Bill Text: NY A03371 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the youth in progress advisory board and regional teams for adolescents in foster care to provide mentorship of youths in foster care; requires reporting.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-02-08 - enacting clause stricken [A03371 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A03371-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3371

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 26, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  RICHARDSON  -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the
          youth in progress advisory board and regional teams for adolescents in
          foster care for the state

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a
     2  new title 1-A to read as follows:

     3                                  TITLE 1-A
     4                              YOUTH IN PROGRESS

     5  Section 394. Youth in progress.
     6    § 394. Youth in progress.  1. The youth in progress statewide advisory
     7  board  is hereby established for the purposes of bringing together youth
     8  age fourteen and older who are or have been in foster care in  order  to
     9  discuss  common  experiences,  ideas  and  concerns.  The  local  social
    10  services departments, authorized agencies serving adolescents in  foster
    11  care, the office of children and family services, and contractors of the
    12  office  may  recruit  appropriate  youth  to participate in the youth in
    13  progress advisory board and regional teams on a voluntary basis.
    14    2. The office of children and family  services  shall  facilitate  the
    15  formation  of regional youth in progress teams and assist in identifying
    16  an adult mentor for each  youth  team  member.  The  regional  youth  in
    17  progress teams and adult mentors shall meet on a regular basis and shall
    18  conduct  periodic  regional forums for foster care youth to speak out on
    19  issues of interest to adolescents in foster care.
    20    3. The youth in progress statewide advisory  board,  shall  include  a
    21  representative  from  the  regional teams that will advise the office of
    22  children and family services and the council on children and families on

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04784-01-1
        A. 3371                             2

     1  issues relating to foster care. In each of the six  office  of  children
     2  and family services regions the youth in progress regional team or teams
     3  shall  nominate  up  to  four  youth  members and their adult mentors to
     4  participate  in the statewide youth in progress advisory board. In addi-
     5  tion, four youth currently or formerly placed with the office  of  chil-
     6  dren and family services' division of juvenile justice and opportunities
     7  for  youth  shall  be  selected by the members of the statewide youth in
     8  progress advisory board, to be members of the advisory  board's  member-
     9  ship.  The  statewide  youth in progress advisory board shall have up to
    10  twenty-eight youth participants and shall meet at least three times each
    11  year.
    12    4. (a) The statewide youth in  progress  board  may  issue  an  annual
    13  report  with its recommendations on issues of interest to adolescents in
    14  foster care. The report may include other information on the  activities
    15  of  the  youth  in  progress  board.  The  office of children and family
    16  services shall provide technical assistance to the  statewide  youth  in
    17  progress  board,  including  distribution  of  the  annual  report. Such
    18  reports shall be made available to the public and shall be submitted to:
    19  the governor, the legislature, the director of the council  on  children
    20  and  families,  and  the  member agencies of the council on children and
    21  families. The contents of the youth in progress annual report  shall  be
    22  solely  the work product of the youth in progress board and its members,
    23  and shall not be revised or edited by the office of children and  family
    24  services.
    25    (b)  At  least  sixty  days prior to the commissioner of the office of
    26  children and family services final approval  of  rules  and  regulations
    27  pertaining  to  foster  care or services for adolescents who are or have
    28  been in foster care, other than emergency  rules  and  regulations,  the
    29  commissioner  shall  submit  the  proposed  rules and regulations to the
    30  statewide youth in progress advisory board  for  review.  The  statewide
    31  youth  in  progress  board may report its recommendations thereon to the
    32  commissioner of the office of children and family services within  sixty
    33  days.
    34    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    35  have become a law.