§ 34-A — Services planning requirements

§ 34-a. Services planning requirements. 1. (a) Each social services\ndistrict shall prepare a multi-year consolidated services plan\nencompassing adult services and family and children's services, which\nshall include diversion services provided pursuant to section seven\nhundred thirty-five of the family court act.\n (b) Commencing with the years following preparation of the multi-year\nconsolidated services plan, each local district shall also be required\nto prepare an annual implementation report.\n 2. (a) The commissioner shall have authority to promulgate regulations\nspecifying the contents of both the multi-year services plan and the\nannual implementation reports, provided however that such regulations\nshall not be inconsistent with the standards of review by the\ncommissioner of such plan and reports specified in subdivision four of\nthis section.\n (b) The regulations promulgated pursuant to paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision shall require the multi-year services plan and where\nappropriate the annual implementation reports, to include a summary of\nthe understanding between the local social services district and the\ndistrict attorney's office, which outlines the cooperative procedures to\nbe followed by both parties in investigating incidents of child abuse\nand maltreatment, consistent with their respective obligations for the\ninvestigation or prosecution of such incidents, as otherwise required by\nlaw.\n 3. (a) There shall be a public hearing on the multi-year services plan\nor each annual implementation report. Commencing in nineteen hundred\neighty-two, such public hearing shall be held only after fifteen days\nnotice is provided in a newspaper of general circulation within the\ncounty. Such notice shall specifically identify the times of the public\nhearing in which the child protective services and other services\ncomponents of the multi-year services plan or annual implementation\nreports are to be considered.\n (b) Commencing in nineteen hundred eighty-two, after such hearing, the\nmulti-year services plan or the annual implementation reports shall be\nsubmitted for approval to the chief executive officer of the county or\nto the legislative body in those counties without a chief executive\nofficer. Full approval of the multi-year services plan or of the annual\nimplementation report by the chief executive officer or legislative body\nshall be required before submission of such plan or report to the\ncommissioner.\n (c) Commencing in nineteen hundred eighty-two, the multi-year services\nplan or the annual implementation reports shall not be forwarded to the\ncommissioner until at least fifteen days have passed from the date of\nthe public hearing thereon.\n 4. (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the\ncommissioner shall review both the multi-year services plan and the\nannual implementation reports submitted by the social services district,\nusing standards consistent with the provisions of sections one hundred\nthirty-one-1, four hundred nine-d and four hundred twenty-three of this\nchapter, and shall notify such district, in writing, of approval of such\nplan or reports in whole or in part; provided, however, that for any\nportions not approved, the commissioner shall in writing to the district\nspecify the portions not approved, the reasons for such determination,\nthe actions required for resubmittal of such portions, and the time\nperiod of resubmittal; and provided further, that disapproval of a\nportion of such plan or report shall not render the entire plan or\nreport invalid. No portion of the multi-year services plan or of the\nannual implementation reports shall be finally disapproved until the\ndistrict has had at least one opportunity for resubmittal. Upon\nresubmittal, or if no resubmittal is made within the time specified, the\ncommissioner may grant further extensions to the district to allow it to\nresubmit any unapproved portions, or may finally disapprove such\nportions. Any social services district aggrieved by a final disapproval\nof the commissioner under this section shall have the right to a fair\nhearing in accordance with the appropriate provisions of this chapter.\nAn adverse fair hearing decision shall be reviewable pursuant to article\nseventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. State reimbursement\nmay be withheld for all or a portion of a local district's activities,\nif the multi-year services plan, annual implementation report, or\nportions of either are disapproved.\n (b) The commissioner of the office of children and family services\nshall review and approve or disapprove the diversion services portion of\nthe plan jointly with the director of the office of probation and\ncorrectional alternatives or any other successor agency or entity. The\nrequirements for the portion of the plan and report regarding the\nprovision of diversion services shall be jointly established by the\ncommissioner of the office of children and family services and the\ndirector of the office of probation and correctional alternatives or any\nother successor agency or entity. The multi-year services plan and where\nappropriate the annual implementation reports shall be based upon a\nwritten understanding between the local social services district and the\nprobation department which outlines the cooperative procedures to be\nfollowed by both parties regarding diversion services pursuant to\nsection seven hundred thirty-five of the family court act, consistent\nwith their respective obligations as otherwise required by law.\n 5. The commissioner shall promulgate regulations concerning the time\nby which:\n (a) each local social services district shall submit its multi-year\nservices plan and annual implementation report;\n (b) the commissioner shall, in writing, notify a local district of\napproval or disapproval of all or parts of such district's multi-year\nservices plan or annual implementation reports; and\n (c) each local social services district shall submit a revised version\nof its multi-year services plan or annual implementation report, or\nparts thereof.