§ 398-a. Standards of payment for foster care. (1) For purposes of
this section, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the term
foster child shall mean a person who is cared for away from his or her
home under conditions prescribed by regulations of the department and
who is: (a) under the age of eighteen years, (b) under the age of
twenty-one years if a student attending a school, college or university
or regularly attending a course of vocational or technical training
designed to fit him or her for gainful employment or (c) between the
ages of eighteen and twenty-one who lacks the skills or ability to live
independently and consents to continue in care.

* (2) The office of children and family services shall promulgate,
subject to consultation with appropriate state agencies, the approval of
the director of the budget and certification to the chairmen of the
senate finance and assembly ways and means committees, regulations
establishing standards of payment for care provided foster children when
the care of such children is subject to public financial support, when
such care is provided by relatives, authorized agencies, family boarding
homes, or state agencies. Such standards of payment shall include the
care required to be provided for foster children and the cost of such
care. When the office of children and family services has established
such standards, reimbursement under subdivision two of section one
hundred fifty-three-k of this chapter, for the care of foster children
shall be limited in accordance with such standards.

* NB Effective until June 30, 2027

* (2) The department shall promulgate, subject to consultation with
appropriate state agencies, the approval of the director of the budget
and certification to the chairmen of the senate finance and assembly
ways and means committees, regulations establishing standards of payment
for care provided foster children when the care of such children is
subject to public financial support, when such care is provided by
relatives, authorized agencies, family boarding homes, or state
agencies. Such standards of payment shall include the care required to
be provided for the foster child and the cost of such care. When the
department has established such standards, reimbursement under section
one hundred fifty-three of this chapter, for the care of foster children
shall be limited in accordance with such standards.

* NB Effective June 30, 2027

(2-a) Those social services districts that as of January first, two
thousand five were paying at least one hundred percent of the applicable
rates published by the office of children and family services for the
two thousand four--two thousand five rate year for care provided to
foster children in institutions, group residences, group homes and
agency boarding homes and/or the applicable administrative/services
rates published by the office for the operations of authorized agencies
for care provided to foster children in therapeutic, special needs and
emergency foster boarding homes must pay for the two thousand five--two
thousand six rate year and for each subsequent rate year thereafter at
least one hundred percent of the applicable rates published by the
office for that rate year. Those social services districts that as of
January first, two thousand five were paying less than the applicable
rates published by the office for the two thousand four--two thousand
five rate year for care provided to foster children in institutions,
group residences, group homes and agency boarding homes and/or the
applicable administrative/services rates published by the office for the
operations of authorized agencies for care provided to foster children
in therapeutic, special needs and emergency foster boarding homes must
increase their rates of payment so that: effective July first, two
thousand five, the difference between the percentage of the applicable
rates published by the office for the two thousand five--two thousand
six rate year and the rates such districts are paying is at least
two-thirds less than the difference between the percentage of the
applicable rates published by the office for the two thousand four--two
thousand five rate year and the rates that such districts were paying
for such programs on January first, two thousand five; and effective
July first, two thousand six for the two thousand six--two thousand
seven rate year and for each subsequent year thereafter all social
services districts shall pay at least one hundred percent of the
applicable rates published by the office for the applicable rate year.

(2-b) Payments made directly by social services districts to foster
boarding homes for foster care pursuant to this section may be made by
direct deposit or debit card, as elected by the recipient, and
administered electronically, and in accordance with such guidelines as
may be set forth by regulation of the office of children and family
services. The office of children and family services may enter into
contracts on behalf of social services districts for such direct deposit
or debit card services in accordance with section twenty-one-a of this
chapter.

(2-c) Those social services districts that as of July first, two
thousand twenty-two were paying at least one hundred percent of the
applicable rates published by the office of children and family services
for the two thousand twenty-two--two thousand twenty-three rate year for
care provided to foster children in regular, therapeutic, special needs,
and emergency foster boarding homes shall pay for the two thousand
twenty-two--two thousand twenty-three rate year and for each subsequent
rate year thereafter at least one hundred percent of the applicable
rates published by the office of children and family services for that
rate year. Those social services districts that as of July first, two
thousand twenty-two were paying less than the applicable rates published
by the office of children and family services for the two thousand
twenty-two--two thousand twenty-three rate year for care provided to
foster children in regular, therapeutic, special needs and emergency
foster boarding homes shall increase their rates of payment so that:
effective July first, two thousand twenty-two the difference between the
percentage of the applicable rates published by the office of children
and family services for the two thousand twenty-two--two thousand
twenty-three rate year and the rates such districts are paying is at
least one-half less than the difference between the percentage of the
applicable rates published by the office of children and family services
for the two thousand twenty-two--two thousand twenty-three rate year and
the rates that such districts were paying for such programs on July
first, two thousand twenty-two; and effective July first, two thousand
twenty-three for the two thousand twenty-three--two thousand twenty-four
rate year and for each subsequent year thereafter all social services
districts shall pay at least one hundred percent of the applicable rates
published by the office of children and family services for the
applicable rate year.

