N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18 § 423.4

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

Section 423.4 - Service provision requirements

(a) Preventive services shall be provided according to the needs of the child and his family and according to this section.

(b) Length of service.

(1) Preventive services shall continue only if a new determination is made every six months after the initial application for services that the child will be placed or continued in foster care unless such services are provided and that it is reasonable to believe that by providing such services, the child will be able to remain with or be returned to his family. Documentation for compliance with this subdivision shall be pursuant to section 430.9(g) of this Title, utilization review-standard for the recertification of mandated preventive services.

(2)

(i) With the exception of housing services as defined in section 423.2(b)(16) of this Part, the provision of mandated preventive services to children and their families during a foster care placement may not be provided for more than an average of three months for all children in care within each particular social services district with a goal of return to parents or relatives and no child in foster care may receive preventive services for more than a total of 24 months. Local social services districts that exceed the three-month average must have that portion of expenditures in excess of the average reimbursed as nonmandated preventive services.

(ii) Where housing services are provided in the form of payment of rent or mortgage arrears, such arrears payment must be made directly to the landlord or mortgage holder. The amount of such arrears payment may not exceed $1,800, or the equivalent of six months of housing services at the maximum amount of $300 a month, and in no case may exceed the total amount owed. In cases where an arrears payment relates to a period preceding the date of application for preventive services by more than six months, the authorization period will begin six months preceding the date of application. Where the arrears payment relates to a period preceding the application by less than six months, the authorization date will be the date arrears began to accrue.

(iii) Payments for security deposits, finder's or broker's fees, household moving expenses, exterminator fees, and/or essential repairs of conditions in rental or client owned property which create a substantial health or safety risk, and which are payable in the same month, may be issued in one month but the total amount paid not exceed an amount equivalent to up to six months of housing services at $300 a month, or $1,800. In such cases the authorization date will be deemed to have commenced on a date six months prior to the date payments were made. Each $300 increment of payment must be included in determining the maximum 36 month eligibility period.

(iv) Whenever $100 or more of a housing subsidy is sought for repairs to rental property, the participating landlord must agree to rent the property to the family for a minimum one- year period commencing on the date housing services are provided.

(v) In cases where adequate housing is located, provided and, if necessary, renovated such that a child could be discharged from care pursuant to this Part, the child must be discharged within two months from the date such housing is made available. Discharge may occur on a trial basis. Where adequate housing is made available and the child is not discharged within the two month period, the reason for the child remaining in care will be deemed to be due primarily to a factor other than housing and housing services will be terminated.

(3) The provision of nonmandated prevention services to children and their families during a foster care placement shall continue only if a new determination is made every six months after the initial application for services that the child will be continued in foster care unless such services are provided and that it is reasonable to believe that by providing such services, the child will be able to be returned to his family.

(4) The provision of housing services as defined in section 423.2(b)(16) of this Part as a preventive service must not exceed a period of 36 months commencing on the date housing services were authorized and provided.

(5) The provision of intensive, home-based, family preservation services must not exceed 30 days except as provided in section 423.2(b)(17)(iii) of this Part.

(c) Case management and case planning requirements.

(1) Case management, case planning and casework contacts are required for all children and their families in receipt of preventive services.

(i) Case management services shall be provided by the local department of social services. There shall be only one case manager for each family receiving any child welfare services, including foster care, preventive services, child protective services, day care and adoption services.

(ii) Case planning may be provided by a local department of social services or through purchase of service with a preventive services agency.

(a) There shall be only one case planner for each family receiving preventive services.

(b) When a child and his family are receiving preventive services and foster care services or are receiving preventive services and child protective services, there may be more than one case worker assigned to the case.

(c) The local department of social services will designate the agency having case planning responsibility, as well as any other agencies having a role in the case. The agency assigned case planning responsibility will then assign a case planner to each case. Each additional agency with a role in the case will assign caseworker(s) to the case.

(1) The local department of social services will identify responsibilities for each agency with a role in the case, including completion of the uniform case record and provision of casework contacts.

(2) When there is more than one agency with a role in the case, the assigned case planner and assigned caseworker(s) must jointly develop the assessment and service plan and complete the service plan reviews. There must be only one assessment and service plan.

(d) There must be at least 12 casework contacts with a child and/or family in receipt of preventive services within each six-month period of services. The first six-month time period commences at the case initiation date or at the initiation of preventative services; subsequent six-month periods will be calculated from the service plan due date.

