NY Elder L § 209 (2021)
2021 New York Laws ELD - Elder Article 2 - Programs for the Elderly Title 1 - State Office for the Aging 209 - Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Supportive Service Program.

§  209.  Naturally  occurring  retirement community supportive service program. 1. As used in this section:  (a) "Older adults" shall mean persons who are sixty years  of  age  or older.  (b)   "Eligible   applicant"   shall   mean  a  not-for-profit  agency specializing in housing, health or other human services which serves  or would  serve the community within which a naturally occurring retirement community is located.  (c) "Health indicators/performance improvement" shall  mean  a  survey tool,  database,  and  process  that  provides grantees with performance outcomes data.  (d) "Eligible services" shall mean the following services provided  by a  classic  or  neighborhood NORC program, or in coordination with other entities, including, but not limited to: person centered planning,  case assistance,  care  coordination, information and assistance, application and benefit assistance, health care management and assistance, volunteer services, health promotion  and  linkages  to  prevention  services  and screenings,  linkages to in-home services, health indicators/performance improvement, housekeeping/chore,  personal  care,  counseling,  shopping and/or  meal  preparation  assistance,  escort,  telephone  reassurance, transportation, friendly visiting, support  groups,  personal  emergency response  systems  (PERS),  meals,  recreation,  bill paying assistance, education regarding  the  signs  of  elder  abuse  or  exploitation  and available  resources  for  a  senior  who is a suspected victim of elder abuse  or  exploitation,  chemical  dependance  counseling  provided  by credentialed  alcoholism  and  substance  abuse counselors as defined in paragraph three of subdivision  (d)  of  section  19.07  of  the  mental hygiene  law and referrals to appropriate chemical dependence counseling providers, and other services designed to address the needs of residents of  classic  and  neighborhood  NORCS  by  helping  them  extend   their independence,   improve  their  quality  of  life,  and  maximize  their well-being.  (e) "Naturally occurring  retirement  community",  "classic  naturally occurring   retirement  community"  or  "classic  NORC"  shall  mean  an apartment building or housing complex which:  (1) was not predominantly built for older adults;  (2) does not restrict admissions solely to older adults;  (3) (A) at least forty percent of the units have an occupant who is an older adult; and  (B) in which at least  two  hundred  fifty  of  the  residents  of  an apartment  building  are  older  adults  or  five hundred residents of a housing complex are older adults; and  (4) a majority of the older adults to be served are  low  or  moderate income,  as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.  (f)  "Neighborhood  naturally  occurring  retirement   community"   or "neighborhood  NORC"  shall  mean  a  residential  dwelling  or group of residential dwellings in a geographically defined neighborhood or  group of contiguous neighborhoods which:  (1) was not predominantly developed for older adults;  (2) does not predominantly restrict admission to older adults;  (3)  (A)  in  a  non-rural  area,  has  at least thirty percent of the residents who are older adults or the units have an occupant who  is  an older  adult;  (B)  in  a rural area, has at least twenty percent of the residents who are older adults or the units have an occupant who  is  an older adult; and  (4) is made up of low-rise buildings six stories or less and/or single and  multi-family homes, provided, however, that apartment buildings and housing complexes may be included in rural areas.  (g)  "Rural  areas"  shall  mean  counties  within  the state having a population of less than  two  hundred  thousand  persons  including  the municipalities,  individuals,  institutions,  communities, programs, and such other entities or resources as are found therein; or,  in  counties with  a  population  of  two  hundred  thousand  or  more,  towns with a population density of less than one hundred and fifty persons per square mile including the  villages,  individuals,  institutions,  communities, programs, and such other entities or resources as are found therein.  (h)  "Non-rural areas" shall mean any county, city, or town that has a population or population density greater than that which defines a rural area pursuant to this subdivision.   2. A  naturally  occurring  retirement  community  supportive  service program is established as a program to be administered by the director.   3.  The  director shall develop appropriate criteria for the selection of grantees of funds provided pursuant to this section.   