BILL NUMBER: S3119

SPONSOR: MANNION
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to a study of the number of children in foster care
who have a developmental disability

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:.

The purpose of the bill is to study the placement in foster care of
children who have a developmental disability.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:.

Section 1 of the bill would require the Commissioner of the Office of
Children and Family Services (OCFS), in consultation with the Commis-
sioner of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)
to conduct a study to determine the number of children who have been
placed in foster care and who have been diagnosed with a developmental
disability. The study shall include an assessment of the demographics of
such children, and evaluation of the current guidelines and regulations
              

used to oversee the placement and treatment of such children, and an
analysis of the extent to which such age-appropriate children are
prepared for a transition from foster care to an independent living
situation.

Section 2 of the bill would define the term "developmental disability"

Section 3 of the bill would authorize the Commissioner of OCFS and the
Commissioner of OPWDD to acquire directly from the head of any depart-
ment, agency, or instrumentality of the state, available information
which the departments consider useful in the discharge of their duties,
and requires all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the
state to furnish all information requested by the departments to the
extent permitted by law.

Section 4 of the bill would require the Commissioner of OCFS and the
Commissioner of OPWDD to submit a report of the findings of the study to
the governor and legislative leaders of the senate and assembly no later
than one year following the effective date of this act. The report shall
also include recommendations on how to consistently maintain a record of
the number of children who have been placed in foster care who have been
diagnosed with a developmental disability, recommendations to improve
the placement and treatment of children in foster care. and recommenda-
tions to further develop existing guidelines and regulations to prepare
age-appropriate children who have a developmental disability for a tran-
sition to an independent living situation.

Section 5 of the bill provides that the effective date shall take effect
immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) in
the U system. particularly, among voluntarily placed youth (Hill, 2017).
Nationally, anywhere from 30% to 50% of the youth involved in child
protective service have some type of disability (e.g., I/DD.  emotional
behavioral; Helton et al., 2019; Slayter, 2016).  Unfortunately, in New
York State currently there is no mechanism to identify which children
and youth involved with the child welfare system are diagnosed with a
disability. Understanding the breadth and depth of the problem of
persons with IDD in foster care is critical for several reasons: First,
individuals with I!DD are more likely than their counterparts to remain
in foster care placements until they age out as adults (Schmidt et al..
2013). Therefore, it is critical for effective future planning for the
youth and for the service systems in NY to have an accurate understand-
ing of the numbers of individuals who will need connections to services
and service systems, including residential placement options. Second,
because these children and youth with IIDD may be placed in voluntary
placement (Hill, 2017) as the only means for families to obtain needed
supports for their children; thus, these children are more likely to
need of continued services that specifically meet their unique needs.
This group of youth are more likely to experience trauma, disruptions
live in congregate care (Schmidt et al., 2013), and age out of the
foster care system. Additionally, individuals with IIDD are highly
susceptible to abuse. This includes sexual abuse (Finkelhoffer et. al.,
2014) and particularly transactional sexual abuse with individuals with
l/DD transitioning from child welfare settings (Carellas et al.. 2021).
Third, data collected between 2014-2016 through a grant funded by the NY
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) demonstrated that
individuals with DD in NY are often unprepared for transition out of
foster care, have few if any community contacts in their home communi-
ties, and lack access to needed mental health treatment. These are all
issues that will interfere with successful transition out of foster care
and ensuring these individuals, who are already at a significant disad-
vantage, will achieve any meaningful quality of life. Planning for tran-
sition to adulthood in NY schools for individuals with IEPs starts at
age 14. The process can be significantly e nhanced if there is clear
identification of the youth that are in foster care with IMO and the
need for multiple systems to be at the table. References: Blakeslee, J.
E., Powers, L. E., Geenen. S., Schmidt, J., Nelson. M., Fullerton, A.,
Bryant, M. (2020). Evaluating the My Life self-determination model for
older youth in foster care:  Establishing efficacy and exploring moder-
ation of response to intervention. Children and Youth Services Review,
119, 105419.  Carrellas, A., Resko, S. M., & Day, A. G. (2021). Sexual
victimization and intellectual disabilities among child welfare involved
youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 115, 104986. Finkelhor, D., Shattuck, A.,
Turner, H. A.., & Hamby, S. L (2014). The lifetime prevalence of child
sexual abuse and sexual assault assessed in late adolescence. Journal of
Adolescent Health, 55, 329-333. Helton, J.J., Lightfoot, E., Fu, Q. J.,
& Bruhn, C. M. (2019). Prevalence and severity of child impairment in a
US sample of child maltreatment investigations. Journal of Developmental
& Behavioral Pediatrics, 40(4), 285-292. Hill, K. (2017). Prevalence,
experiences, and characteristics of children and youth who enter foster
care through voluntary placement agreements. Children and Youth Services
Review, 74 , 62-70. Schmidt, J., Cunningham, M., Dalton, L. D., Powers,
L E., Geenen, S., & Orozco, C. G. (2013).  Assessrig restnctNeness: A
closer look at the foster care placements and perceptons c,f youth with
and Wt-10Lit cilsabdities agno, cu of care Journal of Public Cnild7(5)
586-609 Sla.yter. E. (2016). Youth with disabilities in the United
States child welfare system. Children and Youth Services Review, 64,
155-165.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22 S 8046-A (Mannion) - Veto Message 59.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.