NY Soc Serv L § 2 (2021)
2021 New York Laws SOS - Social Services Article 1 - Short Title; Definitions 2 - Definitions.

§ 2. Definitions. When used in this chapter unless otherwise expressly stated  or  unless  the  context  or subject matter requires a different interpretation.   1. Department means the state department of social services,  provided however  that  for  purposes  of titles eleven, eleven-A and eleven-B of article five of this chapter, department means the state  department  of health,  except  that  in  subdivisions  two  and three of section three hundred sixty-four-i, clause (d) of subparagraph three of paragraph  (b) of  subdivision two of section three hundred sixty-six, paragraph (b) of subdivision four of section three hundred  sixty-six,  subdivisions  one through  five of section three hundred sixty-six-a, subdivision seven of section  three  hundred   sixty-six-a,   and   section   three   hundred sixty-eight-c  of  this  chapter  and  where the context thereof clearly requires otherwise, department means  the  state  department  of  social services.   2.  Board  means the state board of social welfare as continued by the executive law.   6. Commissioner means  the  state  commissioner  of  social  services, provided  however  that  for  purposes  of  titles  eleven, eleven-A and eleven-B of article five of this chapter, commissioner means  the  state commissioner  of health, except that in clause (c) of subparagraph three of paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section three  hundred  sixty-six of   this  chapter  and  where  the  context  thereof  clearly  requires otherwise, commissioner means the state commissioner of social services.   7. Social services district means a city  or  county  social  services district as constituted by section sixty-one.   8.  County  commissioner  of  social  services  shall  mean the county officer, board or commission, by whatever title known, having  authority to give the public assistance and care for the administration of which a county social services district is responsible.   9.  City  commissioner of social services shall mean the city officer, board or commission, by whatever title known, having authority  to  give the  public  assistance  and care for the administration of which a city social services district is responsible.   10. Commissioner of social  services  shall  mean  a  city  or  county commissioner of social services.   14.  Social  services  official  shall  mean  a county commissioner of social services, a city commissioner of social services, a  town  social services  officer  or  city social services officer to whom the power or duty referred to is assigned under the provisions of  this  chapter.  In any law where reference is made by any title to an official charged with the  duty  of caring for the poor in a town, city or county, it shall be understood as referring  to  the  one  of  the  above  mentioned  social services  officials  on  whom the power or duty referred to is conferred under the provisions of this chapter.   15. Public home means an adult care facility or a  residential  health care  facility  operated by a social services district. In any law where reference is made by any name  to  an  almshouse  maintained  at  public expense, it shall be construed as referring to a public home.   16.  Legislative  body  means  the  board  or boards empowered to make appropriations for public assistance and care in a county, town or city.   17. Social services department means the division or officer  of  city government or the office or official or board charged with the authority to  administer  public  assistance or care in the county social services district.   18. Public assistance and care includes family assistance, safety  net assistance,  veteran  assistance,  medical assistance for needy persons,  institutional care for adults and child care granted at  public  expense pursuant to this chapter.   19.   Public  assistance  refers  to  family  assistance,  safety  net assistance and veteran assistance.   * 21. Adult care facility shall mean a family type home for adults,  a shelter  for adults, a residence for adults, an enriched housing program or an adult home, which provides temporary or long-term residential care and services to adults who, though not requiring  continual  medical  or nursing  care  as  provided  by  facilities licensed pursuant to article twenty-eight  of  the  public   health   law   or   articles   nineteen, twenty-three,  thirty-one  and thirty-two of the mental hygiene law, are by reason of physical or other limitations associated with age, physical or mental disabilities or other factors, unable or substantially  unable to  live  independently.  In  addition, a residence for adults, enriched housing program or an adult home may provide services  to  non-residents in accordance with the provisions of section four hundred sixty-one-k of this chapter.   * NB Effective until July 1, 2023   * 21.  Adult care facility shall mean a family type home for adults, a shelter for adults, a residence for adults, an enriched housing  program or an adult home, which provides temporary or long-term residential care and  services  to  adults who, though not requiring continual medical or nursing care as provided by  facilities  licensed  pursuant  to  article twenty-eight of the public health law or articles nineteen, twenty-three and  thirty-one  of the mental hygiene law, are by reason of physical or other limitations associated with age, physical or  mental  disabilities or other factors, unable or substantially unable to live independently.   * NB Effective July 1, 2023   22.  A  family  type home for adults shall mean an adult care facility established  and  operated  for  the  purpose  of  providing   long-term residential  care  and personal care and/or supervision to four or fewer adult persons unrelated to the operator.   23. A shelter for adults shall mean an adult care facility established and operated for the purpose of providing  temporary  residential  care, room,  board,  supervision, information and referral, and where required by the department or otherwise deemed necessary by the operator,  social rehabilitation services, for adults in need of temporary accommodations, supervision  and  services. Such definition shall not include facilities providing such temporary  residential  services  to  fewer  than  twenty persons, unless such facility is operated by a social services district.   24.  A  residence  for  adults  shall  mean  an  adult  care  facility established  and  operated  for  the  purposes  of  providing  long-term residential  care,  room, board, housekeeping and supervision to five or more  adults,  unrelated  to  the  operator.  