\n 6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the office of\nchildren and family services shall plan for the statewide\nimplementation, by the thirty-first day of December, two thousand eight,\nof the use by counties of a child and family services plan that combines\nthe multi-year consolidated services plan required by this section and\nthe comprehensive plan required by section four hundred twenty of the\nexecutive law into a single plan.\n (b) All counties shall implement a county child and family services\nplan prior to or by the two thousand eight plan year in accordance with\na schedule developed by the office of children and family services and\nshall continue to implement such a plan thereafter. With the approval of\nsuch office, a county may implement such a plan before the date required\nby such schedule.\n (c) The office of children and family services may waive any\nregulatory requirements relating to the content and timing of multi-year\nconsolidated services plans and annual implementation reports that may\nimpede the ability of a county to implement a county child and family\nservices plan.\n (d) Nothing in this subdivision shall be deemed to affect county\nplanning requirements under the mental hygiene law.\n 7. (a) From monies appropriated to the office of children and family\nservices for the family and children's services foster care and adoption\nprogram, the office shall give assistance to local social services\ndistricts to enable them to collect statistics and to describe the steps\nbeing taken regarding: the number of families needing preventive\nservices as provided for in title four of article six of this chapter\nfor which services are provided; the effectiveness of specific\npreventive services in preventing unnecessary foster care placements and\nreducing the length of stay in foster care; the efforts made to prevent\nunnecessary placements; the use of the least restrictive settings and\nthe proximity of foster care placements to the child's home; the use of\nkinship placements; the placement of siblings with one another at\ninitial placement or as soon thereafter as possible; the number of\ntransfers of children in foster care placements and the reasons for\nthose transfers; the number of families reunited in fulfillment of the\nchild's service goal plan and the length of placement prior to\nreunification; the number of children prepared for independent living;\nthe number of children with adoption as a service plan goal; the number\nof children freed for adoption and the length of time taken to secure\nterminations of parental rights; the number of children placed in\npre-adoptive homes and the number of adoptions completed and the length\nof time taken to complete them.\n (b) Such data submitted to the office of children and family services\nshall be aggregated and submitted with a narrative report on these\nchildren's services, to the governor and the majority leader of the\nsenate and the speaker of the assembly on or before July first, two\nthousand five and semiannually thereafter.\n 8. The commissioner of the office of children and family services\nshall, in conjunction with the commissioner of education, develop model\npractices and procedures for local social services districts and school\ndistricts regarding the reporting and investigation of educational\nneglect. Such model practices and procedures shall be available to\nsocial services districts and school districts and shall be posted on\nthe office of children and family services website and the state\ndepartment of education website by September first, two thousand seven.\nEach social services district shall, in conjunction with local school\ndistricts within its district, submit written policies and procedures\nregarding the reporting of educational neglect by each school district\nwithin such social services district and the investigation of\neducational neglect allegations by child protective services. Such\npolicies and procedures shall be submitted to the office of children and\nfamily services for review by January first, two thousand eight and the\noffice shall approve or disapprove such local policies and procedures,\nbased upon the model practices and procedures established in conjunction\nwith the state department of education, within sixty days of submission.\n 9. (a) If a social services district proposes an amendment to the\nchild care portion of its child and family services plan that reduces\neligibility or increases the family share percentage for child care\nservices such district must: (i) no later than the first day the public\nnotice appears in a newspaper pursuant to subdivision three of this\nsection or the regulations of the office of children and family\nservices, as applicable, prominently post on the district's website a\nnotice of the proposed amendment describing the categories of families\nwhose cases will be impacted; and (ii) at the time the public notice is\nsubmitted to the newspaper for publication in accordance with\nsubdivision three of this section or the regulations of the office of\nchildren and family services, as applicable, provide a copy of such\nnotice to the office of children and family services.\n (b) If a social services district implements its process for closing\nchild care cases, as set forth in its approved child and family services\nplan, due to the district determining that it cannot maintain its\ncurrent caseload because all of the available funds are projected to be\nneeded for open cases, the district must: (i) no later than the day the\nsocial services district begins to send individual notices to impacted\nfamilies in accordance with subdivision eight of section four hundred\nten-w of this chapter, prominently post a notice on their website that\nstates that such district is implementing the child care case closing\nprocess set forth in its approved child and family services plan and\nthat describes the categories of families whose cases will be closed;\nand (ii) immediately provide a copy of such notice to the office of\nchildren and family services.\n (c) The office of children and family services shall prominently post\nnotices received pursuant to paragraphs (a) or (b) of this subdivision\non its website.\n