S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2662
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 20, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SEAWRIGHT
   -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the executive law, in relation to expanding the duties
   of the office of children and family services concerning lesbian, gay,
   bisexual, and transgender runaway and homeless youth

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 532-e of the executive law, as amended by chapter
 182 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
   § 532-e. Powers and duties  of  the  office  of  children  and  family
 services.  The  office  of children and family services shall:  [(a)] 1.
 visit, inspect and make periodic reports on the operation  and  adequacy
 of approved runaway programs and transitional independent living support
 programs;
   [(b)]  2.  certify  residential  facilities  providing care to runaway
 and/or homeless youth, provided, however, that no certification shall be
 issued or renewed until it can be demonstrated that a  program  operated
 pursuant  to  this  article  has  consistent with appropriate collective
 bargaining agreements and applicable provisions  of  the  civil  service
 law,  developed and implemented a procedure for reviewing and evaluating
 the backgrounds of and the information supplied by any  person  applying
 to  be an employee, volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not
 be limited to the following requirements: that the applicants set  forth
 his  or  her  employment history, provide personal and employment refer-
 ences and sign a sworn statement indicating whether  the  applicant,  to
 the  best of his or her knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in
 this state or any other jurisdiction;
   [(c)] 3. maintain a register of  approved  runaway  programs,  transi-
 tional  independent  living  support  programs  and runaway and homeless
 youth service coordinators;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05185-01-7
              

 A. 2662                             2
 
   [(d)] 4. submit to the  governor  and  legislature  an  annual  report
 detailing the numbers and characteristics of runaway and otherwise home-
 less youth throughout the state and their problems and service needs;
   [(e)]  5.  develop  and  promulgate  in consultation with county youth
 bureaus and organizations or programs which  have  had  past  experience
 dealing  with  runaway  and  homeless  youth, regulations concerning the
 coordination and integration  of  services  available  for  runaway  and
 otherwise homeless youth and prohibiting the disclosure or transferal of
 any  records  containing  the  identity  of  individual  youth receiving
 services pursuant to this section, without the written  consent  of  the
 youth; [and]
   [(f)]  6.  develop and promulgate regulations in consultation with the
 office of temporary and disability assistance concerning  the  provision
 of services by transitional independent living support programs consist-
 ent with the provisions of this article[.];
   [(g)] 7.  REQUIRE ALL EMPLOYEES OF APPROVED PROGRAMS PROVIDING CARE TO
 RUNAWAY AND/OR HOMELESS YOUTH TO COMPLETE TRAINING AS SET FORTH IN REGU-
 LATIONS  PROMULGATED  BY  THE  OFFICE.  SUCH  TRAINING SHALL REQUIRE ALL
 EMPLOYEES OF SUCH RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION AS SPEC-
 IFIED BY THE OFFICE IN THE REGULATIONS AND SHALL, AT A MINIMUM,  INCLUDE
 INSTRUCTION  IN  ISSUES PERTAINING TO LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANS-
 GENDER YOUTH WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON:
   (A) APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY;
   (B) PARTICULAR CHALLENGES FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND  TRANSGENDER
 RUNAWAY  AND  HOMELESS  YOUTH, INCLUDING WHY LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND
 TRANSGENDER YOUTH ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY HOMELESS;
   (C) HOW TO ADDRESS HOMOPHOBIA OR TRANSPHOBIA FROM OTHER YOUTH  AT  THE
 SHELTER;
   (D) CONFIDENTIALITY IN THE CASES OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANS-
 GENDER YOUTH; AND
   (E)  HOW TO ADDRESS THE FAMILIES OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANS-
 GENDER YOUTH; AND
   8. in conjunction with the  commissioner  of  education,  develop  and
 annually  review  a  plan to ensure coordination and access to education
 for homeless children, in accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section
 thirty-two  hundred nine of the education law, and monitor compliance of
 residential programs for runaway and homeless youth with such plan.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.