NY Soc Serv L § 153-K (2021)
2021 New York Laws SOS - Social Services Article 5 - Assistance and Care Title 2 - State Reimbursement for Public Assistance and Care 153-K - Funding for Children and Family Services.

* §   153-k.   Funding  for  children  and  family  services.  1.  (a) Expenditures made by social  services  districts  for  child  protective services,  preventive  services  provided,  as  applicable,  to eligible children and families of children who are in  and  out  of  foster  care placement, independent living services, aftercare services, and adoption administration  and  services  other  than  adoption  subsidies provided pursuant to article six of this  chapter  and  the  regulations  of  the department  of  family  assistance  shall,  if approved by the office of children and family services, be subject  to  sixty-five  percent  state reimbursement  exclusive  of  any  federal funds made available for such purposes, in accordance with the directives of the department of  family assistance and subject to the approval of the director of the budget.  (b)  Claims  for  preventive  services and independent living services submitted by  a  social  services  district  for  reimbursement  may  be comprised  of  in-kind,  indirect  services,  and  non-tax  levy  funds, including but not limited to privately donated funds,  up  to  the  same amount as the social services district's claims for such services during federal  fiscal  year  nineteen  hundred  ninety-eight--ninety-nine were comprised  of  in-kind,  indirect  services  and  non-tax  levy   funds; provided, however, that up to seventeen and one-half percent of a social services  district's  claims  for  preventive  services  and independent living services may be comprised  of  privately  donated  funds  if  the percentage  of  its claims comprised of privately donated funds was less than seventeen and one-half percent during federal fiscal year  nineteen hundred     ninety-eight--nineteen    hundred    ninety-nine.    Federal reimbursement of such claims shall  be  available  only  to  the  extent permitted by federal law or regulations.   2.  (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or of any other law to the contrary, eligible expenditures by a social services district for  foster  care  services shall be subject to reimbursement with state funds only to the extent of annual appropriations to  the  state  foster care  block  grant. Such foster care services shall include expenditures for the provision and administration of: care, maintenance, supervision, tuition, and transportation costs related to the education of  a  foster child  or  youth  incurred in accordance with paragraph c of subdivision four of section thirty-two hundred  forty-four  of  the  education  law; supervision  of  foster  children  placed  in federally funded job corps programs; and care, maintenance, supervision and tuition for adjudicated juvenile delinquents and  persons  in  need  of  supervision  placed  in residential programs operated by authorized agencies and in out-of-state residential  programs;  except that, notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, reimbursement with state funds pursuant  to  the state  foster  care  block  grant  shall  not  be  available for tuition expenditures  for  foster  children,  including  persons  in   need   of supervision  and  adjudicated  juvenile  delinquents,  made  by a social services district located within a  city  having  a  population  of  one million  or  more.  Social services districts must develop and implement children and family services  delivery  systems  that  are  designed  to reduce  the  need  for and the length of foster care placements and must document their efforts in the multi-year consolidated services plan  and the   annual   implementation  reports  submitted  pursuant  to  section thirty-four-a of this chapter.  (b) State reimbursement to each  social  services  district  shall  be limited to the district's allocation of the foster care block grant. The state  funds  appropriated  for  the  foster  care  block grant shall be apportioned among  the  social  services  districts  by  the  office  of children  and  family  services based on the district's claiming history  and other factors. Such apportionments shall be subject to the  approval of the director of the budget.  (c) Any portion of a social services district's apportionment from the foster  care  block grant for a particular state fiscal year that is not claimed by such district during that state fiscal year may  be  used  by such  district  for  preventive services, independent living services or aftercare services claimed by such district during the next state fiscal year up to the amount remaining from the district's  foster  care  block grant  apportionment;  provided, however, that any claims for preventive services, independent living services or aftercare services  during  the next  state  fiscal  year  in  excess of such amount shall be subject to state reimbursement pursuant to subdivision one  of  this  section.  Any claims  submitted  by a social services district for reimbursement for a particular state fiscal year for which the social services district does not receive state or federal reimbursement during that state fiscal year may not be claimed against that district's block grant apportionment for the next state fiscal year.   3. To the extent that monies are made available to the commissioner of the office of children and family services from the children and  family services  quality  enhancement  fund  established  pursuant  to  section ninety-seven-yyy of the state finance law, the office  of  children  and family  services  is  authorized  to  conduct activities to increase the availability and/or quality of children  and  family  services  programs which  may  include, but not be limited to, staff recruitment, retention and  training  activities,  research  projects,  and  targeted  services expansion  and/or  demonstration  projects to test innovative models for service delivery which may include such areas as health,  mental  health and  substance  abuse  services.  