(1) For the purposes of this Part, casework contacts must be made by the following:

(i) the case planner;

(ii) the caseworker assigned to the case, as directed by the case planner;

(iii) the person providing specialized rehabilitative services as defined in section 423.2(f) of this Part. Such person may be considered to be making casework contacts as defined in section 423.2(b)(3) of this Part when the specialized rehabilitative services are directed by, arranged by or otherwise coordinated by the case planner. Such persons providing specialized rehabilitative services are permitted access to preventive services records only if they are employed by a preventive services agency as defined in section 423.2(a) of this Part or an authorized agency as defined in subdivision (a) of section 371.1 of the Social Services Law or have been granted access to individually identifiable information in such records with the consent of the parent or child pursuant to section 423.7(e) of this Part;

(iv) person providing supportive services as defined in section 423.2(g) of this Part. Such person may be considered as making casework contacts as defined in section 423.2(b)(3) of this Part when the supportive services are directed by, arranged by or otherwise coordinated by the case planner. Such persons providing supportive services are permitted access to preventive service records only if they are employed by a preventive services agency as defined in section 423.2(a) of this Part or an authorized agency as defined in section 371.10(a) of the Social Services Law or have been granted access to individually identifiable information in such records with the consent of the parent or child pursuant to section 423.7(e) of this Part; and

(v) the person providing probation services as defined in section 423.2(h) of this Part.

(i) At least six of the 12 casework contacts must be made by the case planner, or an assigned caseworker, as directed by the case planner. Four of such contacts must be individual face-to-face meetings with the child and/or his or her family. Two contacts by the case planner or an assigned caseworker, as directed by the case planner, within the six-month period must take place in the child's home.

(ii) No more than two of the remaining six contacts in any six-month period may be made by supportive service providers as defined by subclause (iv) of this clause.

(3) The preventive service casework contacts required by this clause will not apply in cases where housing services are the only preventive service being provided. In such cases, there must be at least one in-home casework contact within the first six months of provision of the housing services, at least one casework contact at the time of each reassessment and one contact 60 days prior to termination of the housing services. Such contacts must consist of efforts to locate other sources of permanent housing for the family and/or other sources of housing assistance which would enable the family to remain in the housing unit for which housing services were obtained. This subclause will not change the casework contact requirements set forth in section 430.12(b) of this Title.

(d)

(1) Core services.

(i) Effective October 1, 1984 each local department of social services must ensure that each child and his/her family mandated to receive services pursuant to this Part have the following core services available to them if such services are identified as needed in the child's service plan:

(a) day care;

(b) homemaker services;

(c) parent training or parent aide;

(d) transportation;

(e) clinical services;

(f) respite care and services for families, provided pursuant to Part 435 of this Title, in which a parent, legal guardian, caretaker or child has Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), HIV infection or HIV-related illness (as such terms are defined by the AIDS Institute of the New York State Department of Health) and who are mandated to receive preventive services under the parent service need or child services needs standards of section 430.9(c)(4) and (c)(5)(i) of this Title; and

(g) twenty-four hour access to emergency services which means developing a plan for, arranging for or providing emergency services, including cash or the equivalent thereto, goods and shelter when a child is at risk of foster care and such services may prevent placement. The plan may include coordination with income maintenance staff or identification of service agencies within the social services district that provide 24-hour services such as a privately administered telephone hotline.

(ii) Effective December 9, 1988, each local department of social services must ensure that housing services as defined in section 423.2(b)(16) of this Part are provided each eligible child and his/her family.

(2) Any other preventive service specified in section 423.2(b) of this Part may be provided according to the needs of the child and his/her family.

(e) Planning requirements. To ensure that the services listed in subdivision (d) of this section are available to each child and his family mandated to receive the services, each local department of social services shall include in its consolidated services plan:

(1) the number of children and families needing each core service and description of indicators used to determine this estimate;

(2) an assurance that every child and family needing any of the core services have these services provided to them in a timely manner;

(3) description of the organization of preventive services within the local department of social services, including staff available to provide preventive services;

(4) the names and addresses of agencies providing purchased preventive services and the services provided by each agency;

(5) an assurance that efforts are made to coordinate services with purchase of service agencies and other public and private agencies within the district that provide services to children, including the use of referral procedures with these agencies and formal and informal agreements; and

(6) an assurance that a plan has been prepared and staff are aware of procedures for providing or arranging for 24-hour access to emergency services for children who are at risk of foster care as specified in paragraph (d)(6) of this section.

This requirement shall be effective for the 1984-87 Consolidated Service Plan and every three years thereafter. Yearly updates of this information shall be required in a form and manner specified by the department.