The  provisions  of   this subdivision shall not apply to any housing projects established pursuant to  the  private  housing  finance  law,  the  public  housing  law, the membership corporations law or the not-for-profit corporation law except for those distinct programs operated  by  such  projects  which  provide supervision  and/or personal care and which are approved or certified by the department.   25. An adult home shall mean an adult care  facility  established  and operated  for the purpose of providing long-term residential care, room, board, housekeeping, personal care, (either directly or indirectly), and supervision to five or  more  adults  unrelated  to  the  operator.  The provisions  of  this subdivision shall not apply to any housing projects established pursuant to the private  housing  finance  law,  the  public housing  law,  the  membership  corporations  law  or the not-for-profit corporation law except for those  distinct  programs  operated  by  such  projects  which  provide  supervision and/or personal care and which are approved or certified by the department.   26.  A private proprietary residence for adults shall mean a residence for adults, as defined by subdivision twenty-four of this section, which is operated for compensation and profit.   27. A private proprietary adult home shall  mean  an  adult  home,  as defined  by  subdivision  twenty-five of this section, which is operated for compensation and profit.   28. An enriched housing program shall  mean  an  adult  care  facility established   and  operated  for  the  purpose  of  providing  long-term residential care to five or more adults,  primarily  persons  sixty-five years  of  age  or  older,  in  community-integrated settings resembling independent housing units. Such program shall  provide  or  arrange  the provision  of  room,  and provide board, housekeeping, personal care and supervision.   29. For purposes of title two, and, where  applicable,  title  one  of article  seven  of  this  chapter, an operator shall include any natural person or entity which provides or purports to provide residential  care and services in an adult care facility.   30.  An  intermediate  care  facility  shall  mean  a facility or part thereof approved by the state department of health  to  provide  therein health-related  care  and  services  to  persons  who  because  of their physical or mental condition, or both, require  institutional  care  and services,  in addition to board and lodging, but who do not have such an illness,  disease,  injury,  or  other  condition  as  to  require   the institutional  care  and services provided only by a hospital or nursing home, providing such facility meets standards of safety  and  sanitation in  accordance  with state and federal requirements in addition to those applicable to nursing homes under state law.   31. The term "infant" or "minor" shall  mean  a  person  who  has  not attained the age of eighteen years except with respect to article six of this chapter.   32. "Residential treatment facility for children and youth" shall have the meaning defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law.   33.  "Residential  care  center  for  adults"  shall  have the meaning defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law.   35. Indian tribe shall mean those tribes designated as  Indian  tribes by  the  bureau  of  Indian  affairs  of  the  federal department of the interior or by the state of New York.   36. Indian child shall mean any unmarried person who:  (a) is under the age of eighteen; or  (b) is under the age of  twenty-one,  entered  foster  care  prior  to his/her eighteenth birthday and remains in care, and who:  (i) is a member of an Indian tribe, or  (ii) is eligible for membership in an Indian tribe, or  (iii)  is  the  biological child of a member of an Indian tribe and is residing on or is domiciled within an Indian reservation.   * 37. "Comprehensive psychiatric emergency  program"  shall  have  the meaning defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law.   * NB Repealed July 1, 2024   38.  When  used  in  this  chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings, unless otherwise  expressly  stated  or  unless  the context or subject matter requires a different interpretation:  (a)  "Medicaid"  or "medical assistance" means title eleven of article five of this chapter and the program thereunder.  (b) "Family health plus" means title eleven-D of article five of  this chapter and the program thereunder.  (c)  "Child  health  plus" means title one-A of article twenty-five of the public health law and the program thereunder.  (d)  "Medicaid  managed  care"  means  Medicaid provided under section three hundred sixty-four-j of this chapter.  (e) "Medicaid fee-for-service"  means  Medicaid  provided  other  than under Medicaid managed care.  (f) "Verification organization" means an entity, operating in a manner consistent with applicable federal and state confidentiality and privacy laws  and  regulations,  which  uses  electronic means including but not limited to contemporaneous  telephone  verification  or  contemporaneous verified  electronic  data  to  verify  whether  a  service  or item was provided to an eligible medicaid recipient. For each service or item the verification organization shall capture:  (i) the identity of the individual providing services or items to  the medicaid recipient;  (ii) the identity of the Medicaid recipient; and  (iii) the date, time, duration, location and type of service or item.   A list of verification organizations shall be jointly developed by the department of health and the office of the medicaid inspector general.  (g)  "Exception  report" means an electronic report containing all the data fields in paragraph (f) of this subdivision for  conflicts  between services  or  items on the basis of the identity of the person providing the service or item to the  medicaid  recipient,  the  identity  of  the medicaid recipient, and/or time, date, duration or location of service;  (h) "Conflict report" means an electronic report containing all of the data fields in paragraph (f) of this subdivision detailing incongruities in  services or items between scheduling and/or location of service when compared to a duty roster.  (i) "Participating provider" means a  certified  home  health  agency, long  term  home  health  agency  or  personal  care provider with total medicaid reimbursements, including reimbursements  through  the  managed care  program established pursuant to section three hundred sixty-four-j of this chapter, exceeding fifteen million dollars per calendar year.