(3) If the commissioner finds that a social services district or a
city containing a social services district has adopted regulations
establishing standards of payment for care provided foster children by
relatives, authorized agencies or family boarding homes, when the care
of such children is subject to public financial support, which standards
are substantially equivalent to those promulgated by the department,
such department standards shall not be applicable in such district or
city.

(4) If and so long as federal aid is available therefor and subject to
the approval of the director of the budget, the department is authorized
to conduct a three year demonstration project to test the effectiveness
of establishing capitated rates for foster care. The demonstration
project shall be entitled the homerebuilders demonstration project. The
goal of the project shall be to demonstrate how innovative methods to
fund foster care programs may result in the discharge of children from
foster care to suitable, permanent homes in a more timely manner, at no
additional costs to state and local governments, through service
continuity, intensified discharge planning, pre-adoption services,
after-care services and/or post-adoption services. Notwithstanding any
inconsistent provision of law, in order to implement a demonstration
project relating to the effectiveness of establishing capitated rates
for foster care, the department may waive provisions set forth in: (a)
section one hundred fifty-three and this section, with regard to
limitations on capitated reimbursement to a social services district for
after-care or post-adoption services to children and families
participating in the homerebuilders demonstration project, where the
child is no longer in the care and custody or custody and guardianship
of the local commissioner of social services; and (b) subparagraph (ii)
of paragraph (e) of subdivision five of section four hundred nine-a of
this title, with regard to limitations on reimbursement for intensive
home based family preservation services to children participating in the
homerebuilders demonstration project who are in the care and custody or
custody and guardianship of a local commissioner of social services; and
(c) the regulations promulgated implementing such provisions of law. The
authority of the department to waive such provisions shall be limited to
the purpose of implementing such demonstration project and shall expire
with the completion of the demonstration project, unless otherwise
authorized by law. The department shall report to the governor and the
legislature on the status of the homerebuilders demonstration project at
least annually after its commencement and shall submit a final report
thereon to the governor and the legislature no later than July first,
nineteen hundred ninety-seven. Such final report shall set forth the
findings of the homerebuilders demonstration project and any
recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes.

(5) (a) The office of children and family services shall establish,
subject to consultation with appropriate state agencies, the approval of
the director of the budget and federal approval, standards of payment
for the capital costs of approved projects for residential institutions
for children which enter into a lease, sublease or other agreement with
the dormitory authority pursuant to subdivision forty of section sixteen
hundred eighty of the public authorities law. The maintenance rate
established by the commissioner of the office of children and family
services for such residential institutions for children shall be
established in two parts, one part of which will be the capital
financing add on rate, which shall be the cost per child of the annual
payment pursuant to such lease, sublease or other agreement. The
applicable social services district or school district responsible for
the maintenance cost of a child placed in such residential institution
for children, must agree to pay and is responsible for paying the
residential institution for children one hundred percent of the capital
financing add-on rate for each such child placed in such institution. To
the extent permissible under federal law and regulation, the capital
financing add-on rate shall not be subject to any cost screens, caps or
parameters limiting or reducing the amount of such cost required by this
subdivision.

(b) The expenditures made by a social services district or school
district for the capital financing add on rate for children placed by a
committee on special education of a school district in a residential
institution for children which has a lease, sublease or other agreement
with the dormitory authority pursuant to subdivision forty of section
sixteen hundred eighty of the public authorities law, shall be subject
to state reimbursement in accordance with subdivision ten of section one
hundred fifty-three of this chapter or article eighty-nine of the
education law, as applicable.

(c) The expenditures of a social services district for the capital
financing add-on rate for foster children placed in a residential
institution for children which has a lease, sublease or other agreement
with the dormitory authority pursuant to subdivision forty of section
sixteen hundred eighty of the public authorities law shall be subject to
fifty percent state reimbursement from the office of children and family
services, net of any available federal funds, for the portion of the
costs that exceed the district's foster care block grant allocation.

* (6) (a) Any federal paycheck protection program loan forgiveness
funding or other extraordinary federal funding, as determined by the
office of children and family services, received by an authorized agency
as defined in subdivision ten of section three hundred seventy-one of
this article, to the extent consistent with federal law, shall be
disregarded when calculating the maximum state aid rate when such
funding is utilized for allowable costs or expenses incurred due to the
state of emergency that was declared in executive order two hundred two
on March seventh, two thousand twenty. Allowable costs or expenses shall
include costs incurred due to the pandemic, as allowable pursuant to the
program through which such funding was received or, to the extent
permitted by federal law, expenses related to offsetting lost revenue
due to a reduction in placements that can be directly attributed to the
novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

(b) The office of children and family services shall hold harmless the
prospective maximum state aid rate to the extent that extraordinary
federal revenue was disregarded in accordance with paragraph (a) of this
subdivision for the two thousand twenty-one--two thousand twenty-two
rate year and subsequent applicable rate years.

* NB Repealed April 16, 2026