N.Y. SOS Law § 20 — New York Code / Act SOS / Article 2 / Section 20
Powers and duties of the department
Status: in_force

§ 20. Powers and duties of the department.\n  2. The department shall, as provided in this chapter:\n  (a) administer all the forms of public welfare work for which the\nstate is responsible;\n  (b) supervise all social services work, as the same may be\nadministered by any local unit of government and the social services\nofficials thereof within the state, advise them in the performance of\ntheir official duties and regulate the financial assistance granted by\nthe state in connection with said work;\n  (c) distribute, reimburse and grant as herein provided the funds\nappropriated by the legislature for such participation and also such\nfunds as may be received from the federal government for such purpose or\npurposes.\n  3. The department is authorized:\n  (a) to supervise local social services departments and in exercising\nsuch supervision the department shall approve or disapprove rules,\nregulations and procedures made by local social services officials\nwithin thirty days after filing of same with the commissioner; such\nrules, regulations and procedures shall become operative immediately\nupon approval or on the thirtieth day after such submission to the\ncommissioner unless the commissioner shall specifically disapprove said\nrule, regulation or procedure as being inconsistent with law or\nregulations of the department;\n  (b) in accordance with the provisions of this chapter to make\nreimbursements of local welfare costs on a participating basis\nestablished by law, to advance grants of money for local welfare\npurposes and to administer a discretionary fund for such purposes within\nthe limit of available appropriations;\n  (c) to pay such per centum as the legislature shall determine, of the\nsalaries of local administrative personnel as it shall determine to be\nqualified to perform the duties assigned;\n  (d) to establish rules, regulations and policies to carry out its\npowers and duties under this chapter;\n  (e) to withhold or deny state reimbursement, in whole or in part, from\nor to any social services district or any city or town thereof, in the\nevent of the failure of either of them to comply with law, rules or\nregulations of the department relating to public assistance and care or\nthe administration thereof;\n  (f) to promulgate any regulations the commissioner determines are\nnecessary, in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred\neleven-b of this chapter, and to withhold or deny state reimbursement,\nin whole or in part, from or to any social services district, in the\nevent of the failure of any such district to comply with such\nregulations relating to such district's organization, administration,\nmanagement or program. Upon withholding or denying state reimbursement,\nthe commissioner shall notify the temporary president of the senate, the\nspeaker of the assembly and the chairmen of the senate finance committee\nand assembly ways and means committee;\n  (g) to formulate plans for the recruitment, utilization and training\nof volunteers to assist in performing services and other duties in\nsocial services districts for the purpose of improving participation in\npublic welfare programs;\n  (h) for the purpose of the proper administration of programs of public\nassistance and care, to enter into agreements not inconsistent with\nfederal law, with public agencies responsible for the administration of\npublic assistance and care in any geographically contiguous state, to\nreceive information from such public agencies which is substantially\nsimilar to information obtained by the department from the wage\nreporting system operated by the state department of taxation and\nfinance pursuant to section one hundred seventy-one-a of the tax law\nand, subject to the approval of the state department of taxation and\nfinance, to provide such public agencies with information obtained from\nsuch wage reporting system; provided, however, that no such agreement\nshall be entered into with a public agency of any geographically\ncontiguous state unless such state has by law established standards of\nconfidentiality which are substantially similar to those contained in\nthis chapter prohibiting the disclosure of such information. Upon\nreceipt of wage information from such public agencies, the department\nshall furnish such information to the local social services districts;\n  (i) to assure conformance with federal law, by entering into\nagreements with the federal social security administration and public\nagencies in other states responsible for administering the food stamp\nprogram or programs under title I, II, IV-A, IV-D, X, XIV, XVI, or XIX\nof the social security act under which the department will provide such\nagencies, when required by federal law and only to the extent so\nrequired, with data which may be of use in establishing or verifying\neligibility for or benefit amounts in such programs or ability to pay\nsupport for a person receiving support collection services including\ndata obtained from the wage reporting system operated by the state\ndepartment of taxation and finance pursuant to section one hundred\nseventy-one-a of the tax law.\n  (j) to ensure the provision, on any form required to be completed at\napplication or recertification for the purpose of obtaining financial\nassistance pursuant to this chapter, the form shall contain a check-off\nquestion asking whether the applicant or recipient or a member of his or\nher family served in the United States military, and an option to answer\nin the affirmative. Where the applicant or recipient answers in the\naffirmative to such question, the office of temporary and disability\nassistance shall ensure that contact information for the state\ndepartment of veterans' services is provided to such applicant or\nrecipient addition to any other materials provided.