(f) Purchase of service contracts. For the purpose of this Part, each purchase of services contract shall include but is not limited to the following:

(1) specification of case planning responsibilities, including responsibility for completion of the uniform case record and casework contacts;

(2) identification of the services to be provided;

(3) an estimate of the number of children and families that will receive each service and the percentage of those children and families that will be mandated and nonmandated;

(4) procedures for referrals between purchase of service agencies and the local department of social services and other public and private agencies within the district that provide services to children;

(5) methods the local department of social services will employ to monitor the effectiveness of the service provided;

(6) outreach responsibilities where applicable;

(7) child protective services reporting requirements;

(8) case management procedures, including:

(i) how the local of social services district will authorize the service, approve the client eligibility determination and approve the service plan; and

(ii) procedures for arranging case conferences and service plan reviews;

(9) payment procedures; and

(10) procedures to ensure confidentiality as required by section 423.7 of this Part.

(g) Preventive services in foster care.

(1) Except as noted in paragraph (2) of this subdivision, of the children in foster care, only those children who have a goal of discharge to parent or caretaker and who meet the eligibility criteria of section 430.9(e)(1) of this Title will be eligible for the mandated preventive services identified in section 423.2(b)(1)-(15) of this Part. Such services must be provided to the family or the child and family together. For each period during which such services are provided, the casework contacts required by section 441.21 of this Title must be met.

(2) Minor parents in foster care, whose own child or children are residing with them in a foster family home or residential facility, where such child or children meet the eligibility criteria of subdivision (c), (e) or (h) of section 430.9 of this Title, will be eligible for mandated preventive services identified in section 423.2(b)(1)-(18) of this Part. Such services must be provided to the minor parent and his or her child or children for the purpose of keeping the minor parent and his or her child or children together, including facilitating a custody arrangement that maintains or seeks to restore custody of the child or children of the minor parent to such minor parent except when this custody arrangement would place the child or children of the minor parent at imminent risk of abuse or maltreatment. For each period during which such services are provided, the casework contacts required by section 441.21 of this Title must be met.

(3) Nonmandated preventive services subject to the eligibility criteria of this section may be provided to any child in foster care whose goal is return home, and these services will not be subject to the limitation that mandated preventive services to children in foster care average no longer than three months as provided for in paragraph (b)(2) of this section. Such services may include any of the services provided in section 423.2(b)(1)-(15) of this Part which the child and family need except that services must be provided only to the family or to the child and family together. Notwithstanding the requirement of this paragraph that nonmandated preventive services be provided to the family or to the child and family together, day services may be provided to the child alone. Preventive services must be provided only if the casework contact requirements for children in placement pursuant to section 441.21 of this Title are fulfilled.

(4) Housing services defined in section 423.2(b)(16) of this Part may only be provided to those families and children who satisfy the eligibility criteria of section 430.9(e)(2) and 430.9(f) of this Title.

(h) Preventive services to children immediately after discharge. Mandated and nonmandated preventive services provided to a child for the first three months following discharge from foster care may include any of the services in section 423.2(b) of this Part that the child and his family need except that such services shall be in addition to the following after care requirements: three face-to-face casework contacts, including one home visit, and one case conference with the preventive services agency that shall be provided by a local social services department or by the authorized agency providing the foster care services for the child.

(i) Preventive services to children in receipt of child protective services.

(1) A child and his family who are in receipt of child protective services may receive mandated preventive services if the child is deemed to be at risk of foster care or at risk of returning to care and if the child and family meet one of the eligibility criteria as specified in section 430.9 of this Title, except that the health and safety criteria of section 430.9(c)(1) of this Title shall only apply to indicated cases.

(2) A child and his family who are in receipt of child protective services may receive nonmandated preventive services if the child is deemed to be at risk of foster care or at risk of returning to care.

(3) When a child and his family are receiving both preventive services and child protective services, the child protective services unit of the local department of social services shall be the sole public agency responsible for receiving and investigating or arranging with the appropriate society for the prevention of cruelty to children to investigate all reports of suspected child abuse or maltreatment made pursuant to this Title for the purpose of providing protective services to prevent further abuse or maltreatment to children and to coordinate, provide or arrange for and monitor the provision of those services necessary to safeguard and ensure the child's well-being and development and to preserve and stabilize family life wherever appropriate.

(4) For all indicated child protective services cases, all monitoring requirements as specified by the department shall be followed. When preventive services are purchased by a local district for indicated child protective services cases, the local district shall notify the agency providing services of the local district staff person assigned monitoring responsibility.

(j) Preventive services to adopted children. Preventive services may be provided to adopted children who are at risk of foster care according to the client eligibility criteria specified in section 423.3 of this Part.

