§ 679-H — New York state child welfare worker incentive scholarship program

§ 679-h. New York state child welfare worker incentive scholarship\nprogram. 1. Purpose. The president shall grant scholarship awards for\nthe purpose of enhancing the proficiency of current child welfare\nworkers in New York state. Such awards shall be made on a competitive\nbasis to applicants who are currently employed at a voluntary\nnot-for-profit child welfare agency in New York state licensed by the\noffice of children and family services, or employed within such state\nagency as a child welfare worker, with at least two years' experience\nand are enrolling in an approved program to obtain a degree that will\nenhance their ability to work in such agency.\n 2. Eligibility. To be eligible for an award pursuant to this section,\napplicants shall: a. be currently employed at a voluntary not-for-profit\nchild welfare agency in New York state licensed by the office of\nchildren and family services, with at least two years of qualified\nexperience;\n b. be matriculated in an undergraduate or graduate degree program at\nan institution of higher education located within New York state in a\nprogram of study that would enhance their ability to work in such agency\nas determined by the president;\n c. agree to work in a voluntary not-for-profit child welfare agency in\nNew York state licensed by the office of children and family services as\na child welfare worker on a full time basis for a period of no less than\nfive continuous years upon completion of such degree program within a\nreasonable period of time and maintain residency in New York state for\nsuch period of employment; and\n d. comply with subdivisions three and five of section six hundred\nsixty-one of this part.\n 3. Award conditions and requirements. a. Within amounts appropriated\ntherefore and based on availability of funds, scholarships shall be\ngranted beginning with the two thousand seventeen -- two thousand\neighteen academic year and thereafter on a competitive basis to\napplicants whom the corporation has certified are eligible to receive\nsuch awards; and who agree to work in a voluntary not-for-profit child\nwelfare agency in New York state licensed by the office of children and\nfamily services as a child welfare worker on a full time basis for a\nperiod of no less than five continuous years upon completion of such\ndegree within a reasonable period of time and maintain residency in New\nYork state for such period of employment.\n b. An applicant must make every reasonable effort to obtain employment\nin a voluntary not-for-profit child welfare agency in New York state\nlicensed by the office of children and family services as a child\nwelfare worker upon graduation.\n 4. Amount. The corporation shall grant such awards within the amounts\nappropriated for such purpose and based on availability of funds\naccording to a schedule to be determined by the corporation in an\namount:\n a. equal to the tuition charged to state resident students attending\nan undergraduate or graduate degree program, as applicable, at the state\nuniversity of New York; the average mandatory fees charged at the state\nuniversity of New York, or the actual tuition and fees charged to the\nrecipient, whichever is less; and the average non-tuition cost of\nattendance, as determined by the corporation and as approved by the\ndirector of the budget, for a student at the state university of New\nYork or actual non-tuition cost of attendance at such institution,\nwhichever is less provided that the scholarship shall not exceed an\namount that is equal to the total cost of attendance determined for\nfederal Title IV student financial aid purposes, less all other\nscholarships and grants provided by New York state, other states, the\nfederal government, or other governments, and the amount of educational\nbenefits paid under any program that would duplicate the purposes of\nthis program, provided that any scholarships or grants provided to a\nrecipient by the institution which are intended to fund any portion of\nthe difference between the annual state award and the actual costs of\nattendance at any such institution shall not be considered to duplicate\nthe purposes of this program.\n b. not to exceed twenty thousand dollars for a master's degree program\nat a private institution; the average mandatory fees charged at the\nprivate institution, or the actual tuition and fees charged to the\nrecipient, whichever is less; and the average non-tuition cost of\nattendance, as determined by the corporation and as approved by the\ndirector of the budget, for a student at such private institution or\nactual non-tuition cost of attendance at such institution, whichever is\nless, provided that the scholarship shall not exceed an amount that is\nequal to the total cost of attendance determined for federal Title IV\nstudent financial aid purposes, less all other scholarships and grants\nprovided by New York state, other states, the federal government, or\nother governments, and the amount of educational benefits paid under any\nprogram that would duplicate the purposes of this program, provided that\nany scholarships or grants provided to a recipient by the institution\nwhich are intended to fund any portion of the difference between the\nannual state award and the actual costs of attendance at any such\ninstitution shall not be considered to duplicate the purposes of this\nprogram.\n 5. Other awards. Award recipients shall be eligible to apply for other\nawards.\n 6. Duration. An award shall entitle the recipient to annual payments\nfor either an associate's degree, bachelor's degree, or graduate degree.\nAn eligible recipient enrolled in an eligible two year program of study\nshall not receive an award for more than two academic years. An eligible\nrecipient enrolled in an eligible undergraduate program of study shall\nnot receive an award for more than four academic years of undergraduate\nstudy or five academic years if the program of study normally requires\nfive years. An eligible recipient enrolled in a graduate program of\nstudy shall not receive an award for more than two academic years.\nNotwithstanding, such duration may be extended for an allowable\ninterruption of study as determined by the corporation.\n 7. Penalties for noncompliance. a. The corporation may collect the\nfull amount of the award given pursuant to this section, plus interest,\naccording to a schedule to be determined by the corporation, if: (i) the\nrecipient fails to complete their degree program within a reasonable\ntime as determined by the corporation; or (ii) one year after the\ncompletion of the degree program it is found that a recipient did not\nbegin full-time employment at a voluntary not-for-profit child welfare\nagency in New York state licensed by the office of children and family\nservices as a child welfare worker; or (iii) the recipient fails to\ncomplete five continuous years of full-time employment at a voluntary\nnot-for-profit child welfare agency in the state licensed by the office\nof children and family services as a child welfare worker or maintain\nresidency in New York state for such period of employment; or (iv) the\nrecipient fails to respond to requests by the corporation for the status\nof his or her academic or professional progress. The terms and\nconditions of this subdivision shall be deferred for any interruption in\nan undergraduate or graduate study or employment as established by the\nrules and regulations of the corporation. Any obligation to comply with\nsuch provisions as outlined in this section shall be cancelled upon the\ndeath of the recipient. Notwithstanding any provisions of this\nsubdivision to the contrary, the corporation is authorized to promulgate\nrules and regulations necessary for the waiver of suspension of any\nfinancial obligation which would involve extreme hardship.\n 8. Recipient selection. The president may establish:\n a. an application deadline; and\n b. a method of selecting recipients if in any given year there are\ninsufficient funds to cover the needs of all applicants and returning\nrecipients.\n 9. Rules and regulations. The corporation is authorized to promulgate\nrules and regulations, and may promulgate emergency regulations,\nnecessary for the implementation of the provisions of this section\nincluding, but not limited to, the criteria to distributing the awards,\nwhich may include a lottery or other form of random selection, and the\nrate of interest charges for repayment of the student loan.\n