2023 New York Laws › SOS - Social Services › Article 6 - Children › Title 12-A - Differential Response Programs for Children Under Twelve › 458-O - Differential Response Programs for Children Under Twelve.

§ 458-o. Differential response programs for children under twelve.  1.
Each  local social services district, upon the approval of the office of
children and family services, shall establish a program that  implements
differential  responses  to  provide  services  to children under twelve
years of  age,  who  do  not  fall  under  the  definition  of  juvenile
delinquent   pursuant   to   subparagraph  (iii)  of  paragraph  (a)  of
subdivision one of section 301.2 of  the  family  court  act  and  whose
behavior, but for their age, would bring them within the jurisdiction of
the family court pursuant to article three of the family court act. Such
programs   shall  establish  and  utilize  appropriate  assessments  and
services for youth, in order to help reduce future interaction with  the
juvenile justice and/or child welfare systems. Such assessments shall be
used  to  determine what, if any, services are needed, and such services
shall utilize the least restrictive  intervention  protocols  available.
Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  the
provisions of this section shall apply only  to  those  cases  involving
children under twelve years of age, who do not fall under the definition
of  juvenile  delinquent pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a)
of subdivision one of section 301.2 of the family court  act  and  whose
behavior, but for their age, would bring them within the jurisdiction of
the family court pursuant to article three of the family court act.
2.  To  establish  a  differential response program, each local social
services district, as part of their district-wide child welfare services
plan, as defined in section four hundred nine-d of this  article,  shall
include  a  plan to serve the youth described in subdivision one of this
section while utilizing certain criteria to be promulgated in regulation
by the office of children and family services including but not  limited
to the following:
(a)  the  types  of  assessment  to  determine  whether  services  are
necessary, services and interventions to be  provided  to  children  and
families included in the differential response program for such children
and  a  description  of  how the services will be offered. Such services
shall include, but not be  limited  to,  those  services  set  forth  in
section  four  hundred  nine-a  of this article and section four hundred
fifty-eight-m of this article;
(b) a description of the process  to  be  followed  for  planning  and
monitoring the services provided under the differential responses;
(c)  a  description  of  how  the  differential  response program will
enhance the ability of the district to reduce future  interactions  with
the  juvenile  justice  and child welfare systems, ensure the safety and
well-being of such children, and ways to ensure such  program  addresses
adverse impacts on minority communities;
(d)  a  description  of the training that will be provided to district
and any non-district staff to  be  used  in  the  differential  response
program including, but not limited to, a description of the training set
forth  in  section  eight  hundred forty of the executive law for police
officers  whose  main  responsibilities  are  juveniles  and  the   laws
pertaining thereto; and
(e)  a  description  of any additional funding that may be utilized to
enhance the differential response program.
3. (a) All records  created  as  part  of  the  differential  response
program  for children described in subdivision one of this section shall
include, but not be limited to, the initial and any  subsequent  reasons
why a differential response is recommended for a child, documentation of
all  services  offered  and accepted by such child and their family, the
plan for supportive services for the child and  their  family,  and  all
evaluations and assessments of the child's progress.
(b)  Records  created  under the differential response program for the
children  described  in  subdivision  one  of  this  section  shall   be
maintained  for  five  years after a child is referred to a local social
services district for intervention as described in this section or until
the child reaches the age of twelve, whichever is sooner.
(c)   All   reports  assigned  to,  and  records  created  under,  the
differential response program, including but not limited to reports made
or written as well as any  other  information  obtained  or  photographs
taken concerning such reports or records shall be confidential, shall be
made available only to an entity listed below which has been involved in
the  particular  youth's service delivery, and shall not be redisclosed,
except as authorized pursuant to subparagraph (vi)  of  this  paragraph,
utilizing  non-identifying  aggregated  information. Such entities shall
include:
(i) staff of the office of children and family  services  and  persons
designated by the office of children and family services;
(ii)  the  social  services  district responsible for the differential
response program for children  described  in  subdivision  one  of  this
section;
(iii)  a  community-based  agency  that has a contract with the social
services district to carry out activities for  the  district  under  the
differential response program;
(iv) a provider of services under the differential response program;
(v)  the child, or to their parent or legal guardian, and the attorney
for the child; and
(vi) the office of children and family services  and  social  services
districts for the sole purpose of preparing the report required pursuant
to subdivision five of this section.
4. Expenditures by a social services district pursuant to this section
shall  be  reimbursable  from  the  annual  appropriations available for
social services district expenditures for child welfare  services  which
shall  include,  but  not  be  limited  to, preventive services provided
pursuant to section four hundred nine-a of  this  article,  funding  for
family  support  services  programs as set forth in section four hundred
fifty-eight-n of this article and supervision and treatment services for
juveniles program as set forth in section five hundred twenty-nine-b  of
the  executive  law.  Nothing  shall preclude a social services district
from seeking private funds for support of  their  differential  response
programs.
5.  The  office  of  children  and family services shall report on the
differential response programs established  pursuant  to  this  section,
including  the local social services district's efforts to reduce future
interactions with the juvenile justice and child  welfare  systems,  how
the  local  social  services  districts  are  ensuring  the  safety  and
well-being of such children, and how the program is  addressing  adverse
impacts  on  minority communities, on an annual basis beginning one year
from the start of every local social  services  district's  differential
response program.