§ 398-D — Child welfare services community demonstration projects

New York § 398-D

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law SOS: Social Services
• Title 2: Powers and Duties of Public Welfare Officials
• Art. 6: Children

Text

§ 398-d. Child welfare services community demonstration projects. 1.\nThe legislature finds that the centralized delivery of child protective\nservices, preventive services, adoption services and foster care\nservices in a social service district with a population of more than two\nmillion hinders their effective delivery and adds unnecessary costs.\nNumerous studies have recommended that such services serve small areas,\nbe located in such areas, and be integrated. Such relocation will: give\ncaseworkers greater knowledge of their assigned community, the residents\nof that community and the availability of community-based services;\nincrease the availability of caseworkers; reduce travel time for\ncaseworkers; enable children in foster care to remain in their own\ncommunities and schools and maintain their friendships; enable children\nin foster care to have greater visitation with their parents; provide\nfor more effective delivery of preventive services; and expedite\nadoptions and otherwise reduce the amount of time children spend in\nfoster care.\n The relocation of child welfare service delivery to the community\nsites will strengthen efforts to provide a wide range of community-based\nearly intervention programs including, but not limited to, school-based\nhealth clinics and community schools, thereby ensuring the continued\ndevelopment of a critical mass of community services.\n 2. No later than March first, nineteen hundred ninety-six, a social\nservice district with a population in excess of two million shall\nimplement at least three demonstration projects for a period of at least\ntwo years to provide child welfare services on a community level to\nimprove the delivery of child welfare services, increase adoptions and\nreduce the rate of foster care placements. These projects shall be\nlocated in and serve community school districts which have high rates\nof: children at risk of becoming a part of the foster care system,\npoverty, households on public assistance, juvenile delinquency, and\nunemployment. Such projects shall provide foster care, preventive,\nadoption and child protective services as required by this article.\n 3. In proposed demonstration areas, child welfare services must be\ncoordinated with community schools, school health clinics, and other\nrelevant programs to provide and administer the most efficient services.\nIn one demonstration area, the district shall use a caseworker to client\nratio equal to the preferred national average of one to fourteen.\n 4. A report evaluating such projects shall be presented no later than\nJune first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight, to the governor, the\ndepartment and the respective chairpersons of the assembly children and\nfamilies committee, the senate children and families committee, the\nassembly ways and means committee, and the senate finance committee.\nSuch report shall include:\n (a) the number of children and families who received preventive\nservices, child protective services and foster care, (b) the number of\ndelinquent and incarcerated youth in the demonstration projects, (c) the\nlength of an average foster care placement, (d) the number of completed\nadoptions for youth residing within the demonstration area, including\ntheir age, gender, race, ethnicity and religion, (e) the gross\nexpenditures for foster care, compared to the gross expenditures for\nchild protective, preventive and adoption services, (f) changes in the\nquality and quantity of time spent by caseworkers with clients, (g)\nstaffing ratios of foster care, preventive and child protective\nservices, (h) the perspective (attitude, viewpoint, outlook) of\ncaseworkers serving and clients served in the demonstration project, and\n(i) recommendations for expansion of community-based provisions for\nchild welfare services. For purposes of the report, the data described\nabove should be compared to the extent possible with non-demonstration\nareas.\n