S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 6798--A

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             March 12, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M. of A. BALL -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Social Services -- recommitted to the Committee on Social  Services
  in  accordance  with  Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged,
  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended  and  recommitted  to  said
  committee

AN  ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to drug testing of
  certain public assistance applicants

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 132 of the social services law, as
added  by section 23 of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, para-
graphs (a) and (c) as amended by chapter 214 of the laws of 1998,  para-
graphs  (d),  (e),  (f) and (g) as amended by section 43-a and paragraph
(i) as added by section 44 of part C of chapter 58 of the laws of  2008,
is amended to read as follows:
  4.  (a)  Investigation  into  the  cause of the condition of a head of
household or of any adult applicant [or recipient], WHO IS  BETWEEN  THE
AGES  OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS AND FIFTY-EIGHT YEARS, and the treatment which
will be helpful to such person shall include a URINE DRUG TEST screening
PROCESS for alcohol and/or substance abuse using a standardized  screen-
ing [instrument] PROCESS to be developed by the office of alcoholism and
substance  abuse  services  in  consultation  with  the department. Such
screening shall be performed by a social services district at  the  time
of  application and periodically thereafter but not more frequently than
every six months[, unless the district has reason  to  believe  that  an
applicant  or  recipient is abusing or dependent on alcohol or drugs, in
accordance with regulations promulgated by the department].
  (b) When the screening process  indicates  that  there  is  reason  to
believe  that an applicant or recipient is abusing or dependent on alco-
hol or drugs, the social services district shall [require a formal alco-
hol or substance abuse assessment, which may include drug testing, to be

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05991-02-0
              

A. 6798--A                          2

performed by an alcohol and/or substance abuse professional credentialed
by the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services. The assessment
may be performed directly by the district or pursuant to  contract  with
the  district]  IMMEDIATELY  DENY  SUCH  APPLICANT  OR RECIPIENT, WHO IS
BETWEEN THE AGES OF TWENTY-ONE YEARS AND FIFTY-EIGHT YEARS, FROM RECEIV-
ING ANY FURTHER PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BENEFITS.
  (c) The social services official shall refer applicants and recipients
whom it determines are presently INELIGIBLE FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE  BENE-
FITS  DUE  TO  A  POSITIVE  DRUG  TEST RESULT AND THUS unable to work by
reason of their need for treatment for alcohol or substance abuse [based
on the formal assessment] to a treatment program licensed  or  certified
by  the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services or operated by
the United States office of  veterans  affairs  and  determined  by  the
social  services  official to meet the rehabilitation needs of the indi-
vidual. When residential treatment is appropriate for a single custodial
parent, the social services official  shall  make  diligent  efforts  to
refer  the  parent  to  a  program that would allow the family to remain
intact for the duration of the treatment.
  (d) A person,  WHO  IS  BETWEEN  THE  AGES  OF  TWENTY-ONE  YEARS  AND
FIFTY-EIGHT  YEARS,  who  fails  to  participate  in the URINE DRUG TEST
screening or in the assessment shall be ineligible  for  public  assist-
ance.  Other  members  of  a  household  which includes a person who has
failed to participate in the screening or assessment shall, if otherwise
eligible, receive public assistance only through safety  net  assistance
if they are otherwise eligible for public assistance.
  (e) A person referred to a treatment program pursuant to paragraph (c)
of  this  subdivision,  and  the  household with which he or she resides
shall receive safety net assistance while the person is participating in
such treatment, if  the  household  is  otherwise  eligible  for  public
assistance.  [If  a  person  referred to treatment cannot participate in
that treatment because treatment is not presently available, that person
and the household with which he or she resides shall receive safety  net
assistance  if  the  household  is otherwise eligible for public assist-
ance.]
  (f) If an applicant or recipient is required,  pursuant  to  paragraph
(c) of this subdivision, to participate in an appropriate rehabilitation
program and refuses to participate in such program without good cause or
leaves  such  program  prior  to  completion of the program without good
cause, provided that program completion shall be  solely  determined  by
the guidelines and rules of such rehabilitation program, or if an appli-
cant or recipient has been suspended from the receipt of social security
disability  benefits  or supplemental security income benefits by reason
of noncompliance with requirements of the federal social security admin-
istration for treatment for substance abuse or alcohol abuse, the person
will be disqualified from receiving public assistance [as follows:
  (i) for the first failure to participate in or complete  the  program,
until  the  failure  ceases  or for forty-five days, whichever period of
time is longer;
  (ii) for the second such failure, until the failure ceases or for  one
hundred twenty days, whichever period of time is longer; and
  (iii)  for the third and subsequent failures, until the failure ceases
or for one hundred eighty days, whichever period is  longer]  UNTIL  ALL
REQUIREMENTS ARE MET AND A NEGATIVE URINE DRUG TEST IS OBTAINED.
  Good cause shall be defined in regulations by the commissioner.
  [The household with which the person resides shall continue to receive
safety net assistance if otherwise eligible.]

A. 6798--A                          3

  (g)  Persons disqualified from receiving public assistance pursuant to
paragraph (f) of this subdivision who would otherwise  be  eligible  for
public assistance and who return to required treatment [prior to the end
of  the  disqualification  period] and are receiving residential care as
defined  in  paragraph  (d)  of subdivision three of section two hundred
nine of this chapter shall be eligible for safety net assistance.
  (h) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section one  hundred
thirty-one-o  of this article, if a recipient required to participate in
an appropriate treatment program  pursuant  to  paragraph  (c)  of  this
subdivision receives a personal needs allowance, such allowance shall be
made  as  a  restricted  payment to the treatment program and shall be a
conditional payment. If such  recipient  leaves  the  treatment  program
prior  to the completion of such program, any accumulated personal needs
allowance will be considered an overpayment and returned to  the  social
services district which provided the personal needs allowance.
  (i)  Compliance  with  the provisions of this subdivision shall not be
required as a condition of applying for or receiving medical assistance.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.