New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services › Subchapter B - Public Assistance › Article 1 - Determination of Eligibility-General › Part 352 - Standards of Assistance › Section 352.36 - Factors when providing temporary housing assistance to certain sex offenders

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Statement of
			 purpose.
(1) Chapter 568 of the Laws of 2008
			 requires the Division of Parole (DOP), the Division of Probation and
			 Correctional Alternatives (DPCA), and the Office of Temporary and Disability
			 Assistance (OTDA) to promulgate regulations to provide guidance concerning the
			 placement and/or approval of housing for certain sex offenders.
(2) The State has previously enacted laws
			 concerning sex offenders, including the Sex Offender Registration Act, the Sex
			 Offender Management and Treatment Act, the Electronic Security and Targeting of
			 On-Line Predators Act (e-STOP) and laws restricting certain sex offenders who
			 are under probation or parole supervision from entering school grounds. Chapter
			 568 of the Laws of 2008 continues the State's efforts in the area of sex
			 offender management and specifically in the area of the placement and housing
			 of sex offenders. Sex offender management, and the placement and housing of sex
			 offenders, are areas that have been, and will continue to be, matters addressed
			 by the State. These regulations further the State's coordinated and
			 comprehensive policies in these areas, and are intended to provide further
			 guidance to relevant State and local agencies in applying the State's
			 approach.
(3) Public safety is a
			 primary concern, and these regulations are intended to better protect children,
			 vulnerable populations and the general public from sex offenders. The State's
			 coordinated and comprehensive approach also recognizes the necessity to provide
			 emergency shelter to individuals in need, including those who are sex
			 offenders, and the importance of stable housing and support in allowing
			 offenders to live in and re-enter the community and become law-abiding and
			 productive citizens. These regulations are based upon, and are intended to
			 further, best practices and effective strategies to achieve these
			 goals.
(4) In implementing this
			 statute and the State's comprehensive approach, DOP, DPCA, OTDA and the
			 Division of Criminal Justice Services' Office of Sex Offender Management
			 (DCJS/OSOM) recognize that:
(i) Not all sex
			 offenders are equally dangerous. Some sex offenders may pose a high risk of
			 committing a new sexual crime; others may pose only a low risk.
(ii) All reasonable efforts should be made to
			 avoid an ill-advised concentration of sex offenders in certain neighborhoods
			 and localities. What constitutes such a concentration will depend on many
			 factors, and may vary depending on housing availability and the locality and
			 community. In addition, it is sometimes safer to house sex offenders together.
			 Law enforcement, probation, and parole officers may more effectively monitor
			 offenders, and service providers may more easily offer transitional services to
			 offenders in these congregate settings. Further, some social services officials
			 and departments rely on congregate housing for sex offenders who seek emergency
			 shelter because of the limited, or lack of other housing options available for
			 this population. All public officials who are responsible for finding or
			 approving housing for sex offenders should recognize that an over-concentration
			 of sex offenders may create risks and burdens on the surrounding community, and
			 that their responsibility is to make judgments that are reasonable under the
			 circumstances.
(iii) All social
			 services districts are required by statute, regulation and directive to arrange
			 temporary housing assistance for eligible homeless individuals, including those
			 who are sex offenders.
(iv) To
			 reduce recidivism it is important that offenders be able to re-enter society
			 and become productive and law-abiding citizens whenever possible. A stable
			 living situation and access to employment and support services are important
			 factors that can help offenders to successfully re-enter society.
(v) Maintaining and/or finding suitable
			 housing for sex offenders is an enormous challenge that impacts all areas of
			 the State. Offenders reside in all regions of the State and may have
			 long-established residences in their respective communities. Even offenders who
			 do not have such long-established relationships are often discharged from
			 prison to the community where they previously lived. As a result, it is not
			 appropriate for any one community or county to bear an inappropriate burden in
			 housing sex offenders because another community has attempted to shift its
			 responsibility for those offenders onto other areas of the State. The
			 proliferation of local ordinances imposing residency restrictions upon sex
			 offenders, while well-intentioned, have made it more challenging for the State
			 and local authorities to address the difficulties in finding secure and
			 appropriate housing for sex offenders.
(vi) Decisions as to the housing and
			 supervision of sex offenders should take into account all relevant factors and
			 no one factor will necessarily be dispositive. These factors should include,
			 but not be limited to, the factors enumerated in the statute, the risk posed by
			 the offender, the nature of the underlying offense, whether housing offenders
			 together or apart is safer and more feasible, the most effective method to
			 supervise and provide services to offenders, and the availability of
			 appropriate housing, employment, treatment and support.