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

                                  4989

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 10, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. ORTIZ -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Children and Families

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to expanding  the  duties
  of the office of children and family services concerning lesbian, gay,
  bisexual, and transgender runaway and homeless youth

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

  Section 1. Section 532-e of the executive law, as amended  by  chapter
182 of the laws of 2002, are amended to read as follows:
  S 532-e. Powers  and  duties  of  the  office  of  children and family
services. The office of children and family services shall:    [(a)]  1.
visit,  inspect  and make periodic reports on the operation and adequacy
of approved runaway programs and transitional independent living support
programs;
  [(b)] 2. certify residential  facilities  providing  care  to  runaway
and/or homeless youth, provided, however, that no certification shall be
issued  or  renewed until it can be demonstrated that a program operated
pursuant to this article  has  consistent  with  appropriate  collective
bargaining  agreements  and  applicable  provisions of the civil service
law, developed and implemented a procedure for reviewing and  evaluating
the  backgrounds  of and the information supplied by any person applying
to be an employee, volunteer or consultant, which shall include but  not
be  limited to the following requirements: that the applicants set forth
his or her employment history, provide personal  and  employment  refer-
ences  and  sign  a sworn statement indicating whether the applicant, to
the best of his or her knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime  in
this state or any other jurisdiction;
  [(c)]  3.  maintain  a  register of approved runaway programs, transi-
tional independent living support  programs  and  runaway  and  homeless
youth service coordinators;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD01396-01-5

              

A. 4989                             2

  [(d)]  4.  submit  to  the  governor  and legislature an annual report
detailing the numbers and characteristics of runaway and otherwise home-
less youth throughout the state and their problems and service needs;
  [(e)]  5.  develop  and  promulgate  in consultation with county youth
bureaus and organizations or programs which  have  had  past  experience
dealing  with  runaway  and  homeless  youth, regulations concerning the
coordination and integration  of  services  available  for  runaway  and
otherwise homeless youth and prohibiting the disclosure or transferal of
any  records  containing  the  identity  of  individual  youth receiving
services pursuant to this section, without the written  consent  of  the
youth; [and]
  [(f)]  6.  develop and promulgate regulations in consultation with the
office of temporary and disability assistance concerning  the  provision
of services by transitional independent living support programs consist-
ent with the provisions of this article[.];
  [(g)] 7.  REQUIRE ALL EMPLOYEES OF APPROVED PROGRAMS PROVIDING CARE TO
RUNAWAY AND/OR HOMELESS YOUTH TO COMPLETE TRAINING AS SET FORTH IN REGU-
LATIONS  PROMULGATED  BY  THE  OFFICE.  SUCH  TRAINING SHALL REQUIRE ALL
EMPLOYEES OF SUCH RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION AS SPEC-
IFIED BY THE OFFICE IN THE REGULATIONS AND SHALL, AT A MINIMUM,  INCLUDE
INSTRUCTION  IN  ISSUES PERTAINING TO LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANS-
GENDER YOUTH WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON:
  (A) APPROPRIATE TERMINOLOGY;
  (B) PARTICULAR CHALLENGES FOR LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND  TRANSGENDER
RUNAWAY  AND  HOMELESS  YOUTH, INCLUDING WHY LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND
TRANSGENDER YOUTH ARE DISPROPORTIONATELY HOMELESS;
  (C) HOW TO ADDRESS HOMOPHOBIA OR TRANSPHOBIA FROM OTHER YOUTH  AT  THE
SHELTER;
  (D) CONFIDENTIALITY IN THE CASES OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANS-
GENDER YOUTH; AND
  (E)  HOW TO ADDRESS THE FAMILIES OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANS-
GENDER YOUTH; AND
  8. in conjunction with the  commissioner  of  education,  develop  and
annually  review  a  plan to ensure coordination and access to education
for homeless children, in accordance  with  the  provisions  of  section
thirty-two  hundred nine of the education law, and monitor compliance of
residential programs for runaway and homeless youth with such plan.
  S 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.