Child Tax Credit is a tax credit offered by the federal government for
taxpayers raising dependent children under the age of 17.  Qualifying
children include foster children who are placed with the worker by an
              

authorized private or governmental placement agency.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Every year, over 2,000 children from families in crisis are taken into
custody or leave the custody of the Empire State's human services
agencies, joining 15,000 to 17,000 children already in New York's
foster care system. Of the 18,000 to 19,000 children, some are in care
for a few months, others may be in for years, waiting to return home,
be adopted into new families or to age out of the system.

Unfortunately, with only 8,000 to 11,000 foster care placements
available from year to year, Social Service officials say they face a
constant shortage of homes where at risk infants, children and teens
can be placed, requiring New York State to pay for much more expensive
residential care in institutions, group homes, and agency operated
boarding homes for thousands of children.

For families interested in foster care, New York State imposes strict
and extensive requirements they must meet before they can serve
children in crisis. Families must also undergo extensive training,
obtain a license and agree to participate in a regular monitoring
program.

Foster families are not paid for undergoing the extensive training or
an hourly wage for providing 24-hour care for the children they take
into their home. They do receive financial compensation for room and
boarding costs to cover food, clothing, shelter, transportation and
other needs.

A $2,500 per family tax credit would help demonstrate New York State's
appreciation to families who open their homes to these at-risk
children, while helping to reduce the costs of providing much more
expensive residential care for children who currently cannot be placed
in foster care because of the continuing shortage.

Foster families are needed to help children from a wide variety of
backgrounds, including:
- Children who have lost their homes and families
- Children who have been physically, sexually or mentally abused
- Children who have been in residential treatment
- Children with developmental delays
- Children were severe physical, psychological or emotional
disabilities
- Children whose families have failed to properly care for them
- Children whose families are wracked by alcohol or substance abuse

Some children are returned home after only a few months; others after
a year or more. Sometimes, children who can't go home become eligible
for adoption; others remain in foster care until age 21 when they age
out of the system.

Currently, the federal government provides a tax credit to encourage
adoptions, but foster care is currently ineligible for any tax
credits.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

New bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable
years beginning on or after January 1, 2016.