NY Exec L § 501 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EXC - Executive Article 19-G - Office of Children and Family Services Title 1 - (Designated Without Title Heading) 501 - General Functions, Powers and Duties of Division.

§ 501. General  functions, powers and duties of division. The division for youth shall have the following functions, powers and duties:  1.  To develop  policies and plans for improving the administration of division facilities and the delivery of services therein.   2. To establish, operate and maintain  treatment  programs  and  other services for youth placed with or committed to the division and programs for the care of conditionally released children.   3.  To  establish,  operate  and  maintain  division facilities and to contract with authorized agencies as defined in  section  three  hundred seventy-one of the social services law for the operation and maintenance of non-secure facilities.   4.  To  establish,  operate  and  maintain all division facilities and programs and all necessary powers to  see  that  the  purposes  of  each facility or program are carried into effect.   5.   To  promulgate  rules  and  regulations  for  the  establishment, operation and maintenance of division facilities and programs.   6. To  enter  into  contracts  with  any  person,  firm,  corporation, not-for-profit  corporation,  authorized  agency  as  defined by section three hundred seventy-one of the social services  law,  municipality  or governmental agency.   7.   To   establish,   operate  and  maintain  programs  and  services alternative to division facilities for persons placed with the  division pursuant  to  section five hundred seven-a of this article. The division may contract with political subdivisions of the state, agencies  thereof or  supported  thereby,  not-for-profit  associations,  institutions  or agencies concerned with youth, for the operation and maintenance of such programs and services.   8. (a) Subject to the amounts  appropriated  therefor,  to  establish, operate and maintain or to contract for the operation and maintenance of programs which may include, but not be limited to work training programs and  alternative  to  placement  programs authorized by law, in order to prevent and control juvenile delinquency,  and  to  advance  the  moral, physical, mental and social well-being of the youth of this state;  (b)  To  establish  and  operate  or  to  participate with the federal government in  the  establishment  and  operation  of  job  corps  camps pursuant  to  the  federal  economic opportunity program and any federal laws amendatory or supplemental thereto, and to accept and receive  such youths as may be referred by federal agencies pursuant to such law.   9.  To cooperate with other departments, divisions and agencies of the state, its political subdivisions and municipalities and cooperate  with public  and  private  agencies  and  departments throughout the state in order to assist in the rehabilitation and training of youth placed  with or committed to the division.   10.  To  encourage  and  foster  an  exchange  of  information  and to cooperate with social agencies, both public and private,  which  may  be administering  to  the needs or assisting any members of the families of youth placed with or committed to the division.   11. To develop a comprehensive five year plan  for  the  provision  of services  for  youths  ordered  by  the  court  into  the custody of the division. Such plan shall include, but not be limited to:  (a) a projection of the  numbers  of  youths  to  be  placed  into  or committed  to  the  care  of  the division at secure, limited secure and non-secure levels of care for the five years encompassed by the plan;  (b) an analysis of current and  anticipated  utilization  of  division facilities;  (c)  a plan for increasing or decreasing residential capacities at all levels as indicated by paragraph (b) of this subdivision;  (d) a comprehensive description of the types of services and  programs to be provided to youths in the custody of the division; and  (e) a plan for containing costs at all levels of residential care.   12.  To promulgate regulations concerning standards for the protection of children in residential facilities and programs operated or certified by the division, from  abuse  and  maltreatment.  Such  standards  shall include  the  prevention  and  remediation  of abuse and maltreatment of children  in  such  residential  facilities   or   programs,   including procedures for:  (a)  consistent  with appropriate collective bargaining agreements and applicable  provisions  of  the  civil  service  law,  the  review   and evaluation  of  the  backgrounds  of and the information supplied by any person applying to be an employee, a volunteer or consultant which shall include but not be limited  to  the  following  requirements:  that  the applicant  set forth his or her employment history, provide personal and employment  references  and  relevant   experiential   and   educational information and sign a sworn statement indicating whether the applicant, to  the best of his or her knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in this state or any other jurisdiction;  (b) establishing for  employees,  relevant  minimal  experiential  and educational   qualifications,  consistent  with  appropriate  collective bargaining agreements and applicable provisions  of  the  civil  service law;  (c)  assuring  adequate  and  appropriate  supervision  of  employees, volunteers and consultants;  (d)  demonstrating  by  a  residential  facility   or   program   that appropriate  action  is  taken  to assure the safety of the child who is reported to the state central register as  well  as  other  children  in care,  immediately  upon  notification  that  a report of child abuse or maltreatment has been made with respect to  a  child  in  a  residential facility or program;  (e) removing of a child, consistent as applicable with any court order placing  the  child,  when  it  is determined that there is risk to such child if he or she continues to remain within a residential facility  or program; and  (f)  appropriate preventive and remedial action to be taken, including legal  actions,  consistent  with  appropriate   collective   bargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law.   