Senate Bill S4222

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4222
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 3, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  PARKER, BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed 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;
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07864-01-5
              

 S. 4222                             2
 
   (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;
   (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
 S. 4222                             3
 
 families  and  the chairpersons of the senate and assembly committees on
 health on or before June 30, 2026.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.