Notwithstanding  sections  one hundred twelve and one hundred  sixty-three  of  the  state  finance  law,  such activities  shall  be  conducted  without competitive bid or request for proposal.   4.  (a)  A  social  services  district,  either  individually  or   in combination  with other social services districts, may establish managed care systems or other systems to provide children  and  family  services other  than child protective services investigations, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Such a system may include, but  not  be limited to, the establishment of capitated rates for service provided to children  to prevent the placement of such children into foster care and to discharge such children from foster care to suitable, permanent, safe homes in a more timely manner through preventive  services,  intensified discharge  planning,  pre-adoptive  services, after-care services and/or post-adoption services.  (b) Social services district payments to case managers  or  public  or private   service  providers  under  such  a  system  may  be  based  on reimbursement rates established by the office  of  children  and  family services  pursuant  to  section  three  hundred  ninety-eight-a  of this chapter, capitated rates or  other  payment  mechanisms  for  all  or  a portion  of  the  services, either separately or combined. To facilitate payments to case managers or  providers,  the  office  of  children  and family  services  may establish procedures for standardizing payments to managers or providers that enter into  agreements  with  more  than  one social services district.  (c)  Under  such  a  system,  a  social services district may delegate responsibility  for  case  management  services  to  case  managers   or providers  in  a  manner  designed  to  afford  case manager or provider accountability through the incorporation of  quality  control  standards that provide appropriate monitoring of these services such as recognized  accreditation  mechanisms,  performance  audits  by  the social services district or other means.  (d)  Under such a system, a social services district, in a purchase of service agreement for preventive services with an authorized agency, may delegate to such authorized agency the responsibility for approving  and paying  rent  subsidies or assistance under paragraph (c) of subdivision five and/or subdivision seven of section four  hundred  nine-a  of  this chapter.  (e)(i)  A  social  services  district  must  obtain the office's prior approval of its plan for establishing and implementing such a system, in accordance with guidelines established by the  office  of  children  and family services.  (ii) Such a plan may include requests for a waiver of any statutory or regulatory  requirements established pursuant to sections thirty-four-a, four hundred nine-d and four hundred nine-e of  this  chapter  regarding the  form,  content,  development,  or  amendment  of  the child welfare services plan component of the multi-year services plan and  the  annual implementation reports, family services plans and uniform case records.  (iii)  Any  request  by  a social services district for a waiver shall identify the specific statute or regulation to be waived, and include  a justification  for the waiver and alternative actions to be taken by the social services district to satisfy  the  purposes  of  the  statute  or regulation.  The  office  of  children and family services may grant any such waiver request, subject to the approval  of  the  director  of  the budget,  where  the  social  services  district  applying for the waiver demonstrates a reasonable administrative or  programmatic  justification for  the waiver. The potential fiscal impact of the waiver upon federal, state and local governments shall be evaluated by the office of children and family services as part of its review of the request for  a  waiver. The  office  of  children  and family services may impose durational and other reasonable conditions if an approval of  the  waiver  is  granted. Where  a  waiver  is granted, the office of children and family services shall have the  authority  to  establish  alternative  standards  to  be followed by social services officials. The office of children and family services  may  not  grant  a  waiver  that  would  fail  to  comply with applicable  federal  statutory  or  regulatory  standards.  The   social services  district  may  not  revise local practice or policy unless and until the office of children and family services approves the waiver.  (iv) The office of children and family services shall  provide  notice to  the  governor  and  the  legislature  of  each plan that is approved including a brief description of the plan and any  waivers  granted  and any  alternative  standards  established.  The  office  shall provide an annual  report  to  the  governor  and  the  legislature  regarding  the implementation  of  all approved plans during a calendar year by January thirty-first of the following year.   5.  (a)  Social   services   districts   shall   conduct   eligibility determinations  and  submit  claims  for  reimbursement in such form and manner and at such times and for  such  periods  as  the  department  of family assistance shall determine.  (b)  When  certified  by  the  department  of family assistance, state reimbursement shall be paid from the state treasury upon the  audit  and warrant of the comptroller out of funds made available therefor.  (c)   The  department  of  family  assistance  is  authorized  in  its discretion to make advances to social services districts in anticipation of the state reimbursement provided for in this section.   