NY Soc Serv L § 461-J (2021)
2021 New York Laws SOS - Social Services Article 7 - Residential Care Programs for Adults and Children Title 2 - Residential Programs for Adults 461-J - Family Type Homes for Adults; Special Needs Funds.

§  461-j.  Family  type  homes for adults; special needs funds. 1. The commissioner shall establish a procedure whereby payments shall be  made to  duly  certified  operators  of  family type homes for adults for the purpose of meeting one or more  of  certain  special  needs  of  persons residing  in  such  facilities  and  properly  receiving  or eligible to receive supplemental  security  income,  additional  state  payments  or safety net assistance benefits, as follows:  (a)   Payments   to   be  used  for  necessary  clothing,  recreation, transportation and cultural activities of specified individual residents shall not exceed two hundred ninety dollars per resident per year.  (b) Payments to be used for provision of substitute care to  residents during   periods  of  emergency  and  scheduled  absence  of  operators, including periods of operator absence for the purposes of education  and training, shall not exceed five hundred dollars per facility per year.  (c)  Payments  to  be  used for health and safety equipment  shall not exceed seventy-five dollars per facility per year.   2. Social services districts shall establish a  separate  account  for special  needs  funds  and shall administer payments to operators out of said account, in accordance with regulations which shall be  promulgated by  the  department.  The  department  shall  pay  district costs out of available appropriations for such purposes, to the extent of one hundred percent of the amount expended  pursuant  to  subdivision  one  of  this section,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section one hundred fifty-three of this chapter.  In  addition,  the  department  shall,  in accordance  with  the  provisions  of section one hundred fifty-three of this chapter, reimburse one hundred percent of amounts expended by  each district for administration under this section only to the extent of ten percent  of the amount paid by such district pursuant to subdivision one of this section, and shall thereafter reimburse  fifty  percent  of  any additional  amounts paid by such district for such administrative costs. The department may make advances to districts which shall  then  advance such  funds  to  duly certified operators, to the extent provided for by department regulations, in anticipation of costs incurred in meeting the special needs as set forth  in  subdivision  one  of  this  section  and related   administrative   costs   in   accordance  with  the  procedure established by the commissioner. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed  to  require  expenditures  by  any  district  pursuant  to subdivision one of this section, in excess of the amounts made available to the district by the department pursuant to this section.   3.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, state reimbursement to districts may be made only from and to the extent of moneys appropriated to the department for such purposes.   4. The department shall audit payments and maintenance of accounts  in accordance   with   department   regulations.   The  commissioner  shall promulgate regulations to carry out the purposes of this section.