NY State Senate Bill 2019-S805

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Social Services Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to social services
Jan 09, 2019	referred to social services

co-Sponsors

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Social Services
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §34-a, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S8137
2011-2012: S819
2013-2014: S2275
2015-2016: S986
2017-2018: S4444

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to notice requirements to families and providers when funding cuts are made.

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S805

SPONSOR: MONTGOMERY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to notice require-
ments to families and providers when funding cuts are made

 
PURPOSE OF BILL:

To ensure that parents have enough notice to plan for the unanticipated
loss of child care services.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new subdivision to section 34-a of the social services.
law, which requires a county to contact OCFS 90 days before they reduce
access to child care services. OCFS is required to post a notice on
their website within ten days, and shall send notice to Providers in the
affected district within 30 days. Providers are required to post such
notice, and parents will have at least two months to plan.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In February 2010, with only 10 days notice, the families of 1500 chil-
dren in Erie County were notified that their child care subsidies would
be terminated because the county was lowering its eligibility levels
from 20096 to 125% of poverty. This short notice left many families in
the lurch and required some to leave their jobs and others to remove
their children from safe, secure and known child care providers with no
time to arrange satisfactory alternatives.  Families were left without
adequate time to plan or react.

State regulations require that an individual be given 10 days notice of
a reduction or discontinuance of social services benefits. That notice
provision makes sense if the adverse action is caused by a change in the
individual's income or resources. However, it does not make sense when a
county makes a dramatic change in child care eligibility levels or its
co-payment structure. Counties receive their subsidy funding once a year
and it is reasonable to expect that they project the number of families
that can be served with the funding that the county is awarded. Such
planning is fiscally responsible and is not unduly burdensome.

This bill would require that counties notify the Office of Children and
Family Services (OCFS) when the social services district plans to lower
eligibility levels or lower its co-payment structure. OCFS would in turn
would need to notify all of the providers that it regulates, the state
child care resource and referral organization and the child care
resource and referral-organizations that serve the social services
district that is making the change This notice would allow families that
are losing a critical economic support to Plan for the significant chal-
lenges that will be facing them when they lose their subsidy or their
co-payment increases. It is drafted in such a way so that the notifica-
tion can take place while the social services district is in the process
of getting the approval of the Office of Children and Family Services
for its state plan amendment. The State of Connecticut enacted legis-
lation which provides that parents and providers receive 30 days notice
if their subsidy will be ending in order to protect families from the

financial distress that results when parents lose their subsidies with
very little notice.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2011-2012: S.819 - Died in Committee;

2013-2014: S.2275 - Referred and died in Social Services.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the
date on which it shall become a law.

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    805
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  MONTGOMERY,  COMRIE,  KRUEGER  --  read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Social Services
 
 AN  ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to notice require-
   ments to families and providers when funding cuts are made

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  34-a  of  the  social services law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 10 to read as follows:
   10. (A) IN ORDER TO ALLOW FAMILIES TIME TO  PROPERLY  PLAN  FOR  THEIR
 FINANCIAL  NEEDS AND FOR THE SAFETY, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF THEIR
 CHILDREN, IN THE EVENT THAT A SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT PROPOSES TO AMEND
 ITS CONSOLIDATED SERVICES PLAN, SUBMITS AN ANNUAL PLAN UPDATE, OR  TAKES
 ANY  OTHER  ACTION  THAT WOULD LOWER THE FINANCIAL ELIGIBILITY LEVEL FOR
 CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE SO THAT FAMILIES RECEIVING  SUBSIDIES  WOULD  LOSE
 ELIGIBILITY  THEREFORE,  THE LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT SHALL NOTIFY
 THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES OF THAT FACT AT LEAST  NINETY
 DAYS  BEFORE  THE  EFFECTIVE  DATE OF THE PROPOSED CHANGE IN ELIGIBILITY
 LEVEL. THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES SHALL POST  NOTICE  OF
 THE PROPOSED CHANGE ON THE OFFICE'S WEBSITE WITHIN TEN DAYS OF RECEIVING
 SAID NOTICE, AND WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF RECEIVING SAID NOTICE SHALL NOTI-
 FY  ALL  LICENSED  AND  REGISTERED  CHILD CARE PROVIDERS IN THE AFFECTED
 DISTRICT, THE STATE CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL AGENCY, AS WELL  AS
 THE  LOCAL  CHILD  CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL AGENCY. SAID NOTICE MAY BE
 MADE BY E-MAIL OR REGULAR MAIL IN THE FORM OF A LETTER OR POSTCARD,  AND
 SHALL  INFORM  THE  RECIPIENT  OF  THE DATE OF THE PROPOSED CHANGE AND A
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED CHANGE. THE NOTICE SHALL ALSO  REQUEST  THAT
 CHILD CARE PROVIDERS THAT RECEIVE THE NOTICE IMMEDIATELY POST THE NOTICE
 IN  A PLACE WHICH IS LIKELY TO BE SEEN BY THE FAMILIES WHO HAVE CHILDREN
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03062-01-9

