§ 532-E — Powers and duties of the office of children and family services

§ 532-e. Powers and duties of the office of children and family\nservices. The office of children and family services shall: 1. visit,\ninspect and make periodic reports on the operation and adequacy of\napproved runaway programs and transitional independent living support\nprograms;\n 2. certify residential facilities providing care to runaway and/or\nhomeless youth, provided, however, that no certification shall be issued\nor renewed until it can be demonstrated that a program operated pursuant\nto this article has consistent with appropriate collective bargaining\nagreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law, developed\nand implemented a procedure for reviewing and evaluating the backgrounds\nof and the information supplied by any person applying to be an\nemployee, volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not be\nlimited to the following requirements: that the applicants set forth his\nor her employment history, provide personal and employment references\nand sign a sworn statement indicating whether the applicant, to the best\nof his or her knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in this\nstate or any other jurisdiction;\n 3. maintain a register of approved runaway programs, transitional\nindependent living support programs and runaway and homeless youth\nservice coordinators;\n 4. submit to the governor and legislature an annual report detailing\nthe numbers and characteristics of runaway and otherwise homeless youth\nthroughout the state and their problems and service needs;\n 5. develop and promulgate in consultation with county youth bureaus\nand organizations or programs which have had past experience dealing\nwith runaway and homeless youth, regulations concerning the coordination\nand integration of services available for runaway and otherwise homeless\nyouth and prohibiting the disclosure or transferal of any records\ncontaining the identity of individual youth receiving services pursuant\nto this section, without the written consent of the youth;\n 6. develop and promulgate regulations in consultation with the office\nof temporary and disability assistance concerning the provision of\nservices by transitional independent living support programs consistent\nwith the provisions of this article;\n 7. require all employees of approved programs providing care to\nrunaway and/or homeless youth to complete training as set forth in\nregulations promulgated by the office. Such training shall require all\nemployees of such residential facilities to receive instruction as\nspecified by the office in the regulations, except where an employee has\nalready received training which would satisfy such requirements, and\nshall, at a minimum, include instruction in issues pertaining to\nlesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth with particular emphasis\non:\n (a) appropriate terminology;\n (b) particular challenges for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender\nrunaway and homeless youth, including why lesbian, gay, bisexual, and\ntransgender youth are disproportionately homeless;\n (c) how to address homophobia or transphobia from other youth at the\nshelter;\n (d) confidentiality in the cases of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and\ntransgender youth; and\n (e) how to address the families of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and\ntransgender youth; and\n 8. in conjunction with the commissioner of education, develop and\nannually review a plan to ensure coordination and access to education\nfor homeless children, in accordance with the provisions of section\nthirty-two hundred nine of the education law, and monitor compliance of\nresidential programs for runaway and homeless youth with such plan.\n