S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4980
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 6, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of A. TITUS, JAFFEE, PEOPLES-STOKES -- read once and
   referred to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN ACT to commission a  study  regarding  the  quality  of  health  care
   services received by foster children in New York state
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. 1. The commissioner of the office of  children  and  family
 services shall contract with an external research organization to evalu-
 ate the implementation and effectiveness of New York state's health care
 delivery system for children in the care, custody or guardianship of the
 office  of  children  and  family  services  or  local  social  services
 districts pursuant to articles 3, 7 and 10 of the family  court  act  or
 section  358-a,  384-a  or 384-b of the social services law.  The evalu-
 ation shall include recommendations for improving the access to, and the
 quality of, health and behavioral health services for  children  in  the
 care,  custody  or  guardianship  of  the  office of children and family
 services or the local social services district. Such commissioner  shall
 select  such  research  organization pursuant to a request for proposals
 process.  Preference shall be given to an organization based on adequacy
 of the proposed research  design,  research  staff  qualifications,  and
 availability  of  non-state  dollars  to  support the project, and other
 criteria as determined by the commissioner of the office of children and
 family services. The evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, an
 examination of:
   (a) the quality of health and behavioral health services  provided  to
 children  in the care, custody or guardianship of the office of children
 and family services or the local social  services  district,  including,
 but  not  limited to, whether children are receiving effective or neces-
 sary treatment in a timely fashion and  in  accordance  with  the  regu-
 lations of the office of children and family services;
   (b)  the  average  length  of  time from referrals for children in the
 care, custody or guardianship of  the  office  of  children  and  family
 services  or the local social services district, to receive treatment to
 the date of initial treatment;
              

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07707-01-9

 A. 4980                             2
 
   (c) whether sufficient  information  is  provided  to  educate  foster
 parents  on the health care delivery system for foster children, includ-
 ing identification of providers and appropriate billing arrangements;
   (d) the existence and adequacy of current oversight practice regarding
 health  care  services for children in the care, custody or guardianship
 of the office of children  and  family  services  or  the  local  social
 services  district,  including monitoring or record keeping practices of
 voluntary agencies, social services districts, family courts, the office
 of children and family services and the department of health;
   (e) whether foster children who receive health care coverage under the
 medicaid per-diem system receive adequate health and  behavioral  health
 services;
   (f) whether foster children who receive health care coverage under the
 medicaid  fee-for  service system receive adequate health and behavioral
 health services;
   (g) to what extent the medicaid per-diem is used in  conjunction  with
 direct  billing under fee-for service and whether this practice provides
 foster children with adequate health and behavioral health services;
   (h) whether foster children who receive health care  services  through
 enrollment  in  a medicaid managed care plan receive adequate health and
 behavioral health services;
   (i) whether any difficulties exist in accessing prescription drugs for
 foster children;
   (j) whether foster children or foster parents  are  being  billed  for
 health care services provided to foster children which should be covered
 under medicaid;
   (k) the number of voluntary agencies throughout the state that provide
 health  care  services  to  foster children in their care through health
 care professionals employed by their agency;
   (l) the quality of health care provided by health  care  professionals
 hired  by  voluntary  agencies  and the benefits and drawbacks of having
 health care services provided by voluntary agencies;
   (m) whether children leaving foster  care  or  placement  in  juvenile
 justice  facilities, who would be otherwise eligible for medicaid cover-
 age upon leaving placement, experience difficulty in  accessing  transi-
 tional medicaid coverage or medicaid coverage in the community; and
   (n) what barriers exist for children in the care, custody or guardian-
 ship  of  the office of children and family services or the local social
 services district, to access health care services in the community.
   2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the selected  organ-
 ization  shall  have access to necessary non-identifiable data collected
 by the office of children and family services, the department of health,
 local social  services  districts  and  voluntary  agencies,  and  shall
 collect supplemental data as needed to conduct a thorough and comprehen-
 sive  evaluation. Data collected shall not reveal the name, social secu-
 rity number or any other information which may be used to  identify  the
 child or the family of the child.
   3.  The  commissioner  of  the  office of children and family services
 shall submit a report detailing the findings of such study to the gover-
 nor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly,
 and the chairperson of the senate committee on social services, children
 and families, the chairperson of the assembly committee on children  and
 families  and  the chairpersons of the senate and assembly committees on
 health on or before June 30, 2020.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.