\n  4. The Department shall not withhold state reimbursement from or deny\nstate reimbursement to a social services district, until written notice\nis given to the commissioner of the social services district affected,\nexcept when the reason for the proposed withholding or denying is that\nsuch commissioner does not meet the minimum qualifications required for\nsuch position, to the body or officer that appointed or purported to\nappoint such commissioner:\n  (a) entirely for any period; or\n  (b) in whole or in part, on ten per centum or more of all the cases in\nreceipt of public assistance in such district in any period; or\n  (c) in whole or in part, on ten per centum or more of the cases in\nreceipt of a specific category of assistance in such district in any\nperiod; or\n  (d) for any period, in an amount equal to or greater than ten per\ncentum of the state reimbursement otherwise due the district for such\nperiod.\n  5. (a) In the case of the death of a child whose care and custody or\ncustody and guardianship has been transferred to an authorized agency,\nother than a vulnerable person as defined in article eleven of this\nchapter, or the death of a child for whom any local department of social\nservices has an open child protective services or preventive services\ncase, or in the case of a report made to the statewide central register\nof child abuse and maltreatment involving the death of a child, the\noffice of children and family services shall (i) investigate or provide\nfor an investigation of the cause of and circumstances surrounding such\ndeath, (ii) review such investigation, and (iii) prepare and issue a\nreport on such death, except where a report is issued by an approved\nlocal or regional fatality review team in accordance with section four\nhundred twenty-two-b of this chapter.\n  (b) Such report shall include (i) the cause of death, whether from\nnatural or other causes, (ii) identification of child protective or\nother services provided or actions taken regarding such child and his or\nher family, (iii) any extraordinary or pertinent information concerning\nthe circumstances of the child's death, (iv) whether the child or the\nchild's family had received assistance, care or services from the social\nservices district prior to such child's death, (v) any action or further\ninvestigation undertaken by the department or by the local social\nservices district since the death of the child, (vi) as appropriate,\nrecommendations for local or state administrative or policy changes, and\n(vii) written comments as may be provided by any local social services\ndistrict referenced in such report, to the extent that such comments:\n(A) protect the confidentiality and privacy of the deceased child, his\nor her siblings, the parent or other person legally responsible for such\nchild, any other members of such child's household and the source of any\nreport of suspected child abuse or maltreatment, and (B) are relevant to\nthe fatality reported and pertain to any of the provisions of\nsubparagraph (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v) or (vi) of this paragraph,\nprovided that any comments that pertain to subparagraphs (i), (ii),\n(iii), (iv) or (v) of this paragraph must be factually accurate.\n  Such report shall contain no information that would identify the name\nof the deceased child, his or her siblings, the parent or other person\nlegally responsible for the child or any other members of the child's\nhousehold, but shall refer instead to the case, which may be denoted in\nany fashion determined appropriate by the department or a local social\nservices district. In making a fatality report available to the public\npursuant to paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the department may\nrespond to a child specific request for such report if the commissioner\ndetermines that such disclosure is not contrary to the best interests of\nthe deceased child's siblings or other children in the household,\npursuant to subdivision five of section four hundred twenty-two-a of\nthis chapter. Except as it may apply directly to the cause of the death\nof the child, nothing herein shall be deemed to authorize the release or\ndisclosure to the public of the substance or content of any\npsychological, psychiatric, therapeutic, clinical or medical reports,\nevaluations or like materials or information pertaining to such child or\nthe child's family.\n  (c) Twenty days prior to the release of the report the department\nshall forward the proposed report to each local social services district\nreferenced in the report. Within ten days thereafter, each local social\nservices district may provide written comments in accordance with\nsubparagraph (vii) of paragraph (b) of this subdivision to the\ndepartment in the form and manner required by the department to be\nincluded by the department within the report. No later than six months\nfrom the date of the death of such child, the department shall forward\nits report to the social services district, chief county executive\nofficer, chairperson of the local legislative body of the county where\nthe child's death occurred and the social services district which had\ncare and custody or custody and guardianship of the child, if different.\nThe department shall notify the temporary president of the senate and\nthe speaker of the assembly as to the issuance of such reports and, in\naddition to the requirements of section seventeen of this chapter, shall\nsubmit an annual cumulative report to the governor and the legislature\nincorporating the data in the above reports and including appropriate\nfindings and recommendations. Such reports concerning the death of a\nchild and such cumulative reports shall immediately thereafter be made\navailable to the public after such forwarding or submittal.