Section 409-A. Preventive services; provision by social services officials

1.  (a) A social services official shall provide preventive services  to
  a  child  and his or her family, in accordance with the family's service
  plan as required by section four hundred nine-e of this chapter and  the
  social  services  district's  child  welfare services plan submitted and
  approved pursuant to section four hundred nine-d of this chapter, upon a
  finding by such official that (i) the child will be placed or  continued
  in  foster  care  unless  such  services  are  provided  and  that it is
  reasonable to believe that by providing such services the child will  be
  able  to  remain  with or be returned to his or her family or * (ii) the
  child is the subject of a petition under article  seven  of  the  family
  court  act, or has been determined by the assessment service established
  pursuant to section two hundred forty-three-a of the executive  law,  or
  by  the  probation  service  where  no  such assessment service has been
  designated, to be at risk of being the subject of such a  petition,  and
  the  social  services  official  determines that the child is at risk of
  placement into foster care. Such finding shall be entered in the child's
  uniform case record established and maintained pursuant to section  four
  hundred  nine-f  of  this  chapter.  The  commissioner  shall promulgate
  regulations to assist social services officials in making determinations
  of  eligibility  for  mandated  preventive  services  pursuant  to  this
  subparagraph.
    * NB Effective until June 30, 2012
    * (ii)  the  child is the subject of a petition under article seven of
  the family court act, or has been determined by the  assessment  service
  established  pursuant  to  section  two  hundred  forty-three-a  of  the
  executive law, or by the probation  service  where  no  such  assessment
  service  has been designated, to be at risk of being the subject of such
  a petition, and the social services  official  determines  according  to
  standards  promulgated  pursuant to section three hundred ninety-eight-b
  of this chapter that the child is at risk of placement into foster care.
  Such finding shall  be  entered  in  the  child's  uniform  case  record
  established  and  maintained  pursuant to section four hundred nine-f of
  this chapter. The commissioner shall promulgate  regulations  to  assist
  social  services  officials  in making determinations of eligibility for
  mandated preventive services pursuant to clause (ii) of this paragraph.
    * NB Effective June 30, 2012
    (b) When a child and his family have received preventive services  for
  a period of six months pursuant to this subdivision, the social services
  official  shall continue to provide such services only upon making a new
  finding that the child will be placed or continued in foster care unless
  such services are provided and that it is reasonable to believe that  by
  providing  such  services,  the  child will be able to remain with or be
  returned to his family. Such new finding shall be entered in the child's
  uniform case record established and maintained pursuant to section  four
  hundred nine-f of this chapter.
    2.  A  social  services  official  is authorized to provide preventive
  services to a child and his family to accomplish the purposes set  forth
  in section four hundred nine of this chapter, when such services are not
  required to be provided pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
    3. * (a) A social services official is authorized to provide community
  preventive  services to communities likely to benefit from such services
  to accomplish the purposes set forth in section  four  hundred  nine  of
  this  chapter.  Social  services  officials  may  apply to the office of
  children  and  family   services   for   waiver   of   eligibility   and
  administrative  requirements  for  preventive  services  to  be provided
  pursuant to this subdivision. Such  application  shall  include  a  plan
  setting forth the services to be provided, the persons or community that

  will  receive the services and the estimated cost of such services. Upon
  approval of the  application  by  the  office  of  children  and  family
  services,  eligibility requirements established in statute or regulation
  may  be  waived for those persons and communities identified in the plan
  as recipients of the services set forth in the plan. Where services  are
  administered  pursuant  to a plan approved by the office of children and
  family services, the office of children and family  services  may  waive
  the  requirements  of  section  four  hundred  nine-f  or  four  hundred
  forty-two of this article.
    * NB Effective until June 30, 2012
    * (a) A social services official is authorized  to  provide  community
  preventive  services to communities likely to benefit from such services
  to accomplish the purposes set forth in section  four  hundred  nine  of
  this  chapter. Social services officials may apply to the department for
  waiver of eligibility and  administrative  requirements  for  preventive
  services  to  be provided pursuant to this subdivision. Such application
  shall include a plan setting forth the  services  to  be  provided,  the
  persons  or  community  that will receive the services and the estimated
  cost  of  such  services.  Upon  approval  of  the  application  by  the
  department,   eligibility   requirements   established   in  statute  or
  regulation may be waived for those persons and communities identified in
  the plan as recipients of the services set  forth  in  the  plan.  Where
  services are administered pursuant to a plan approved by the department,
  the  department  may  waive  the  requirements  of  sections one hundred
  fifty-three-d  and  three  hundred  ninety-eight-b   of   this   chapter
  pertaining  to denial or reimbursement. Where such a waiver is approved,
  the department approval must specify standards whereby services provided
  will  be  subject  to  denial  of  reimbursement.  Where  services   are
  administered  pursuant  to  a  plan  approved  by  the  department,  the
  department may waive the requirements of section four hundred nine-f  or
  four hundred forty-two of this article.
    * NB Effective June 30, 2012
    (b) The department must inform social services districts of procedures
  governing  application  for  waivers  of  eligibility and administrative
  requirements and approval of waivers of eligibility  and  administrative
  requirements.  Where such waivers are granted, the department shall have
  the authority to establish  alternative  standards  to  be  followed  by
  social  services  officials  who  are granted waivers by the department.
  Upon approval  of  an  application  for  such  waivers,  the  department
  approval  must specify the requirements being waived and any alternative
  standards established.
    (c) Community preventive services may be  provided  pursuant  to  this
  subdivision  through demonstration projects to the extent the department
  makes funds available for such projects.
    (d) The department shall develop an  evaluation  plan  no  later  than
  April  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-eight,  for  community  service
  demonstration projects and, subject to the approval of the  director  of
  the  budget,  may  use  up  to  five  percent  of  the  amount  annually
  appropriated for project grants to conduct such evaluation  which  shall
  include  but  need not be limited to: an assessment of the effectiveness
  of various service delivery models in  creating  or  enhancing  linkages
  among  school, housing, health, and income support services available in
  the community; the  effectiveness  of  various  preventive  services  in
  averting   family   disruption;  the  cost  effectiveness  of  providing
  community focused  preventive  services;  the  impact  of  this  service
  provision   on  requirements  for  more  intensive  mandated  preventive
  services; and, the feasibility of replicating successful service  models
  in other communities throughout the state.

