NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1938A

Senate Bill S1938A

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Authorizes the offering of twelve month work exemption to certain parents or relatives in receipt of public assistance who personally provide child care

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 04, 2018	print number 1938a
Jun 04, 2018	amend and recommit to finance
Jan 09, 2018	reported and committed to finance
Jan 03, 2018	referred to children and families
Mar 01, 2017	reported and committed to finance
Jan 11, 2017	referred to children and families

Votes

- Jan 9, 2018 - Children And Families Committee Vote
  S1938A
  
  5
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Children And Families Committee Vote: Jan 9, 2018
      
      aye (5)
      
      Avella
      
      Montgomery
      
      Persaud
      
      Savino
      
      Serino
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Bonacic
      
      Helming
  Mar 1, 2017 - Children And Families Committee Vote
  S1938A
  
  5
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Children And Families Committee Vote: Mar 1, 2017
      
      aye (5)
      
      Avella
      
      Montgomery
      
      Persaud
      
      Savino
      
      Serino
      
      aye wr (2)
      
      Bonacic
      
      Helming

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2017-S1938 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4829
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §410-x, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S4967, A6839
2015-2016: S5176, A1805
2019-2020: A5220

2017-S1938 - Summary

Authorizes the offering of the twelve month work exemption to certain parents or relatives in receipt of public assistance who personally provide child care.

2017-S1938 - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1938

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to the twelve month work exemption for certain parents or relatives
providing child care

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

The purpose of this legislation is to allow commissioners in social
services to modify the public assistance work requirements in order to
increase access to affordable child care for eligible families.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

This bill would amend subdivision 2 of section 410-x of the social
services law. Currently, New York State allows certain exemptions from
work activities for recipients of temporary assistance that are a
single-parent head of household. The current work exemption structure
allows a single-parent who is caring for a child under the age, of one
an exemption from work activities for no more than three months for
any one child; although a social service official has the authority to
extend :the exemption for up to 12 months on a case by case basis.

This bill would allow commissioners of social service districts the
ability to offer an 12 month for exemption if the district is unable
to meet the needs of income eligible working families.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Counties are required by law to provide child care payments for public
assistance recipients if such care is necessary in order for the
recipient to participate in mandatory work requirements. The funding
source for these county payments is the New York State Child Care
Block Grant (NYSCCBG.) The NYSCCBG has suffered serious cuts in the
past few years leaving counties with barely enough funds to fulfill
the obligation of child care to Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families recipients (TANF) and very little, if anything, left over to
provide child care subsidies for low income working families.

Most counties are no longer able to serve families up to 200% Federal
Poverty Level due to cuts to the child care block grant. In order to
deal with the shortage of child care funds, counties have lowered
eligibility levels, ceased taking new applications for a period of
time or have discontinued the acceptance of new applications all
together.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S.5176 (2015-2016) Referred to Children and Families. Reported and
Committed to Finance on 3/22/2016.
A.1805-A (2015-2016) Amended and Recommitted to Social Services on
4/28/2016.
A.6839A (2013-2014) Passed assembly; delivered to senate;
REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES 03/05/14
A.6839 (2013-2014) Amend and recommit to Social Services 02/28/14

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S1938 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1938
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 11, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 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
 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

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

                                                            LBD01047-01-7

 S. 1938                             2
 
 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, ONE YEAR AFTER THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOU-
 SAND SEVENTEEN THAT AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL TAKE EFFECT, AND EACH
 SUBSEQUENT REPORT THEREAFTER, SUCH REPORT 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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

co-Sponsors

2017-S1938A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4829
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §410-x, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S4967, A6839
2015-2016: S5176, A1805
2019-2020: A5220

2017-S1938A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the offering of the twelve month work exemption to certain parents or relatives in receipt of public assistance who personally provide child care.

2017-S1938A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1938A

SPONSOR: AVELLA
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the social services law, in relation
to the twelve month work exemption for certain parents or relatives
providing child care

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this legislation is to allow commissioners in social
services to modify the public assistance work requirements in order to
increase access to affordable childcare for eligible families.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

This bill would amend subdivision 2 of section 410-x of the social
services law. Currently, New York State allows certain exemptions from
work activities for recipients of temporary assistance that are a
single-parent head of household. The current work exemption structure
allows a single-parent who is caring for a child under the age, of one
an exemption from work activities for no more than three months for any

one child; although a social service official has the authority to
extend: the exemption for up to 12 months on a case by case basis.

This bill would allow commissioners of social service districts the
ability to offer an 12 month for exemption if the district is unable to
meet the needs of income eligible working families.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Counties are required by law to provide childcare payments for public
assistance recipients if such care is necessary in order for the recipi-
ent to participate in mandatory work requirements. The funding source
for these county payments is the New York State Child Care Block Grant
(NYSCCBG.) The NYSCCBG has suffered serious cuts in the past few years
leaving counties with barely enough funds to fulfill the obligation of
child care to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients (TANF)
and very little, if anything, left over to provide child care subsidies
for low income working families.

Most counties are no longer able to serve families up to 200% Federal
Poverty Level due to cuts to the childcare block grant. In order to deal
with the shortage of childcare funds, counties have lowered eligibility
levels, ceased taking new applications for a period of time or have
discontinued the acceptance of new applications all together.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

A1805A (2015-2016) Advanced to Third Reading cal. 740 5/26/16
A6839A (2013-2014) Passed assembly; delivered to senate; Referred to
Social Services 03/05/14
A6839 (2013-2014) Amend and recommit to Social Services 02/28/14

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S1938A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  1938--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 11, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  AVELLA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and  Families  --
   recommitted  to  the  Committee on Children and Families in accordance
   with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from  said  committee
   and  committed  to  the  Committee on Finance -- 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.
                                                            LBD01047-03-8

 S. 1938--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, ONE YEAR AFTER THE CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF TWO THOU-
 SAND EIGHTEEN THAT AMENDED THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL TAKE EFFECT, AND  EACH
 SUBSEQUENT REPORT THEREAFTER, SUCH REPORT 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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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