Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) The
commissioner of the social services district shall be required to negotiate a
written purchase of services contract, as prescribed by this Part, with each
public agency, private agency or individual from whom social services are to be
purchased whenever State or Federal funds are to be utilized for payment
therefor except as outlined in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section. A
provider may not subcontract performance under a purchase of service contract
unless expressly permitted by the contract. Any permitted subcontract shall
conform to all requirements of subdivision (g) of this section. The provider
shall be responsible for the performance of any subcontractor. These
requirements may be satisfied by a simple printed contract form so long as all
requirements set forth are contained therein.
(b) A written letter of intent may be used in
lieu of a formal written contract when services are purchased from an
individual provider who has no direct service employees or subcontractors, and
in those instances where the social services district places six or fewer
individuals in a foster family boarding home or where purchase of foster care
maintenance in a foster family boarding home is intermittent or occasional;
however, no purchase of foster care in a group home, group residence or
institution shall be made without a written purchase of services
contract.
(c) The requirements of
this section do not apply to the purchase of services wherein the recipient is
reimbursed by the social services district for payments made by the recipient
for services in accordance with section
405.1(a)(10)(ii)
of this Part or for the purchase of child care services under the New York
State Child Care Block Grant in accordance with Part 415 of this
Title.
(d) Model formats for local
purchase of services contract developed by the department shall be used by the
social services district. They may be modified, as necessary, to cover
additional details or to reflect in greater detail the specifications and terms
under which payment will be made for services rendered. They shall be prepared
in accordance with instructions promulgated by the department.
(e)
Contract period.
(1) The social services district may enter a
multi-year purchase of services contract, provided that the contract is
reviewed on at least an annual basis for verification of conformance by the
contracting parties and is continued for subsequent periods only if the social
services district determines that the contract continues to be in the best
interest of the district.
(2) All
contracts shall be renegotiated as required to promote timely
renewal.
(f) The social
services district shall maintain copies of all contracts and letters of intent
to permit ready access and audit by Federal and State officials.
(g) The written contract shall:
(1) include all terms of the contract in one
instrument, be dated and be executed by authorized representatives of all
parties to the contract prior to the date of implementation;
(2) have a definite effective and termination
date;
(3) contain a detailed
description of the services to be provided and the methods of provision,
including subcontracting to be used by the provider in carrying out its
obligations under the contract;
(4)
specify any delegated function such as accepting applications and transmitting
information pertaining to the eligibility determination, if any;
(5) provide for a stated number of units of
service at a specified dollar rate or for a specific dollar amount or for costs
to be determined in accordance with acceptable cost allocation
methods;
(6) specify the method and
source of payment to the provider, including collection and disposition of
fees, if applicable;
(7) include a
statement that the provider meets applicable State or Federal
standards;
(8) specify the
locations of the facilities to be used in providing services;
(9) provide for informing individuals of the
right to request a fair hearing in accordance with provisions prescribed by the
department;
(10) provide that the
provider will comply with the requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
Part 357 of this Title for safeguarding information;
(11) provide that any subcontracts permitted
by the contract shall be subject to the requirements of this Part and that the
provider is responsible for the performance of a subcontractor;
(12) specify the requirements for fiscal and
program responsibility, billing, records, controls, reports and monitoring
procedures;
(13) provide for access
to financial and other records pertaining to the program by State and Federal
officials;
(14) include specific
procedures ensuring the protection of health history information related to an
individual who has been diagnosed as having AIDS or an HIV-related illness or
an HIV infection or laboratory tests performed on an individual for HIV-related
illness;
(15) include a statement
ensuring that staff, to whom confidential HIV-related information is disclosed
as a necessity for providing services and in accordance with Part 403 of this
Title and section 2782 of the Public Health Law, are fully
informed of the penalties and fines for redisclosure in violation of State law
and regulation;
(16) include the
requirement that any disclosure of confidential HIV-related information must be
accompanied by a written statement as follows:
"This information has been disclosed to you from
confidential records which are protected by State law. State law prohibits you
from making any further disclosure of this information without the specific
written consent of the person to whom it pertains, or as otherwise permitted by
law. Any unauthorized further disclosure in violation of State law may result
in a fine or jail sentence or both. A general authorization for the release of
medical or other information is not sufficient authorization for further
disclosure.";
(17) specify
the information concerning casework contacts to be furnished by providers of
specialized rehabilitative services, supportive services and probation services
as defined in section
423.2(f), (g) and
(h) of this Title and the actions required by
such rehabilitative providers, supportive service providers and probation
service providers participating in case planning activities;
(18) include a statement that a contract with
the social services district is not required for an eligible child care
provider to provide child care services to a child receiving child care
assistance funded under the New York State Child Care Block Grant Program;
and
(19) specify that overpayments,
occurring due to an error in the calculation of the payment amount by the
social services district for child care assistance funded under the New York
State Child Care Block Grant Program, may be recovered from the child care
provider if the overpayment occurred during the twelve months preceding the
date the error was discovered.
