§ 2515-a. Administration. 1. The department is authorized to request
and receive community service project plans, as defined in section
twenty-five hundred fifteen-b of this title. Such projects shall be
limited to a twelve month duration but may, with the approval of such
department, be renewed for additional periods based on demonstrated
effectiveness, need, and availability of funds. The department shall
offer technical assistance to applicants for and operators of community
service projects. Technical assistance shall be provided for, but shall
not be limited to, the following activities: development of community
service plans, overall program planning, contract development,
budgeting, and designing local client-specific data collection systems.

2. The department shall review such community service project plans.
The commissioner, within appropriations made therefor, may approve such
plans for funding in accordance with the provisions of this title. In
approving or disapproving the funding of such plans, the commissioner
shall only approve projects which meet the requirements set forth in
section twenty-five hundred fifteen-b of this title which demonstrate
clear coordinating activities with local social services districts and
other available city, school, county, state or federally funded programs
and shall give priority to projects which:

(a) stress the development and expansion of primary prevention
programs aimed at decreasing the incidence of adolescent pregnancy, and
the establishment of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to prevent
initial and repeated pregnancy and to deal more effectively with the
consequences associated with adolescent parenting;

(b) serve a geographic area where there is a large number of eligible
adolescents, or a high rate of adolescent pregnancy;

(c) serve a geographic area where the incidence of infant mortality,
low birth weight infants, childhood obesity and the prevalence of
low-income families are high and where the availability or accessibility
of services for eligible adolescents is low;

(d) utilize existing community resources; and

(e) maximize the use of federal, or other state, private and local
resources.