    4. Preventive services may be provided directly by the social services
  official  or through purchase of service, in accordance with regulations
  of the department.
    5.  (a) Regulations of the department, promulgated pursuant to and not
  inconsistent  with  this  section,  shall  contain   program   standards
  including,   but  not  limited  to:  specification  of  services  to  be
  classified  as  preventive  services;  appropriate   circumstances   and
  conditions   for  the  provision  of  particular  services;  appropriate
  providers and recipients of such services; and time limits,  as  may  be
  appropriate,  for  the  provision of particular services. The department
  shall, subject to the approval of the director of the budget,  establish
  reimbursement or charge limitations for particular services or groups of
  services   to   be   provided.  The  department  shall  also  promulgate
  regulations to prevent  social  services  districts  from  overutilizing
  particular  forms  or  types  of  preventive  services  and to encourage
  districts to provide balanced preventive services programs based on  the
  identified needs of children and families residing in such districts.
    (b)  The  program  standards  promulgated pursuant to this subdivision
  shall be developed with the participation of the child welfare standards
  advisory council established pursuant to section four hundred nine-h  of
  this  chapter  and  in consultation with public and voluntary authorized
  agencies, citizens' groups and concerned individuals and  organizations,
  including the state council on children and families.
    (c)  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  this section, where a
  social services official determines that a lack of adequate  housing  is
  the  primary factor preventing the discharge of a child or children from
  foster care including, but not limited to, children  with  the  goal  of
  discharge  to  independent living, preventive services shall include, in
  addition to any other payments  or  benefits  received  by  the  family,
  special  cash  grants  in  the  form  of  rent subsidies, including rent
  arrears, or any other assistance, sufficient to obtain adequate housing.
  Such rent subsidies or assistance shall not  exceed  the  sum  of  three
  hundred  dollars  per  month, shall not be provided for a period of more
  than  three  years,  and  shall  be  considered  a  special  grant.  The
  provisions  of  this  paragraph  shall  not  be  construed to limit such
  official's authority to provide other preventive services.
    (e) (i) A social services official  is  authorized  to  establish  and
  operate,  or contract for the establishment and operation of, intensive,
  homebased, family preservation programs.
    (ii) Notwithstanding any other provision  of  law,  reimbursement  for
  intensive,  homebased  family  preservation services shall be limited to
  those programs that reduce or avoid the need for foster care of children
  who are in imminent danger of  placement.  Such  programs  shall  employ
  caseworkers trained in family preservation techniques and who provide at
  least  half  of  their  direct  services  in  the  client's residence or
  temporary home, work with no more than four families at any given  time,
  provide  direct  therapeutic services for up to thirty days which may be
  extended up to an additional thirty days per family  and  are  available
  twenty-four  hours  a  day.  No  program  described herein shall receive
  reimbursement unless such program agrees to collect and provide  to  the
  department  information  necessary  to evaluate and assess the degree to
  which such program results in lower costs to the  state  and  to  social
  services districts than those of foster care placement. Such information
  shall  be compiled in a manner that permits comparisons between families
  served by such programs and those families who meet eligibility criteria
  but who were not able to be served within available resources.
    (f) Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  law,  where  a  social
  services  official  authorizes  the provision of respite care, such care

