NY Soc Serv L § 398-A (2021)
2021 New York Laws SOS - Social Services Article 6 - Children Title 2 - Powers and Duties of Public Welfare Officials 398-A - Standards of Payment for Foster Care.

§  398-a.  Standards  of  payment for foster care. (1) For purposes of this section, notwithstanding any other  provisions  of  law,  the  term foster  child  shall mean a person who is cared for away from his or her home under conditions prescribed by regulations of  the  department  and who  is:  (a)  under  the  age of eighteen years, (b) under the age of twenty-one years if a student attending a school, college or  university or  regularly  attending  a  course  of vocational or technical training designed to fit him or her for gainful employment  or  (c)  between  the ages  of eighteen and twenty-one who lacks the skills or ability to live independently and consents to continue in care.   * (2) The office of children and  family  services  shall  promulgate, subject to consultation with appropriate state agencies, the approval of the  director  of  the  budget  and certification to the chairmen of the senate finance and  assembly  ways  and  means  committees,  regulations establishing standards of payment for care provided foster children when the  care  of such children is subject to public financial support, when such care is provided by relatives, authorized agencies, family boarding homes, or state agencies. Such standards of payment  shall  include  the care  required  to  be provided for foster children and the cost of such care. When the office of children and family  services  has  established such  standards,  reimbursement  under  subdivision  two  of section one hundred fifty-three-k of this chapter, for the care of  foster  children shall be limited in accordance with such standards.   * NB Effective until June 30, 2022   * (2)  The  department  shall promulgate, subject to consultation with appropriate state agencies, the approval of the director of  the  budget and  certification  to  the  chairmen of the senate finance and assembly ways and means committees, regulations establishing standards of payment for care provided foster children when the  care  of  such  children  is subject  to  public  financial  support,  when  such care is provided by relatives,  authorized  agencies,  family  boarding  homes,   or   state agencies.  Such  standards of payment shall include the care required to be provided for the foster child and the cost of  such  care.  When  the department  has  established such standards, reimbursement under section one hundred fifty-three of this chapter, for the care of foster children shall be limited in accordance with such standards.   * NB Effective June 30, 2022  (2-a) Those social services districts that as of  January  first,  two thousand five were paying at least one hundred percent of the applicable rates  published  by  the office of children and family services for the two thousand four--two thousand five rate  year  for  care  provided  to foster  children  in  institutions,  group  residences,  group homes and agency boarding  homes  and/or  the  applicable  administrative/services rates  published by the office for the operations of authorized agencies for care provided to foster children in therapeutic, special  needs  and emergency  foster boarding homes must pay for the two thousand five--two thousand six rate year and for each subsequent rate year  thereafter  at least  one  hundred  percent  of  the  applicable rates published by the office for that rate year. Those social services districts  that  as  of January  first,  two  thousand five were paying less than the applicable rates published by the office for the two  thousand  four--two  thousand five  rate  year  for  care provided to foster children in institutions, group residences, group homes  and  agency  boarding  homes  and/or  the applicable administrative/services rates published by the office for the operations  of  authorized agencies for care provided to foster children in therapeutic, special needs and emergency foster boarding  homes  must increase  their  rates  of  payment  so  that: effective July first, two thousand five, the difference between the percentage of  the  applicable  rates  published  by  the office for the two thousand five--two thousand six rate year and the rates  such  districts  are  paying  is  at  least two-thirds  less  than  the  difference  between  the  percentage of the applicable  rates published by the office for the two thousand four--two thousand five rate year and the rates that such  districts  were  paying for  such  programs  on  January first, two thousand five; and effective July first, two thousand six for  the  two  thousand  six--two  thousand seven  rate  year  and  for  each  subsequent year thereafter all social services districts shall  pay  at  least  one  hundred  percent  of  the applicable rates published by the office for the applicable rate year.  (2-b)  Payments  made  directly by social services districts to foster boarding homes for foster care pursuant to this section may be  made  by direct  deposit  or  debit  card,  as  elected  by  the  recipient,  and administered electronically, and in accordance with such  guidelines  as may  be  set  forth  by  regulation of the office of children and family services. The office of children and  family  services  may  enter  into contracts on behalf of social services districts for such direct deposit or  debit  card services in accordance with section twenty-one-a of this chapter.  (3) If the commissioner finds that a social  services  district  or  a city  containing  a  social  services  district  has adopted regulations establishing standards of payment for care provided foster  children  by relatives,  authorized  agencies or family boarding homes, when the care of such children is subject to public financial support, which standards are substantially equivalent to those  promulgated  by  the  department, such  department  standards  shall not be applicable in such district or city.  (4) If and so long as federal aid is available therefor and subject to the approval of the director of the budget, the department is authorized to conduct a three year demonstration project to test the  effectiveness of  establishing  capitated  rates  for  foster  care. The demonstration project shall be entitled the homerebuilders demonstration project.  