Bill Text: NY A02940 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires homeless shelters housing adults to restrict the number of clients housed to 100 and to be located no nearer than a three mile radius from another such facility; phases in requirements over one year; requires report by the department of family assistance regarding implementation of such standards; shelters must meet the requirements of these provisions by a specified date.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-05-30 - held for consideration in social services [A02940 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A02940-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2940 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 23, 2017 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. M. G. MILLER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to special stand- ards for shelters for adults The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent. Because certain local governments in 2 New York state have not developed a comprehensive plan for dealing with 3 the homeless, they have started the practice of sheltering large numbers 4 of the homeless in large, single sites that often do not meet building 5 codes. This practice does not benefit either the homeless themselves, 6 because proper services do not reach them, or the community in which the 7 shelter is located, because its resources are strained past their 8 limits. 9 The problem of this practice of warehousing is compounded when instead 10 of distributing smaller shelters equally to all communities within a 11 locality, a few communities are forced to provide shelter for a 12 disproportionate number of the homeless. A great deal of stress is 13 placed on the affected community by the presence of people who are not a 14 natural part of the community's life. Furthermore, the community's abil- 15 ity to deliver services, such as health care and rehabilitative 16 services, to large numbers of people is usually limited. 17 Cities in New York must develop a plan for the equitable distribution 18 of the homeless population among its communities. For instance, each of 19 New York city's fifty-nine community boards would be held responsible 20 for at least one facility in its geographic district which would provide 21 services and shelter for approximately one hundred homeless men or 22 women. 23 § 2. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 461-u 24 to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03420-01-7A. 2940 2 1 § 461-u. Special standards for shelters for adults. Any shelter for 2 adults, as defined in section two of this chapter, which is certified to 3 provide, pursuant to this article, temporary residential services to 4 adults or any facility which is operated by a municipality or not-for- 5 profit corporation for the purpose of providing shelter and services to 6 homeless single adults shall, no later than twelve months from the 7 effective date of this section, limit the size of all new shelter facil- 8 ities to one hundred clients per facility and restrict the geographic 9 placement of every facility to no nearer than a distance of a three mile 10 radius from any other facility. Any shelter for adults which is certi- 11 fied to provide such care after the effective date of this section shall 12 have twelve months from the receipt of such operating certificate to 13 phase down the number of clients housed to one hundred and to relocate 14 any facility that is nearer than a three mile radius from any other such 15 facility. No shelter for adults shall be certified to operate beyond 16 December thirty-first, two thousand eighteen, unless such shelter meets 17 the requirements of this section. 18 § 3. The New York state department of family assistance shall make a 19 report to the legislature and the governor on or before November 10, 20 2017. It shall contain such information concerning how locations to 21 shelter the homeless are selected by localities and such recommendations 22 as the commissioner of the office of children and family services shall 23 deem necessary or proper. 24 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.