N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18 § 402.2

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 45, November 2, 2024

Section 402.2 - Staffing

(a)Professional staff.

There must be adequate numbers of full-time personnel with suitable qualifications to plan, develop, and supervise social services and to provide specialized services to families and individuals.

(b)Paraprofessional staff.

Provision must be made for the recruitment, training and effective use of paraprofessional staff in the programs of services to families and individuals, including part-time or full-time employment of persons in receipt of public assistance and other persons with low income. The term paraprofessional as used in this subdivision, means a person with less than college education, a high school graduate, or a person with little or no formal education.

(c)Volunteers.

Provision must be made for the recruitment, training and effective use of volunteers who represent various age groups. Senior citizens and young persons must be included.

(d)Staff development.

There must be a training program for staff development on a continuing, progressive, and comprehensive basis for all staff responsible for the provision of services.

(e)Review and evaluation.

(1) Consistent with any appropriate collective bargaining agreement(s) and applicable provisions of the Civil Service Law, each local social services district must establish a procedure to review and evaluate the backgrounds of and information supplied by applicants for professional, paraprofessional and volunteer positions who will have the potential for regular and substantial contact with children being cared for by the district. As part of this procedure, the social services district must require such applicants to submit all of the following information:

(i) a statement or summary of each applicant's employment history, including but not limited to any relevant child-caring experience;

(ii) the names, addresses and, where available, telephone numbers of references who can verify the applicant's employment history, work record and qualifications;

(iii) the names, addresses and telephone numbers of at least three personal references, other than relatives, who can attest to the applicant's character, habits, reputation and personal qualifications; and

(iv) a sworn statement by the applicant indicating whether, to the best of such applicant's knowledge, the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime in New York State or any other jurisdiction.

(2) If an applicant discloses in the sworn statement furnished in accordance with subparagraph (1)(iv) of this subdivision that he or she has been convicted of a crime, the local social services district must determine, in accordance with guidelines developed and disseminated by the department, whether to hire any such applicant or use such applicant as a volunteer, except that any local district which had guidelines for the review of persons with conviction records in use prior to January 1, 1986 may continue to use the district guidelines for the required determination. If the district determines that it will hire the applicant or use the applicant as a volunteer, the district must maintain a written record, as part of the application file or employment or other personnel record of such person, of the reason(s) why such person was determined to be appropriate and acceptable as an employee or volunteer.

(3) Each local social services district must inquire of the department whether any person who is actively being considered for employment or any individual or any person who is employed by any individual, corporation, partnership or association which provides goods or services to the district and who will have the potential for regular and substantial contact with children being cared for by the district is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment on file with the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment. The local district may make such an inquiry to the department regarding any current employee or a person who is being considered for use as a volunteer or for hiring as a consultant and who has or will have the potential for regular and substantial contact with children being cared for by the district. An inquiry regarding any current employee may be made only once in any six-month period. Inquiries made pursuant to this paragraph will be subject to the following provisions:

(i) Prior to making an inquiry to the department, the social services district must notify, in the form prescribed by the department, the person who will be the subject of the inquiry that an inquiry will be made to determine whether such person is the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment on file with the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

(ii)

(a) Except as set forth in clause (b) of this subparagraph, a social services district may not permit a person hired by the district or a person who is employed by an individual, corporation, partnership or association which provides goods or services to the district to have contact with children in the care of the district prior to obtaining the result of the inquiry required by this paragraph.

(b) An employee of a social services district or an employee of a provider of goods and services to the social services district may have contact with children cared for by the district prior to the receipt by the district of the result of the inquiry required by this paragraph only where such employee is visually observed or audibly monitored by an existing staff member of the district. Such employee must be in the physical presence of an existing staff member for whom:

(1) the result of an inquiry required by section 424-a of the Social Services Law has been received by the social services district and the district hired the existing staff member with knowledge of the result of the inquiry; or

(2) an inquiry was not made because such staff member was hired before the effective date of section 424-a of the Social Services Law.

(iii)

(a) When the person who is the subject of the inquiry is an applicant for employment, the department will charge a five dollar fee when it conducts a search of its records within the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment to determine whether such applicant is the subject of an indicated report.

(b) The required fee must accompany the inquiry form submitted to the department or, for an inquiry submitted by a social services district, the district may elect to have the fee subtracted from its claims for reimbursement submitted pursuant to section 601.1 of this Title.

(c) Fees must be paid by agency business check, certified check, postal or bank money order, teller's check or cashier's check made payable to "New York State Department of Social Services". For social services districts electing to have the fees subtracted from their claims for reimbursement submitted pursuant to section 601.1 of this Title, the fees will be subtracted quarterly to match the number of inquiries made. Personal checks and cash are not acceptable forms of payment.

(iv) If the applicant, employee or other person about whom the agency has made an inquiry is found to be the subject of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment, the district must determine, on the basis of information it has available and in accordance with guidelines developed and disseminated by the department, whether to hire, retain or use the person as an employee, volunteer or consultant or to permit the person providing goods or services to have access to children being cared for by the district, except that any district which had guidelines for the review of persons who are subjects of indicated reports of child abuse or maltreatment in use prior to January 1, 1986 may continue to use the district guidelines in making the required determination. Whenever such person is hired, retained, used or given access to children, the district must maintain a written record, as part of the application file or employment or other personnel record of such person, of the specific reason(s) why such person was determined to be appropriate and acceptable as an employee, volunteer, consultant, or provider of goods or services with access to children being cared for by the district.

(v) If a denial of an application for employment or a decision not to retain a current employee, use a volunteer, hire a consultant, or permit a person providing goods or services to have access to children who are being cared for by the district is based in whole or in part on the existence of an indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment, the district must provide a written statement to the applicant, employee or other person indicating whether such denial or decision as based in whole or in part on the existence of the indicated report of child abuse or maltreatment and, if so, the reasons for such denial or decision. If the denial or decision is based in whole or in part on the indicated report, the notice of denial or decision must also include, in the form prescribed by the department, written notification to the applicant, employee, volunteer, consultant, or other person that:

(a) he/she has a right, pursuant to section 424-a of the Social Services Law, to request a hearing before the department regarding the record maintained by the State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment;

(b) a request for such a hearing must be made within 90 days of the receipt of the notice indicating that the denial or decision was based in whole or in part on the existence of the indicated report; and

(c) the sole issue at any such hearing will be whether the applicant, employee, volunteer, consultant, or other person who is the subject of the indicated report has been shown by a fair preponderance of the evidence to have committed the act or acts of child abuse or maltreatment giving rise to the indicated report.

(vi) If in a hearing held pursuant to a request made in accordance with subparagraph (iv) of this paragraph and section 424-a of the Social Services Law the department fails to show by a fair preponderance of the evidence that the applicant, employee, volunteer, consultant, or other person committed the act or acts upon which the indicated report is based, the department will notify the local social services district which made the inquiry to the department that, pursuant to the hearing decision, its decision to deny the application, discharge the employee, not to use the volunteer, hire the person as a consultant, or not to allow the person to have access to children which was based on the indicated report should be reconsidered. Upon receiving such notification from the department, the district should review its decision without considering the indicated report.

(4) Each social services district under this section is required to check applicants for employment and volunteer positions as well as contractors and consultants, with the Vulnerable Persons' Central Register maintained by the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, as required by section 495 of the Social Services Law, before determining whether to hire or otherwise allow any person to be an employee, administrator, consultant, intern, volunteer or contractor who will have the potential for regular and substantial contact with a services recipient.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 402.2

Amended New York State Register December 23, 2015/Volume XXXVII, Issue 51, eff. 12/23/2015