Such standards shall also establish as a priority that:  (i)  subject  to  the  amounts  appropriated therefor, administrators, employees, volunteers and consultants receive training in at  least  the following:   child  abuse  prevention  and  identification,  safety  and security  procedures,  the  principles   of   child   development,   the characteristics  of  children  in care and techniques of group and child management including crisis  intervention,  the  laws,  regulations  and procedures   governing   the  protection  of  children  from  abuse  and maltreatment, and other appropriate topics; provided however,  that  the division   may   exempt   administrators   and   consultants  from  such requirements upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or experience;  (ii) subject to the amounts appropriated  therefor,  children  receive instruction,  consistent with their age, needs and circumstances as well as the needs  and  circumstances  within  the  residential  facility  or program, in techniques and procedures which will enable such children to protect themselves from abuse and maltreatment.   The division shall take all reasonable and necessary actions to assure that employees, volunteers and consultants in residential facilities and programs  are  kept apprised on a current basis of all division policies  and procedures relating to the protection of  children  from  abuse  and maltreatment,  and shall monitor and supervise the provision of training to such administrators, employees, volunteers, children and consultants. Such  standards  shall, to the extent possible, be consistent with those promulgated by other state agencies for such purposes.   13. To cooperate with the state  department  of  social  services  and other  departments, divisions and agencies of the state when a report is received pursuant to title six of article six of the social services law to protect the health and safety of children in  residential  facilities or  programs.  Such  cooperation shall include: the making of reports of alleged child abuse and maltreatment, providing necessary assistance  to the   state   department   of   social   services  in  the  department's investigation thereof and considering the recommendations of  the  state department  of  social  services for appropriate preventive and remedial action, including legal actions, and provide or direct  the  residential facility  to  provide  such written reports thereon to the department of social services as to the implementation  of  plans  of  prevention  and remediation  approved  by  the division pursuant to title six of article six of the social services law.   14. To provide for the development and implementation  of  a  plan  of prevention  and remediation with respect to an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment. Such action shall include: (a) within ten days of receipt  of  an  indicated  report  of  child  abuse  or   maltreatment, development  and  implementation of a plan of prevention and remediation to be taken with respect to a custodian or the residential  facility  in order  to  assure  the  continued  health  and safety of children and to provide for the prevention of future acts of abuse or maltreatment;  and (b)   development  and  implementation  of  a  plan  of  prevention  and remediation, in the event an investigation of a report of alleged  child abuse or maltreatment determines that some credible evidence of abuse or maltreatment  exists and such abuse or maltreatment may be attributed in whole or in part to noncompliance by the residential facility or program with  provisions  of  this  chapter  or  regulations  of  the   division applicable to the operation of such residential facility or program. Any plan  of prevention and remediation required to be developed pursuant to paragraph (b) of this  subdivision  by  a  facility  supervised  by  the division  shall  be  submitted  to  and  approved  by  the  division  in accordance with time limits established by regulations of the  division. Implementation  of  the  plan  shall  be  monitored  by the division. In reviewing the continued qualifications  of  a  residential  facility  or program  for  an operating certificate, the division shall evaluate such facility's compliance with plans of prevention and remediation developed and implemented pursuant to this subdivision.   15. In the event that the  office  of  children  and  family  services determines that significant service reductions, public employee staffing reductions   and/or   the   transfer  of  operations  to  a  private  or not-for-profit entity are anticipated in  the  office  of  children  and family  services long term planning process or for a particular facility in a future year, to take the following actions:  (a) confer with the department of civil service, the governor's office of employee relations and any other state agency to  develop  strategies which attempt to minimize the impact on the state workforce by providing assistance    in    obtaining   state   employment   in   state-operated community-based services  or  other  employment  opportunities,  and  to develop  strategies  for  the  development  of  necessary retraining and redeployment programs. In planning such strategies, the commissioner  of the  office  of  children  and  family  services  shall  provide for the participation of the representatives of the employee labor organizations  and for the participation of managerial and  confidential  employees  to ensure continuity of employment;  (b)  consult with the department of economic development and any other appropriate state  agencies  to  develop  strategies  which  attempt  to minimize  the  impact  of  such  significant  service reductions, public employee staffing reductions and/or the  transfer  of  operations  to  a private or not-for-profit entity on the local and regional economies;  (c)  provide  for  a  mechanism  which  may  reasonably be expected to provide notice to local governments, community  organizations,  employee labor organizations, managerial and confidential employees, consumer and advocacy  groups  of  the  potential for significant service reductions, public employee staffing reductions and/or the transfer of operations to a private or not-for-profit entity at such state-operated facilities, at least twelve months prior to commencing such service reduction; and  (d) consult  with  the  office  of  general  services  and  any  other appropriate  state  agency  in  developing  a  mechanism for determining alternative uses for land and buildings to be vacated by the  office  of children  and  family services. Such a mechanism should include a review of other programs or state agencies that  could  feasibly  expand  their operations  onto a state-operated campus and are compatible with health, safety and programmatic needs of persons served in such facilities.   16. To perform such acts as are necessary or convenient to  carry  out the  division's  functions, powers and duties in furtherance of the best interests of youth, consistent with the provisions of this article.