(k) Emergency services.

(1) Emergency cash or the equivalent thereto, goods and shelter may be provided if and only if they are directly related to averting or abbreviating a foster care placement. When any such expenditures are included within the emergency assistance to needy families with children program as set forth in Part 372 of this Title, the social services district must make an application within 10 days of the provision of these services. Expenditures for these services may not exceed expenditures allowed under the emergency assistance to needy families with children program.

(2) Before emergency shelter is provided to avert the placement of a child into foster care, social services districts must comply with section 423.5(j) of this Part. Social services districts must first explore a family's eligibility for shelter services or shelter payments under the aid to families with dependent children, home relief, emergency assistance to needy families with children, emergency assistance to aged, blind and disabled persons, or supplemental security income programs as set forth in this Title and, where appropriate, determine eligibility for and provide emergency shelter under such programs. Placement in emergency shelter does not relieve a social services district from assisting the family to obtain permanent housing. This assistance may include, where applicable, providing preventive housing services to those families eligible for such services pursuant to section 409-a(5)(d) of the Social Services Law in accordance with the provisions of the preventive housing services demonstration program established pursuant to chapter 165 of the Laws of 1991.

(l) Housing services. Housing services, as defined in section 423.2(b)(16) of this Part, may be provided only upon the determination by the case manager that a lack of adequate housing is the primary factor preventing the discharge of the child or children from foster care and that the child or children will be discharged no later than two months after such services have been provided and adequate housing has been made available.

(1) When any of the services provided as housing services pursuant to this section are also available under a public assistance program including aid to families with dependent children, home relief or emergency assistance to needy families with children, the case manager must assure that an application for public assistance is made within 10 days of the determination of eligibility for housing services. However, if the service provided pursuant to the aid to families with dependent children or home relief program would result in recoupment pursuant to section 352.31(d) of this Title, then housing services must be provided as a preventive service instead of providing such services under the aid to families with dependent children or home relief program.

(2) Whenever housing services are provided as a preventive service to a family in receipt of public assistance or care, including food stamps and medical assistance, the case manager must provide the local public assistance, food stamp and/or medical assistance office with written notice of such provision within 30 days of authorization or modification and not later than 30 days prior to termination of housing services. However, any payment provided as a housing service may not be considered a resource and therefore may not negatively effect the family's eligibility for public assistance, food stamp or medical assistance benefits.

(m) General requirements.

(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Part and, with the exception of court orders, preventive services shall not be provided to the parents or their children if refused by the parents of the child at risk.

(2) Reasonable efforts shall be made by the preventive services agencies to communicate with the child and his family in their primary language.

(3) Each child and his or her family requesting to apply for services must be informed of available services, eligibility requirements of the services, the provisions of section 423.7 of this Part pertaining to confidentiality and preventive services records, and the right to a fair hearing pursuant to paragraph (4) of this subdivision and Part 358 of this Title.

(4) In accordance with Part 358 of this Title, an applicant for preventive services whose application has been denied or not acted upon within 30 days or a recipient of preventive services whose service has been reduced or terminated by a social services district, shall be entitled to a fair hearing by the department, provided the request is made within 60 days after such action or failure to act.

(5) Each preventive services agency shall keep a record of the number of families applying for or referred for preventive services and a record of whether their applications have been denied and the reasons for such denial.

(6) Preventive services must be provided without regard to income. Fees must be collected for preventive day care services in accordance with the day care fee schedule as published in the Consolidated Services Plan. Fees must be collected for preventive day services pursuant to subdivision (c) of section 425.5 of this Title. In addition, in accordance with the fee schedules established by the department, fees may be collected by a local social services district for the following preventive services: homemaker, housekeeper/chore, clinical services and transportation, if such district establishes a fee schedule and such fee schedule is approved by the department. Such fees must be based on documentation of current family size and monthly gross income. Notwithstanding any provision of this Part, a family that is unable to pay fees is eligible for the service.

(7)Staff and volunteers of agencies providing preventive services shall not engage in discrimination or harassment of families receiving preventive services on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, religion, or disability. Such agencies shall promote and maintain a safe environment, take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination by staff and volunteers, promptly investigate incidents of discrimination and harassment, and take reasonable and appropriate corrective or disciplinary action when such incidents occur. For the purposes of this section, gender identity or expression shall mean having or being perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression whether or not that gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at birth. Gender identity refers to a person's internal sense of self as male, female, no gender, or another gender, and gender expression refers to the manner in which a person expresses his or her gender through clothing, appearance, behavior, speech, or other means.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 423.4