The goal  of  the  project shall be to demonstrate how innovative methods to fund foster care programs may result in the discharge of  children  from foster  care to suitable, permanent homes in a more timely manner, at no additional  costs  to  state  and  local  governments,  through  service continuity,   intensified  discharge  planning,  pre-adoption  services, after-care services and/or post-adoption services.  Notwithstanding  any inconsistent  provision  of  law,  in order to implement a demonstration project relating to the effectiveness of  establishing  capitated  rates for  foster  care, the department may waive provisions set forth in: (a) section one  hundred  fifty-three  and  this  section,  with  regard  to limitations on capitated reimbursement to a social services district for after-care   or   post-adoption   services   to  children  and  families participating in the homerebuilders  demonstration  project,  where  the child  is  no longer in the care and custody or custody and guardianship of the local commissioner of social services; and (b) subparagraph  (ii) of  paragraph  (e) of subdivision five of section four hundred nine-a of this title, with regard to limitations on  reimbursement  for  intensive home based family preservation services to children participating in the homerebuilders  demonstration project who are in the care and custody or custody and guardianship of a local commissioner of social services; and (c) the regulations promulgated implementing such provisions of law. The authority of the department to waive such provisions shall be limited to the purpose of implementing such demonstration project and shall  expire with  the  completion  of  the  demonstration  project, unless otherwise authorized by law. The department shall report to the governor  and  the legislature on the status of the homerebuilders demonstration project at  least  annually  after  its commencement and shall submit a final report thereon to the governor and the legislature no later  than  July  first, nineteen  hundred  ninety-seven.  Such  final report shall set forth the findings   of   the   homerebuilders   demonstration   project  and  any recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes.  (5) (a) The office of children and family  services  shall  establish, subject to consultation with appropriate state agencies, the approval of the  director  of  the budget and federal approval, standards of payment for the capital costs of approved projects for residential  institutions for  children which enter into a lease, sublease or other agreement with the dormitory authority pursuant to subdivision forty of section sixteen hundred eighty of the  public  authorities  law.  The  maintenance  rate established  by  the  commissioner  of the office of children and family services  for  such  residential  institutions  for  children  shall  be established  in  two  parts,  one  part  of  which  will  be the capital financing add on rate, which shall be the cost per child of  the  annual payment  pursuant  to  such  lease,  sublease  or  other  agreement. The applicable social services district or school district  responsible  for the  maintenance  cost of a child placed in such residential institution for children, must agree to  pay  and  is  responsible  for  paying  the residential  institution for children one hundred percent of the capital financing add-on rate for each such child placed in such institution. To the extent permissible under federal law  and  regulation,  the  capital financing  add-on rate shall not be subject to any cost screens, caps or parameters limiting or reducing the amount of such cost required by this subdivision.  (b) The expenditures made by a  social  services  district  or  school district  for the capital financing add on rate for children placed by a committee on special education of a school  district  in  a  residential institution  for children which has a lease, sublease or other agreement with the dormitory authority pursuant to subdivision  forty  of  section sixteen  hundred  eighty of the public authorities law, shall be subject to state reimbursement in accordance with subdivision ten of section one hundred fifty-three of  this  chapter  or  article  eighty-nine  of  the education law, as applicable.  (c)  The  expenditures  of  a social services district for the capital financing add-on rate  for  foster  children  placed  in  a  residential institution  for children which has a lease, sublease or other agreement with the dormitory authority pursuant to subdivision  forty  of  section sixteen hundred eighty of the public authorities law shall be subject to fifty percent state reimbursement from the office of children and family services,  net  of  any  available federal funds, for the portion of the costs that exceed the district's foster care block grant allocation.   * (6) (a) Any federal paycheck  protection  program  loan  forgiveness funding  or  other  extraordinary  federal funding, as determined by the office of children and family services, received by an authorized agency as defined in subdivision ten of section three  hundred  seventy-one  of this  article,  to  the  extent  consistent  with  federal law, shall be disregarded when calculating  the  maximum  state  aid  rate  when  such funding  is utilized for allowable costs or expenses incurred due to the state of emergency that was declared in executive order two hundred  two on March seventh, two thousand twenty. Allowable costs or expenses shall include costs incurred due to the pandemic, as allowable pursuant to the program  through  which  such  funding  was  received  or, to the extent permitted by federal law, expenses related to  offsetting  lost  revenue due  to a reduction in placements that can be directly attributed to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  (b) The office of children and family services shall hold harmless the prospective maximum state aid rate  to  the  extent  that  extraordinary federal revenue was disregarded in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subdivision  for  the  two  thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two rate year and subsequent applicable rate years.   * NB Repealed April 16, 2026