Bill Text: NY S08885 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Expands the duties of the office of children and family services concerning youth who are disproportionately likely to be runaway and /or homeless youth.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-18 - referred to children and families [S08885 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S08885-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8885--A IN SENATE May 31, 2018 ___________ Introduced by Sen. HOYLMAN -- 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 AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to expanding the duties of the office of children and family services concerning youth who are disproportionately likely to be runaway and/or homeless youth The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 532-e of the executive law, as amended by chapter 2 182 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 532-e. Powers and duties of the office of children and family 4 services. The office of children and family services shall: [(a)] 1. 5 visit, inspect and make periodic reports on the operation and adequacy 6 of approved runaway programs and transitional independent living support 7 programs; 8 [(b)] 2. certify residential facilities providing care to runaway 9 and/or homeless youth, provided, however, that no certification shall be 10 issued or renewed until it can be demonstrated that a program operated 11 pursuant to this article has consistent with appropriate collective 12 bargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service 13 law, developed and implemented a procedure for reviewing and evaluating 14 the backgrounds of and the information supplied by any person applying 15 to be an employee, volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not 16 be limited to the following requirements: that the applicants set forth 17 his or her employment history, provide personal and employment refer- 18 ences and sign a sworn statement indicating whether the applicant, to 19 the best of his or her knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in 20 this state or any other jurisdiction; 21 [(c)] 3. maintain a register of approved runaway programs, transi- 22 tional independent living support programs and runaway and homeless 23 youth service coordinators; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16104-02-8S. 8885--A 2 1 [(d)] 4. submit to the governor and legislature an annual report 2 detailing the numbers and characteristics of runaway and otherwise home- 3 less youth throughout the state and their problems and service needs; 4 [(e)] 5. develop and promulgate in consultation with county youth 5 bureaus and organizations or programs which have had past experience 6 dealing with runaway and homeless youth, regulations concerning the 7 coordination and integration of services available for runaway and 8 otherwise homeless youth and prohibiting the disclosure or transferal of 9 any records containing the identity of individual youth receiving 10 services pursuant to this section, without the written consent of the 11 youth; [and] 12 [(f)] 6. develop and promulgate regulations in consultation with the 13 office of temporary and disability assistance concerning the provision 14 of services by transitional independent living support programs consist- 15 ent with the provisions of this article[.]; 16 [(g)] 7. require all employees of approved programs providing care to 17 runaway and/or homeless youth to complete training as set forth in regu- 18 lations promulgated by the office. Such training shall require all 19 employees of such residential facilities to receive instruction as spec- 20 ified by the office in the regulations and shall, at a minimum, include 21 instruction in issues pertaining to demographics of youth who are 22 disproportionately likely to be runaway and/or homeless youth, with 23 particular emphasis on: 24 (a) challenges faced by runaway and/or homeless youth; 25 (b) how to address various forms of discrimination at the residential 26 facilities; 27 (c) maintaining confidentially in sensitive matters; 28 (d) how to address the families of such youths; and 29 (e) how to communicate effectively in a manner that demonstrates 30 sensitivity to the particular background and identities of the affected 31 youths. 32 8. in conjunction with the commissioner of education, develop and 33 annually review a plan to ensure coordination and access to education 34 for homeless children, in accordance with the provisions of section 35 thirty-two hundred nine of the education law, and monitor compliance of 36 residential programs for runaway and homeless youth with such plan. 37 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 38 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.