NY Ment Hygiene L § 13.38 (2021)
2021 New York Laws MHY - Mental Hygiene Title C - Developmental Disabilties Act Article 13 - Office for People With Developmental Disabilities 13.38 - Additional Duties of the Office With Respect to Persons Receiving Transitional Care.

§  13.38  Additional  duties  of  the  office  with  respect  to persons receiving transitional care.  (a) The office shall, in consultation with the  department  of  social services, the education department, the office of mental health, and the council   on  children  and  families,  develop  a  plan  and  implement procedures to help assure that all persons who are at the age or time to first qualify for transitional care, as described in section 13.37-a  of this   article,   and   for   whom  the  office  has  accepted  planning responsibilities, receive assistance  in  locating  an  appropriate  and available  residential  placement  or plan of services, within the state and within the system of care subject to the jurisdiction of the office, prior to the age or time at which they would  otherwise  have  qualified for  transitional  care,  if  such  individuals had become twenty-one or become ineligible for educational services prior to July first, nineteen hundred ninety-six. For purposes of this section, the  age  or  time  at which  a  person  would  qualify for transitional care is twenty-one for persons in foster care, and the end of the school  year  in  which  they become twenty-one for persons in residential schools.  (b)  The office shall, in consultation with the  department of  social services, the education department, the office of mental  health,    and the  council  on  children  and  families,  develop a plan and implement procedures to help assure that  all  persons  in    transitional    care receive  assistance  in locating  appropriate  and available  placements within the adult care systems supervised or funded by the office, and to monitor  the  health  and   safety   of persons   receiving transitional funding pursuant to section 13.37-a of this article. In connection  with the plans and procedures, the office shall establish standards governing the quality   of   care   provided to such persons  by  the  residential programs, including standards relating to the development and monitoring of    written  individual    services  plans  for  each such person, the involvement of  the  individual  and,  unless  the  individual  objects, parents,  guardians  or  other  persons  interested  in the care of such persons in the development of   written individual services  plans,  and the  investigation  of  complaints  relating  to  the quality of care or services provided to such persons.   In appropriate  circumstances,  the office  shall  work  with  the  individual  and,  unless  the individual objects,  the  parents,  guardians  or  other  family  members  to  help determine  what  services  would  be  necessary  to enable the family to provide care for the person at their home or in an independent community setting, and shall provide or assist in arranging for those services  to the extent funds  are available  for  that purpose.  (c) The office shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the department  of  social  services  to  facilitate access by the office to child care facilities providing transitional care to young adults as may be necessary for the office to meet its responsibilities for  monitoring the care of the young adults.  (d)  The office shall enter into memorandums of understanding with the department of social services and  the  state  education  department  to address any requirements of those departments relating to the removal of any  person  receiving  transitional  care from a child care facility or residential school whose continuation in such  facility  or  school  may adversely  affect  the health, safety or welfare of children residing in the facility or school. The memorandum shall set  forth  the  procedures the  office will follow in offering a placement or services in the adult care system, if necessary and appropriate, on an expedited basis, or any other  procedures  for  assuring  alternative  care  and  services   are available to the young adult, and the manner in which the department  of  social  services  or  state education department will be informed of the progress of those efforts.  (e)  Upon  making  a  determination  that  a  person  who is receiving transitional care or care pursuant to subdivision (g)  of  this  section can  be  appropriately  cared for in an available adult care facility or service licensed, certified or approved by the office, and whose removal from a child care facility is not required on an  expedited  basis,  the office  shall notify in writing the person and the person's guardian, if one has been appointed, or another individual who has been  involved  in the  care of the person and who may represent the person's interests, of the description of the proposed new placement, the  availability  of  an administrative  appeal  to  review  the determination and of the need to request such an appeal in writing within thirty days of the  notice.  If the  person,  guardian  or  other  individual requests an administrative appeal within the time required, the office  shall  schedule  a  hearing providing  no  less  than ten days notice to the objecting party and the commissioner or his or her designee shall issue a written  determination to  the  objecting  party  within  thirty days of the adjournment of the hearing, on whether the adult placement  identified  by  the  office  is appropriate  to  the needs of the person and is available or will become available on an identified date certain.  If  the  person,  guardian  or other individual does not request a hearing within the time required, or if  the  hearing  results  in  a  determination  that the proposed adult services or placement is appropriate to the needs of the person  and  is available or will be available on an identified date certain, the office shall  discontinue care funding for the person as of a date certain. The written determination shall be the final administrative remedy available and shall be subject to review in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.  (f)  In  any  case  where an individual receiving transitional care is about to be transferred from one facility to another,   a transfer  plan shall be prepared by the sending facility and forwarded to the receiving facility,  the  individual  and,  unless  the  individual  objects,  the parents, guardian or other family members prior  to  the  transfer.  The transfer  plan  shall  include any information necessary to facilitate a safe transfer, such as specific problems, a schedule  for  administering medications and behavior unique to the individual.  (g)  The   office  may make payments necessary to maintain individuals described in subdivision (a) of this section in a child care facility or residential school on an emergency basis where circumstances temporarily prevent the transfer of individuals to adult services or placements.