4. The criteria for the award of grants shall be consistent  with  the provisions of this section and shall include, at a minimum:  (a)  the number, size, type and location of the projects to be served, including the number, size, type and location of  residential  dwellings or  group  of residential dwellings selected as candidates for inclusion in a neighborhood naturally occurring  retirement  community;  provided, that   the  director  shall  make  reasonable  efforts  to  assure  that geographic balance in the distribution of such projects  is  maintained, consistent   with   the   needs  to  be  addressed,  funding  available, applications for eligible applicants, ability  to  coordinate  services, other  requirements of this section, and other criteria developed by the director;  (b) the appropriate number and concentration of older adult  residents to be served by an individual project; provided, that such criteria need not  specify, in the case of a project which includes several buildings, the number of older adults to be served in any individual building;  (c) the demographic characteristics of the residents to be served;  (d) a  requirement  that  the  applicant  demonstrate  community  wide support  from  residents,  neighborhood  associations, community groups, nonprofit organizations and others;  (e)  in  the  case  of  neighborhood  naturally  occurring  retirement communities, a requirement that the boundaries of the geographic area to be  served are clear and coherent and create an identifiable program and supportive community;  (f) the financial or in-kind support required to be  provided  to  the project by the owners, managers and residents of the housing development or  geographically  defined  area; provided, however, that such criteria need not address whether the funding is public or private, or the source of such support;  (g) the scope and intensity of the services to be provided, and  their appropriateness  for  the residents proposed to be served. The applicant shall have conducted a needs assessment  on  the  basis  of  which  such applicant  shall  establish  the  nature  and  extent  of services to be provided; and  further  that  such  services  shall  provide  a  mix  of appropriate  services  that  provide active and meaningful participation for residents. The criteria shall not require that the applicant  agency be  the  sole  provider  of  such  services,  but shall require that the applicant at a minimum actively manage the provision of  such  services. Such  services  may  be  the  same  as  services  provided  by the local municipality or other community-based organization provided  that  those  services  are  not available to or do not entirely meet the needs of the residents of the classic or neighborhood naturally occurring  retirement community;  (h)  the  experience  and financial stability of the applicant agency, who shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director  their  fiscal and managerial stability and programmatic success in serving residents;  (i)  the  plan  for  active,  meaningful  participation  for residents proposed to be served in  project  design,  implementation,  monitoring, evaluation, and governance;  (j)  an  agreement  by the applicant to participate in data collection and evaluation necessary to implement performance  measures  for  health indicators/performance  improvement  and complete the report required by this section;  (k) the policy and program roles of the applicant agency and any other agencies involved in the provision of services or the management of  the project,    including   community-based   organizations,   the   housing development governing body, or other owners or managers of the apartment buildings and housing complexes and  the  residents  of  such  apartment buildings  and  housing  complexes.  The  criteria shall require a clear delineation of such policy and program roles;  (l) a requirement that each eligible agency document the need for  the project  and  financial  commitments  to  it  from  such  sources as the director shall deem appropriate given the character and  nature  of  the proposed  project,  and written evidence of support from the appropriate housing development governing body or other owners or  managers  of  the apartment  buildings  and  housing  complexes  in  the  case  of classic naturally  occurring  retirement  communities,  or  the   geographically defined  neighborhood  in  the  case of neighborhood naturally occurring retirement communities. The purpose of such documentation  shall  be  to demonstrate  the need for the project, support for it in the areas to be served, and the financial and managerial ability to sustain the project;  (m) a requirement that any aid provided pursuant to  this  section  be matched  by  an  amount  equal  to  one  quarter  of  the  aid provided, consisting of monetary support, in-kind  support,  or  some  combination thereof  from  other  sources,  provided  that  such  in-kind support be utilized only upon approval from the director and  only  to  the  extent matching funds are not available and that at least fifty percent of such required  match be contributed by the housing development governing body or other owners or managers and residents of the apartment buildings and housing complexes, or geographically defined area, in which the  project is proposed, or, upon approval by the director, sources in neighborhoods contiguous  to  the  boundaries  of  the  geographic  areas served where services may also be  provided  pursuant  to  subdivision  six  of  this section;  (n)  the  circumstances