STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         222--C

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. BENJAMIN, ADDABBO, BAILEY, BIAGGI, BRESLIN, BROOKS,
          CARLUCCI, COMRIE, GAUGHRAN, GIANARIS,  GOUNARDES,  HARCKHAM,  HOYLMAN,
          JACKSON,  KAMINSKY,  KAPLAN,  KAVANAGH,  KENNEDY,  KRUEGER,  LIU, MAY,
          MAYER, METZGER, MONTGOMERY, MYRIE,  PARKER,  PERSAUD,  RAMOS,  RIVERA,
          SALAZAR,  SANDERS,  SAVINO,  SEPULVEDA,  SERRANO,  SKOUFIS,  STAVISKY,
          THOMAS -- read twice and ordered  printed,  and  when  printed  to  be
          committed  to  the  Committee  on  Children  and Families -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted
          to the Committee on Children and Families in  accordance  with  Senate
          Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said committee and committed
          to  the  Committee  on  Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in  relation  to  reporting  of
          youth placed in foster care settings and recruitment of foster parents

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

     1    Section 1. Section 17 of the social services law is amended by  adding
     2  a new subdivision (l) to read as follows:
     3    (l)  submit  a report to the governor, the speaker of the assembly and
     4  the temporary president of the senate beginning  December  thirty-first,
     5  two thousand twenty, and quarterly thereafter, regarding youth placed in
     6  foster  care settings and the recruitment of foster parents. Such report
     7  shall be made publicly available online and shall  provide  information,
     8  as  required  pursuant  to  this subdivision, aggregated by local social
     9  services districts and foster care settings. For the  purposes  of  this
    10  subdivision,  foster care settings shall include, but not be limited to,
    11  foster boarding homes, approved relative homes, group homes, group resi-
    12  dences, agency operated boarding homes,  supervised  independent  living

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01765-13-0

        S. 222--C                           2

     1  arrangements,  therapeutic  foster care and child care institutions. The
     2  report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
     3    (i)  the  total number of youth placed in a foster care setting at the
     4  time of the report, as well as a comparison to the total number of youth
     5  in care since the previous report was submitted;
     6    (ii) the reasons why such youth have been  placed  in  a  foster  care
     7  setting,  with the total number of youth per category at the time of the
     8  report. Such reasons shall include, but not  be  limited  to,  voluntary
     9  placement  pursuant to section three hundred fifty-eight-a of this chap-
    10  ter, a termination of parental rights pursuant to section three  hundred
    11  eighty-four-b  of  this chapter, placements pursuant to articles ten and
    12  ten-C of the family court act, or pursuant to a contract, grant or other
    13  agreement with the federal government;
    14    (iii) to the extent such information is available, the total number of
    15  youth placed in a foster care setting at the time of the report that are
    16  in need of or receiving specialized services, either  due  to  a  mental
    17  health  illness or another disorder that may require additional supports
    18  and services, including specialized educational services;
    19    (iv) to the extent such information is available, how  many  youth  at
    20  the  time  of  the  report  have been previously placed in a foster care
    21  setting in the state;
    22    (v) the total number of foster families that are  currently  certified
    23  in  the  state  at  the  time  of the report and whether that number has
    24  increased or decreased since the previous report was submitted;
    25    (vi) how  many  children  and/or  families  have  received  preventive
    26  services through a local social services district, and of those children
    27  and/or  families,  how  many  youth were successfully kept out of foster
    28  care due to such services within the last calendar year for the  initial
    29  report,  and then since the previous report was submitted for all subse-
    30  quent reports;
    31    (vii) the total number of placement options that have  been  certified
    32  as  a  qualified  residential treatment program, as defined by 42 USCS §
    33  672; and
    34    (viii) the efforts the state has taken to recruit  and  retain  foster
    35  parents in the state.
    36    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.