§ 462 — Responsibility for standards

§ 462. Responsibility for standards. 1. (a) The office of children and\nfamily services shall promulgate regulations concerning standards of\ncare and treatment and fiscal, administrative, nutritional,\narchitectural and safety standards, consistent with the provisions of\nsection three hundred ninety-eight-a of this chapter, which shall apply\nto all facilities exercising care or custody of children or providing\ncare or shelter to unmarried mothers.\n (b) With respect to facilities exercising care or custody of children,\nno license or operating certificate shall be provided or renewed unless\nit can be demonstrated that such facilities comply with regulations for\nthe prevention and remediation of reportable incidents involving\nchildren in such facilities, including procedures for:\n (i) consistent with appropriate collective bargaining agreements and\napplicable provisions of the civil service law, assisting the justice\ncenter for the protection of people with special needs with its review\nand evaluation of criminal background checks of prospective employees,\nas set forth in subdivision five of section five hundred fifty-three of\nthe executive law;\n (ii) establishing, for employees, relevant minimal experiential and\neducational qualifications consistent with appropriate collective\nbargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service\nlaw;\n (iii) assuring adequate and appropriate supervision of employees,\nvolunteers and consultants;\n (iv) demonstrating by a residential facility or program that\nappropriate action is taken to assure the safety of the child who is\nreported pursuant to article eleven of this chapter to the vulnerable\npersons' central register as well as other children in care, immediately\nupon notification that a report of a reportable incident has been made\nwith respect to a child in such facility or program;\n (v) consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements,\nassuring that an individual who has committed a category one offense, as\ndefined in paragraph (a) of subdivision five of section four hundred\nninety-three of this chapter, that is included on the vulnerable\npersons' central register is not hired or otherwise used in any position\nin which such individual would have regular and substantial contact with\na service recipient in any program operated, licensed or certified by\nthe office;\n (vi) removing a child, consistent as applicable with any court order\nplacing the child, when it is determined that there is risk to such\nchild if he or she continues to remain within a facility or program;\n (vii) appropriate preventive and remedial action to be taken including\nlegal actions, consistent with appropriate collective bargaining\nagreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law.\n (c) With respect to facilities exercising care or custody of children\nsuch standards shall establish as a priority that:\n (i) subject to the amounts appropriated therefor, administrators,\nemployees, volunteers and consultants receive training in at least the\nfollowing: child abuse prevention and identification, safety and\nsecurity procedures, the principles of child development, the\ncharacteristics of children in care and techniques of group and child\nmanagement including crisis intervention, the laws, regulations and\nprocedures governing the protection of children from abuse and neglect,\nand other appropriate topics, provided however, that the office may\nexempt administrators and consultants of such facilities or programs\nfrom such requirements upon demonstration of substantially equivalent\nknowledge or experience; and\n (ii) subject to the amounts appropriated therefor, children receive\ninstruction, consistent with their age, needs and circumstances as well\nas the needs and circumstances within the facility or program, in\ntechniques and procedures which will enable such children to advocate\nfor and protect themselves from reportable incidents; and\n (iii) the office, in consultation with the executive director of the\njustice center for persons with special needs, shall take all reasonable\nand necessary actions to assure that employees, volunteers and\nconsultants in residential care facilities and programs are kept\napprised on a current basis of all office policies and procedures\nrelating to the protection of children from reportable incidents, and\nshall monitor and supervise the provision of training to such\nadministrators, employees, volunteers, children and consultants.\n (d) Such regulations shall be developed in consultation with other\nstate departments and agencies responsible for human services programs\nincluding, but not limited to, the department of education, the\ndepartment of health, the office of mental health, the office for people\nwith developmental disabilities, the office of alcoholism and substance\nabuse services and the justice center for the protection of people with\nspecial needs and shall, to the extent possible, be consistent with\nthose promulgated by other state agencies for such purposes.\n (e) This subdivision shall not apply to facilities operated by or\ncertified or licensed to operate by another state agency.\n (f) No residential institution for children as defined in subdivision\nforty-four of section sixteen hundred seventy-six of the public\nauthorities law shall enter into a lease, sub-lease or other agreement\nwith the dormitory authority pursuant to subdivision forty of section\nsixteen hundred eighty of the public authorities law unless and until:\n (i) the office of children and family services, the director of the\ndivision of the budget and any other state agency which licenses such\nresidential institutions for children first determines that the project\nis necessary to address health and safety needs of children at the\ninstitution, approve the project cost upon determination that such costs\nare reasonable, necessary and cost effective based upon the application\nof cost per square foot guidelines and any other standards applicable to\nthe type of program or to the clinically-required needs of a specialized\ngroup of children to be served by the project; and\n (ii) the office of children and family services or such other state\nagency which licenses such residential institution for children approves\nthe plans and specifications of the residential facilities to be\nreplaced, reconstructed, rehabilitated, improved, renovated, or\notherwise provided for, furnished or equipped.\n 2. (a) The office shall establish regulations governing secure and\nnon-secure detention facilities subject to article nineteen-G of the\nexecutive law and residential facilities operated as approved runaway\nprograms or transitional independent living support programs pursuant to\narticle nineteen-H of the executive law.\n (b) The appropriate offices of the state department of mental hygiene\nshall establish regulations governing all child care facilities subject\nto articles thirty-one and thirty-two of the mental hygiene law.\n (c) The department of mental hygiene and the office shall propose any\nadditional standards as are deemed necessary to adequately ensure the\ncare of children in facilities subject to the inspection and supervision\nof the department, which care for a significant number of mentally\ndisabled children, juvenile delinquents or persons in need of\nsupervision. The final form of any such additional standards shall be\nsubject to the approval of the department of mental hygiene for such\nstandards related to the care of mentally disabled children, or the\noffice for such standards related to the care of juvenile delinquents\nand persons in need of supervision.\n