2023 New York Laws › MHY - Mental Hygiene › Title E - General Provisions › Article 41 - Local Services › 41.43 - Family Support Services.

§ 41.43 Family support services.
(a)  The  commissioner  of  the  office  for people with developmental
disabilities, directly or through  contract,  and  within  amounts  made
available  therefor, shall establish a family-directed, statewide system
of comprehensive family support services. The purpose of family  support
services  will  be to enhance a family's ability to provide in-home care
to their family members with a developmental disability.
(b) In administering family support services, the commissioner may, to
the extent practicable, establish standards for outcome  assessment  and
performance  reviews  of  the  goods  and services obtained whether such
goods and services are purchased pursuant to contract  with  the  state,
through  reimbursement  of families, through the issuance of vouchers to
families for the purchase of goods and services, or through other means.
(c) For purposes of this section, family supports are goods, services,
and subsidies, determined by the family  and  the  commissioner  of  the
office for people with developmental disabilities, which are provided to
meet  the  goals  of: (i) providing a quality of life comparable, to the
extent practicable, to that of similarly  situated  families  without  a
family member having a developmental disability; (ii) maintaining family
unity;   (iii)   preventing   premature   or  inappropriate  out-of-home
placement; (iv) reuniting families; (v) enhancing parenting skills;  and
(vi)  maximizing the potential of the family member with a developmental
disability.
(d) The developmental disabilities advisory council created by section
13.05 of this chapter  shall  establish  a  committee  pursuant  to  the
provisions  of paragraph one of subdivision (c) of section 13.05 of this
chapter, comprised of members selected by the commissioner, to be called
the committee on  family  support  services.  The  committee  shall  (i)
provide  information to the commissioner on the needs of families caring
at home for a family member with a developmental disability; (ii) advise
the commissioner on policies related to family  supports  and  services;
and (iii) offer advice to the commissioner on the design, implementation
and  monitoring  of  family  support  services. Members of the committee
shall include persons with a developmental disability, family members of
persons with a developmental disability, and  professionals  and  others
with an interest in the care of persons with developmental disabilities.
A  majority  of  the  committee  shall be family members of persons with
developmental disabilities. Members shall only receive reimbursement for
expenses incurred in connection with their duties on the committee.
(e) The commissioner, in consultation with  the  committee  on  family
support  services,  shall  submit  by  January  first,  nineteen hundred
ninety-three, and annually thereafter for four  years,  reports  to  the
governor  and  the  legislature concerning family support services. Such
reports shall include, but not be limited to, the following: an analysis
of family support services  provided  by  contract  agencies  and  those
provided  by  the  state,  the  amounts  and  sources  of funds expended
annually for family support services by region and by type  of  service,
the  number  of  families  receiving  services,  the  number of families
estimated to be in need of  family  support  services,  the  results  of
consumer and family member assessments of family support services, and a
description  of  any  new  initiatives  and  recommendations  for future
action.