NY Soc Serv L § 483-C (2021)
2021 New York Laws SOS - Social Services Article 10-C - State Council on Children and Families 483-C - Coordinated Children's Services for Children With Emotional And/or Behavioral Disorders.

§  483-c.  Coordinated children's services for children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. 1. Purpose. The  purpose  of  this  section shall  be  to  establish  a coordinated system of care for children with emotional and behavioral disorders,  and  their  families,  who  require assistance  from  multiple agency systems to appropriately maintain such children with their families, in their communities and  in  their  local school  systems.  Such  system  of  care shall provide for the effective collaboration among state and local health, mental  hygiene,  education, juvenile  justice,  probation  of care and other human services agencies directed at  improving  outcomes  for  children  with  emotional  and/or behavioral disorders and their families leading to full participation in their   communities  and  schools.  This  shall  include  children  with co-occurring disorders. The absence of coordinated care often results in inappropriate  and   costly   institutional   placements   and   limited community-based  services  that  support  maintaining  the  child in the community. Establishing the coordinated children's  services  initiative statewide  is  intended  to  improve  the  manner  in  which services of multiple  systems  are  delivered  and  to  eliminate  barriers   to   a coordinated system of care.   2. Definitions. As used in this section:  (a)  "Child with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder" shall mean a person under eighteen years of age, or a person under  twenty-one  years of age who has not completed secondary school, who has a mental illness, as  defined  in subdivision twenty of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law, or is classified as a student with a disability pursuant to article eighty-nine  of  the  education  law  or  section  504  of  the  federal rehabilitation  act,  or  is  considered  to have a serious emotional or behavioral problem, as considered by  a  tier  I  and/or  tier  II  team representative  pursuant  to  this  section.  Such  term  shall  include children with co-occurring disorders.  (b) "Individualized family support plan" shall mean a  plan  developed in conjunction with the family through a strength-based child and family assessment  containing  a summary of the strengths, needs and goals of a child with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder, and the services and supports  agreed  to  by  the  child,  family  and  the  tier   I   team representatives.  (c)  "Family"  shall mean, when appropriate, a child with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder, his or her  parents  or  those  in  parental relationship   to  the  child,  blood  relatives  and  extended  family, including non-relatives identified by the child and/or parents.  Nothing in this section shall be construed to deny the child, his or her parents or  those  persons  in  parental relationship to the child of any rights they are otherwise entitled to by law.  (d) "County" shall mean a county, except in the case of a county  that is wholly included within a city, such term shall mean such city.  (e) "Family support representative" shall mean a volunteer who is also a  parent  or  primary  caregiver  of  a  child with an emotional and/or behavioral disorder. The  family  support  representative  shall  assist families  throughout  the  process  of  developing  and  implementing an individualized family support plan as defined in this section.   3. Interagency structure. (a)  There  shall  be  established  a  three tiered interagency structure, as follows:  (i)  State  tier  III  team.  There is hereby established a state team designated as the "tier III team", which shall consist of the  chair  of the  council,  the commissioners of children and family services, mental health, health, education, alcoholism and substance abuse services,  and the  office for people with developmental disabilities, and the director of the office of  probation  and  correctional  alternatives,  or  their  designated  representatives, and representatives of families of children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders. Other representatives may be added at the discretion of such team.  (ii)  County  tier  II  team.  A  county,  or  consortium of counties, choosing  to  participate  in  the   coordinated   children's   services initiative  shall  establish  an interagency team consisting of, but not limited to, the local commissioners or leadership assigned by the  chief elected  official  responsible  for  the  local  health, mental hygiene, juvenile justice,  probation  and  other  human  services  systems.  The education  system shall be represented by the district superintendent of the board of cooperative educational services, or his or  her  designee, and  in  the case of the city of New York, by the chancellor of the city school district of the city of New York, or his  or  her  designee,  and appropriate  local  school district representatives as determined by the district superintendent of the board of cooperative educational services or such chancellor. Such team shall be sensitive to issues  of  cultural competence,  and  shall  include representatives of families of children with an emotional and/or  behavioral  disorder.  Regional  state  agency representatives may participate when requested by such team.  (iii)  Family-based  tier I team. Tier II teams, in cooperation with a child with an emotional  and/or  behavioral  disorder  and  his  or  her family,  shall  establish  interagency teams to work with such child and family to develop an individualized, strength-based family support  plan and  coordinate  interagency services agreed to in such plan. Such teams shall include such child and family and, based on the needs of the child and  family,  should  also  include  a  family  support  representative, representatives  from  the  mental hygiene, education, juvenile justice, probation, health, and other county child and family services systems.  (b) Roles and responsibilities of teams. (i) The state tier  III  team shall  coordinate statewide implementation of the coordinated children's services initiative. Such team shall:  (A) coordinate planning across the health, mental hygiene,  education, juvenile justice, probation and human services systems;  (B)  address  barriers  to the effective delivery of local interagency services;  (C) coordinate the provision of technical assistance and training  for the  effective  implementation  of  the  coordinated children's services initiative;  (D) develop an appropriate reporting mechanism to track  the  outcomes being  achieved.  Such  mechanism  shall  be  developed  in concert with participating counties; and  (E) report results and recommendations for  change  to  the  governor, legislature and state board of regents, as appropriate.  (ii)  The  tier  II  teams shall coordinate the coordinated children's services initiative at the local level. Such team shall:  (A) coordinate cross-systems training and provide  linkages  to  other county and school district planning for children;  (B) address local/regional barriers to the coordination of services;  (C)  report  on  state  level  barriers  to  the effective delivery of coordinated services and recommended changes to the state tier III team;  (D) report on outcomes using the mechanism developed by the state tier III team;  (E) implement the goals and principles of the  coordinated  children's services initiative; and  (F)  make  monies  available  consistent with subdivision five of this section.  (iii) Each tier I team shall work collaboratively with the  family  to develop an individualized family support plan that is:  (A) family-focused and family driven;  (B) built on child and family strengths; and  (C)  comprehensive,  including  appropriate services and supports from appropriate systems and natural supports from the community.   4. Goals and principles  of  operation.  (a)  Goals.  The  coordinated children's  services  initiative  shall  enable  children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders, whenever  appropriate  for  the  child  and family to:  (i) reside with their families;  (ii) live and participate successfully in their communities;  (iii) attend and be successful in their local school systems; and  (iv)  grow  towards  becoming independent, contributing members of the community.  (b) Principles of operation. The tier III and II teams shall provide a system for serving children with emotional and/or  behavioral  disorders that is:  (i)   community-based,  allowing  children  and  families  to  receive services close to their home;  (ii) culturally competent;  (iii) individualized and strengths-based in approach;  (iv) family friendly, involving the family as full and active partners at  every  level  of  decision  making,  including  policy  development, planning, treatment and service delivery;  (v)  comprehensive,  involving  all appropriate parties, including but not limited to the family, child, natural  supports,  provider  agencies and other necessary community services;  (vi)  funded through multiple systems with flexible funding mechanisms that support creative approaches;  (vii) unconditionally committed to the success of each child; and  (viii) accountable with respect to  use  of  agreed  on  and  measured outcomes.   5.  Funding.  Counties  and  school  districts,  including  boards  of cooperative  educational  services  as  requested  by  component  school districts,   choosing  to  participate  in  the  coordinated  children's services initiative, unless expressly prohibited by law, shall have  the authority to:  (a)  combine  state  and federal resources of the participating county and educational agencies to provide services  to  groups  or  individual children   and  their  families  necessary  to  maintain  children  with emotional and/or behavioral disorders in their  homes,  communities  and schools, and support families in achieving this goal, as long as the use of  the  funds  is  consistent  with  the  purposes  for which they were appropriated; and  (b) apply flexibility in use of funds, pursuant to  an  individualized family-support  plan,  or for collaborative programs, an agreement among the county, city and  school  districts  or  the  board  of  cooperative educational  services, monies combined pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision may be used to allow flexibility in determining and applying interventions that will address the unique needs of the family. The tier III team shall develop guidelines for  the  flexible  use  of  funds  in implementing an individualized family support plan.   6.  Administration  and  reports. The council shall be responsible for the administration of the provisions of this section.  (a) The tier III team shall submit a report to the  council  detailing the  effectiveness  in  reaching the goals and objectives of the program established by this section. Such report shall include  recommendations, based  on  the  experience  gained  pursuant  to  the provisions of this article, for modifying statewide policies, regulations or statutes.  The  council  shall  forward such report to the governor, the legislature and the state board of regents on or before the first day of  July  of  each year,  including  the  recommendations of the tier III members regarding the feasibility and implications of implementing the recommendations.  (b)  The  tier III team shall have authority to receive funds and work within agency structures, as agreed to by member agencies, to administer funds for the purposes of carrying out its responsibilities.  (c) Parents and representatives of families, who are  not  compensated for  attendance  as  part  of their employment, shall be compensated for their tier III team participation and reimbursed  for  actual  expenses, including, but not limited to, child care.   7.  Confidentiality.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of state law to the contrary, tier  I,  II  and  III  team  participants  in  the coordinated  children's services system shall have access to case record and related treatment information as necessary to support  the  purposes of this section, to the extent permitted by federal law.  (b)   Tier   I,  II  and  III  team  participants  shall  protect  the confidentiality of all individual identifying case  record  and  related treatment   information,   and   prevent  access  thereto,  by,  or  the distribution thereof to,  other  persons  not  authorized  by  State  or federal law.