S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
2951
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
January 18, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed 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. 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 144 of the laws of 2015, 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.
(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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02680-01-7
S. 2951 2
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-
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
S. 2951 3
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) If a 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 such district must: (i) no later than the first day the
public notice appears in a newspaper pursuant to subdivision three of
this section or the regulations of the office of children and family
services, as applicable, prominently post on the district's website a
notice of the proposed amendment describing the categories of families
whose cases will be impacted; and (ii) at the time the public notice is
submitted to the newspaper for publication in accordance with subdivi-
sion three of this section or the regulations of the office of children
and family services, as applicable, provide a copy of such notice to the
office of children and family services.
(b) If a social services district implements its process for closing
child care cases, as set forth in its approved child and family services
plan, due to the district determining that it cannot maintain its
current caseload because all of the available funds are projected to be
needed for open cases, the district must: (i) no later than the day the
social services district begins to send individual notices to impacted
families in accordance with subdivision eight of section four hundred
ten-w of this chapter, prominently post a notice on their website that
states that such district is implementing the child care case closing
process set forth in its approved child and family services plan and
that describes the categories of families whose cases will be closed;
and (ii) immediately provide a copy of such notice to the office of
children and family services.
(c) The office of children and family services shall prominently post
notices received pursuant to paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subdivision
on its website.
§ 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
S. 2951 4
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.
§ 3. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 34-b
to read as follows:
§ 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.
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).
§ 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.