6. (a) Payment of state reimbursement and advances shall  be  made  to the  fiscal  officer  of  the  social services district entitled thereto pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.  (b) Any inconsistent  provision  of  the  law  or  regulation  of  the department  of  family  assistance  notwithstanding, state reimbursement shall not be made for any expenditure made for the  duplication  of  any grant or allowance for any period.   7.  The office of children and family services shall not reimburse any claims for expenditures for those children and family services set forth in subdivisions one and two of this section that are submitted more than twenty-two months after the calendar quarter in which  the  expenditures were made.   8.  Claims  submitted  by a social services district for reimbursement shall be paid after deducting any expenditures defrayed by  fees,  third party  reimbursement, and any non-tax levy funds including donated funds that exceed the amount  that  may  be  claimed  for  state  and  federal reimbursement  pursuant  to  paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision one of this section.   9. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the state shall not  be responsible  for  reimbursing  a social services district and a district shall not  seek  state  reimbursement  for  any  portion  of  any  state disallowance  or sanction taken against the social services district, or any federal disallowance attributable to final federal agency  decisions or  to  settlements  made,  on  or  after  July  first, nineteen hundred ninety-five, when such disallowance or sanction results from the failure of the  social  services  district  to  comply  with  federal  or  state requirements,  including,  but  not  limited  to,  failure  to  document eligibility for the federal or state funds in the case record; provided, however, if the office of children and family services  determines  that any  federal  disallowance  for services provided between January first, nineteen hundred ninety-nine  and  May  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred ninety-nine  results  solely  from  the  late  enactment  of  the  state legislation implementing the federal adoption and safe families act, the state  shall  be  solely  responsible  for  the  full  amount   of   the disallowance  or  sanction. This provision shall be deemed to apply both prospectively and retroactively regardless of whether  the  disallowance or  sanction  is  for services provided or claims made prior to or after April first, two thousand two.   10. (i) In accordance with regulations  developed  by  the  office  of children  and  family services, the office shall measure each district's compliance with the federal child welfare outcome standards beginning no later than twenty months after the effective date of this  section.  The office  is  authorized  to  impose  fiscal  penalties  against  a social services district that fails to substantially comply  with  the  outcome standards  or  to  make  sufficient  progress towards complying with the outcome standards after developing and implementing a corrective  action plan  in the time and manner approved by the office. The imposition of a fiscal penalty shall be subject  to  an  appeal  process  set  forth  in regulation.  Any fiscal penalties received by the office of children and family services pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited  to  the credit  of  the  children  and  family services quality enhancement fund established pursuant to section ninety-seven-yyy of  the  state  finance law.  For  social  services districts in counties with less than fifteen thousand children under the age of eighteen, the office  may  waive  the fiscal  penalties  and  the  need  for  a  corrective action plan if the failure to substantially comply with the outcome standards was based  on extraordinary circumstances. The office may provide fiscal incentives to social  services  districts  with high performances on the federal child welfare outcome standards. A social services district may pass on to its contract agencies  some  portion  of  the  fiscal  penalties  or  fiscal incentives that may be attributable to such agencies.  (ii) The office shall provide an annual report to the governor and the legislature   detailing:   each  county's  performance  on  the  outcome standards, the amount of fiscal penalties imposed against  each  county, and  the  amount  of  fiscal  penalties collected from each county. Said report  shall  be  delivered to the director of the budget, the chair of the senate finance committee and the chair  of  the  assembly  ways  and means committee annually on a calendar year basis, by March fifteenth of the following year.   11.  The  office  of  children  and  family  services  shall  submit a preliminary report to the governor and the legislature on or before  the thirty-first  day  of  December, two thousand four providing preliminary data and information on the implementation of this  section,  and  shall submit  a final report by the fifteenth day of August, two thousand five assessing the implementation of and  the  outcomes  resulting  from  the children  and  family  services financing provisions established by this section through the thirtieth day of June, two thousand five. The  final report  shall  include  information  regarding  services delivery trends under the financing structure set forth in this section  and  innovative models of service provision to be considered for replication.   12.  Notwithstanding  any  law  to  the  contrary, on or after January first, two thousand twenty, the state shall not reimburse for  the  cost of  any  placement of persons in need of supervision under article seven of the family court act.   * NB Repealed June 30, 2022