S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  3619--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 29, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. ORTIZ, JAFFEE, DE LA ROSA, AUBRY, REYES, DICKENS,
   SIMOTAS,  EPSTEIN,  TAYLOR,  M. G. MILLER,  CRUZ,  JEAN-PIERRE, SIMON,
   GRIFFIN, D'URSO, FALL, COOK, ARROYO, SAYEGH, QUART,  O'DONNELL,  BRON-
   SON,  LAVINE,  STECK,  GOTTFRIED,  GLICK,  MOSLEY,  FERNANDEZ, RIVERA,
   WILLIAMS, FRONTUS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. SEAWRIGHT --  read
   once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families -- commit-
   tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
   mitted to said committee
 
 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, is amended to read as follows:
   § 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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07077-02-9

 A. 3619--A                          2
 
 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;
   [(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, EXCEPT WHERE AN EMPLOYEE HAS
 ALREADY RECEIVED TRAINING WHICH WOULD  SATISFY  SUCH  REQUIREMENTS,  AND
 SHALL,  AT A MINIMUM, INCLUDE INSTRUCTION IN ISSUES PERTAINING TO LESBI-
 AN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER 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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
 ing the date upon which it shall have become a law.