under which the director may waive all or part of the requirement for provision of an  equal  amount  of  funding  from other  sources  required  pursuant to paragraph (m) of this subdivision, provided that such criteria shall include provision for  waiver  at  the discretion  of  the  director  upon  a  finding by the director that the program will serve a low income or hardship  community,  and  that  such waiver is required to assure that such community receive a fair share of the  funding available. The committee shall develop appropriate criteria for determining  whether  a  community  is  a  low  income  or  hardship community;  (o) the policy and program roles of the applicant agency and any other agencies  involved in the provision of services or the management of the neighborhood naturally occurring retirement community, provided that the  criteria shall require a clear delineation of such  policy  and  program roles; and  (p)  a  plan for coordination with the designated area agency on aging to  leverage  additional  services  for  classic  or  neighborhood  NORC participants.   4-a.  The  director  shall  develop  a  list  of priority and optional services  from  the  eligible  services  listed  in  paragraph  (d)   of subdivision  one  of  this section which may be used in the selection of grantees pursuant to this section.   4-b. Notwithstanding any provision of law to  the  contrary,  priority shall  be  given  in  any  competitive  bidding or request for proposals process conducted  for  the  naturally  occurring  retirement  community supportive  services  program  to  applicants  that  propose  to serve a building, housing complex, or catchment area that is being served at the time of the competitive bidding or request for proposals process.   5. Within amounts specifically appropriated  therefor  and  consistent with  the  criteria  developed and required pursuant to this section the director shall approve grants to eligible applicants. Individual  grants awarded  for  classic  NORC  programs  shall be in amounts not to exceed three hundred thousand ( $300,000) dollars and  for  neighborhood  NORCs not  less  than  sixty  thousand  ($60,000)  dollars in any twelve month period.   6. The director may allow services provided by a  naturally  occurring retirement  community  supportive  service  program or by a neighborhood naturally occurring retirement community to  also  include  services  to residents  who live in neighborhoods contiguous to the boundaries of the geographic area served by such programs if: (a) the persons  served  are older  adults;  (b)  the  services affect the health and welfare of such persons; and (c) the services are provided on a one-time  basis  in  the year  in  which  they are provided, and not in a manner which is said or intended to  be  continuous.  The  director  may  also  consent  to  the provision of such services by such program if the program has received a grant  which  requires  services  to  be  provided beyond the geographic boundaries of the program. The director shall establish procedures under which a program may request the ability to provide  such  services.  The provision  of such services shall not affect the funding provided to the program by the department pursuant to this section.   7. The director shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.   8. On or before March first, two thousand  nineteen,  and  every  five years  thereafter,  the  director  shall  report to the governor and the finance committee of the senate and the ways and means committee of  the assembly   concerning  the  effectiveness  of  the  naturally  occurring retirement  community  supportive  services  program  in  achieving  the objectives  set  forth by this section, which include helping to address the needs of  residents  in  such  classic  and  neighborhood  naturally occurring  retirement  communities,  assuring  access  to a continuum of necessary services, increasing private, philanthropic and  other  public funding  for  programs,  and preventing unnecessary hospital and nursing home stays.  The report shall also  include  recommendations  concerning continuation  or  modification  of  the  program  from the director. The director  shall  provide  the  required  information   and   any   other information  deemed appropriate to the report in such form and detail as will be helpful to the legislature and the governor  in  determining  to extend,  eliminate  or modify the program including, but not limited to, the following:  (a) the number, size, type and location of the projects developed  and funded,  including  the  number,  kinds  and  functions of staff in each program;  (b)   the   age,  sex,  religion  and  other  appropriate  demographic information concerning the residents served;  (c) the services provided to residents, reported in such manner as  to allow comparison of services by demographic group and region;  (d)  a  listing  of  the  services  provided  by  eligible applicants, including the number, kind and intensity of such services; and  (e) a listing of partner organizations providing services, the number, kind and intensity of such services, and, to the extent practicable, the outcomes of such referrals.