  shall mean the temporary care and supervision  of  a  child  to  relieve
  parents  or other persons legally responsible for the care of such child
  where  immediate  relief  is  needed  to  maintain  or  restore   family
  functioning.
    6. In accordance with regulations of the department, where the child's
  family is able to pay all or part of the cost of such services, payments
  of  such fees as may be reasonable or other third party reimbursement as
  may be available in  the  light  of  such  ability  shall  be  required.
  Expenditures  subject  to reimbursement pursuant to section four hundred
  nine-b of this title shall be reduced by the sum of all fees received or
  to be received pursuant to this subdivision.
    * 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if a  social
  services official determines that a lack of adequate housing is a factor
  that may cause the entry of a child or children into foster care and the
  family  has  at  least  one  service  need  other  than lack of adequate
  housing, preventive services may  include,  in  addition  to  any  other
  payments  or benefits received by the family, special cash grants in the
  form of rent subsidies, including rent arrears, or any other assistance,
  sufficient to obtain adequate housing. Such rent subsidies or assistance
  shall not exceed the sum of three hundred dollars per month,  shall  not
  be  provided  for  a  period  of  more  than  three  years, and shall be
  considered a special grant. The provisions of this paragraph  shall  not
  be  construed  to  limit  such  official's  authority  to  provide other
  preventive services.
    * NB There are two sub 7's
    * 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,  preventive  services
  information  governed by this section may be released by the department,
  social services district or other provider of preventive services  to  a
  person,  agency  or  organization  for  purposes of a bona fide research
  project. Identifying information shall not be made  available,  however,
  unless  it  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  research purpose and the
  department gives prior approval. Information released pursuant  to  this
  subdivision  shall  not be re-disclosed except as otherwise permitted by
  law and upon the approval of the department.
    * NB There are 2 sub 7's
    8. In contracting for the provision  of  preventive  services,  social
  services districts shall, to the extent feasible, place such services in
  areas  with  a  high  rate  of  child  abuse and neglect and foster care
  placements. Social services districts shall,  to  the  extent  feasible,
  consider  as  a  priority community-based organizations with a record of
  providing quality services to children and families in such communities.
    9. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the  contrary,  records
  relating to children pursuant to this section shall be made available to
  officers  and  employees  of  the  state  comptroller,  or  of  the city
  comptroller of the city of New York, or of the county officer designated
  by law or charter to perform the auditing function  in  any  county  not
  wholly  contained  within  a  city,  for  purposes  of a duly authorized
  performance audit, provided, however that such  comptroller  or  officer
  shall  have  certified  to the keeper of such records that he or she has
  instituted procedures developed in consultation with the  department  to
  limit  access  to  client-identifiable  information to persons requiring
  such information for purposes of the audit, that such persons shall  not
  use  such  information  in  any way except for purposes of the audit and
  that  appropriate  controls  and  prohibitions  are   imposed   on   the
  dissemination of client-identifiable information obtained in the conduct
  of  the audit. Information pertaining to the substance or content of any
  psychological, psychiatric, therapeutic, clinical  or  medical  reports,
  evaluations or like materials or information pertaining to such child or

  the  child's  family  shall  not  be made available to such officers and
  employees unless disclosure of such information is absolutely  essential
  to  the  specific  audit activity and the department gives prior written
  approval.
    (b) Any failure to maintain the confidentiality of client-identifiable
  information  shall  subject such comptroller or officer to denial of any
  further access to records until  such  time  as  the  audit  agency  has
  reviewed  its procedures concerning controls and prohibitions imposed on
  the dissemination of such information and has taken all  reasonable  and
  appropriate    steps   to   eliminate   such   lapses   in   maintaining
  confidentiality to the satisfaction of the  department.  The  department
  shall  establish  the  grounds for denial of access to records contained
  under  this  section  and  shall  recommend  as  necessary  a  plan   of
  remediation  to  the  audit  agency, except as provided in this section,
  nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as limiting the powers of
  such comptroller or officer to records which he is otherwise  authorized
  to  audit  or  obtain  under  any other applicable provision of law, any
  person given access to information  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  who
  released  data  or  information to persons or agencies not authorized to
  receive such information shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
    10. All sums received by the state under section 201 of Federal Public
  Law 105-89 shall be paid to the districts in proportion  to  the  amount
  earned by the district for federal adoption incentives and shall only be
  used  to provide preventive services to a child and his or her family as
  defined in paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  five  of  this  section,  in
  addition  to  those  required  by  the maintenance of effort requirement
  contained in subdivision six of section  one  hundred  fifty-three-i  of
  this  chapter, except that up to thirty percent of such sums may be used
  to provide post-adoption services to children  or  families.  Preventive
  services  shall  include  substance abuse treatment services provided to
  pregnant women or a caretaker person in an  outpatient,  residential  or
  in-patient  setting.  Amounts  expended  by the state in accordance with
  this  section  shall  be  disregarded   in   determining   the   state's
  expenditures  for  purposes  of federal matching payments under sections
  four hundred twenty-three, four hundred  thirty-four  and  four  hundred
  seventy-four of this chapter.