\n  (d) To enable the office of children and family services or a local or\nregional fatality review team to prepare such report, the office of\nchildren and family services or a local or regional fatality review team\nmay request and shall timely receive from departments, boards, bureaus\nor other agencies of the state, or any of its political subdivisions, or\nany duly authorized agency, or any other agency which provided\nassistance, care or services to the deceased child such information as\nthey are authorized to provide.\n  6. The department is directed to seek appropriate approvals from\nfederal officials to permit commissioners of jurors and clerks of the\ncourt or jury administrators of any United States district court in New\nYork state appointed pursuant to title twenty-eight of the United States\nCode, section 1836(b)(2) in each social services district to obtain the\nnames and addresses of persons applying for or receiving aid to\ndependent children, medicaid, or home relief authorized by this chapter\nfor purposes of identifying prospective jurors. Upon receiving such\napproval or upon determining that no approval is necessary,\nnotwithstanding sections one hundred thirty-six and three hundred\nsixty-nine of this chapter, the department shall provide lists of such\npersons to the chief administrator of the courts, appointed pursuant to\nsection two hundred ten of the judiciary law, or the chief judge of any\nUnited States district court in New York State appointed pursuant to\ntitle twenty-eight of the United States Code. The lists shall be\nprovided for the sole purpose of integration into lists of prospective\njurors as provided by section five hundred six of the judiciary law or\ntitle twenty-eight of the United States Code. The chief administrator of\nthe courts shall upon request provide information from the lists to the\ncommissioner of jurors in each county or, in a county within a city\nhaving a population of one million or more, the county clerk of said\ncounty, solely for the purpose of compiling lists of prospective jurors\nfor the appropriate county. The chief judge of such United States\ndistrict court shall make lists available to such clerk of the court or\njury administrator of a United States district court solely for the\npurpose of compiling lists of prospective jurors for the United States\ndistrict court. The lists shall be provided only pursuant to a\ncooperative agreement between the chief administrator of the courts or,\nin the case of a United States district court, the chief judge of such\nUnited States district court and the commissioner that guarantees that\nall necessary steps shall be taken by the chief administrator of the\ncourts, the chief judge of such United States district court, the\ncommissioners of jurors and the county clerks or the clerk of the court\nor jury administrator or court clerk of the United States district court\nto ensure that the lists are kept confidential and that there is no\nunauthorized use or disclosure of such lists. Furthermore, the lists\nwill be provided only if the chief administrator of the courts or the\nchief judge of the United States district court determines that the\nlists are needed for integration into lists of prospective jurors in one\nor more counties or the district of such United States district court.\nCommissioners of jurors and county clerks, and clerks of the court or\njury administrators or clerk of any United States district court\nreceiving such lists shall not use any information derived from such\nlists for any purpose other than for the selection of jurors and shall\ntake appropriate steps to see that the confidentiality of such\ninformation is maintained.\n  7. To the extent appropriations are available, the office of children\nand family services shall conduct a public education campaign that\nemphasizes zero tolerance for child abuse and maltreatment. Such\ncampaign shall include information about the signs and symptoms of child\nabuse and maltreatment, the hotline available to report child abuse and\nmaltreatment, and services that are available to assist families with\nunderlying issues that may lead to child abuse and maltreatment\nincluding, but not limited to, substance abuse services, domestic\nviolence services, mental health services for adults and services to\nassist families with children in need of mental health treatment. Such\ncampaign may include, but not be limited to, educational and\ninformational materials in print, audio, video, electronic and other\nmedia and public service announcements and advertisements.\n  8. (a) The office of temporary and disability assistance shall\npromulgate rules and regulations for the administration of this\nsubdivision. The rules and regulations shall provide for the conditions\nunder which local social services officials determine the placement of\napplicants for and recipients of public assistance for whom a notice\npursuant to section two hundred three of the correction law, has been\nreceived and who are:\n  (i) determined to be in immediate need of shelter; and\n  (ii) designated a level two or level three sex offender pursuant to\narticle six-C of the correction law.\n  (b) When making determinations in regard to the placement of such\nindividuals in shelter, local social services officials shall consider\nthe following factors:\n  (i) the location of other sex offenders required to register pursuant\nto the sex offender registration act, specifically whether there is a\nconcentration of registered sex offenders in a certain residential area\nor municipality;\n  (ii) the number of registered sex offenders residing at a particular\nproperty;\n  (iii) proximity of the entities with vulnerable populations;\n  (iv) accessibility to family members, friends or other supportive\nservices, including but not limited to locally available sex offender\ntreatment programs with preference for placement of such individuals\ninto programs that have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing sex\noffender recidivism and increasing public safety; and\n  (v) investigation and approval of such placement by the department of\ncorrections and community supervision.\n