 S. 805                              2
 
 IN THE PROVIDER'S CARE. THIS NOTICE SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED AS A SUBSTI-
 TUTE FOR ANY NOTICE TO PARENTS WHICH IS REQUIRED BY LAW.
   (B)  IN ORDER TO ALLOW FAMILIES TIME TO PROPERLY PLAN FOR THEIR FINAN-
 CIAL NEEDS AND FOR THE SAFETY, SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF THEIR CHIL-
 DREN, IN THE EVENT THAT A SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICT PROPOSES TO AMEND ITS
 CONSOLIDATED SERVICES PLAN OR TO  SUBMIT  AN  ANNUAL  PLAN  UPDATE  THAT
 INCREASES  THE  PARENTAL CO-PAYMENT MULTIPLIER FOR CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE
 SO THAT FAMILIES RECEIVING SUBSIDIES WOULD PAY AN  INCREASED  PERCENTAGE
 OF  THEIR  INCOME  AS A CHILD CARE CO-PAYMENT, THE LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES
 DISTRICT SHALL NOTIFY THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES OF THAT
 FACT AT LEAST NINETY DAYS BEFORE THE  EFFECTIVE  DATE  OF  THE  PROPOSED
 CHANGE  IN ELIGIBILITY LEVEL. THE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
 SHALL POST NOTICE OF THE PROPOSED CHANGE ON THE OFFICE'S WEBSITE  WITHIN
 TEN  DAYS  OF RECEIVING SAID NOTICE, AND WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF RECEIVING
 SAID NOTICE SHALL NOTIFY ALL LICENSED AND REGISTERED CHILD CARE  PROVID-
 ERS IN THE AFFECTED DISTRICT, THE STATE CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL
 AGENCY,  AS  WELL  AS THE LOCAL CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL AGENCY.
 SAID NOTICE MAY BE MADE BY E-MAIL OR REGULAR  MAIL  IN  THE  FORM  OF  A
 LETTER  OR  POSTCARD,  AND SHALL INFORM THE RECIPIENT OF THE DATE OF THE
 PROPOSED CHANGE AND A DESCRIPTION OF THE  PROPOSED  CHANGE.  THE  NOTICE
 SHALL  ALSO  REQUEST  THAT  CHILD CARE PROVIDERS THAT RECEIVE THE NOTICE
 IMMEDIATELY POST THE NOTICE IN A PLACE WHICH IS LIKELY TO BE SEEN BY THE
 FAMILIES WHO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE PROVIDER'S CARE. THIS NOTICE SHALL NOT
 BE CONSIDERED AS A  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  ANY  NOTICE  TO  PARENTS  WHICH  IS
 REQUIRED BY LAW.
   §  2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S805

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Social Services Committee

co-Sponsors

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S805

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Sponsored By

Velmanette Montgomery

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Social Services Committee

co-Sponsors

Leroy Comrie

Liz Krueger

Roxanne J. Persaud

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S805 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments