Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a)
Parents must be informed of their legal obligations to contribute toward the
costs of their children's foster care when applications for foster care are
made. Parents who are non-signatories to the applications for foster care must
be informed of this obligation within seven days after such parents are
notified of their children's placements. Such information must include a
description of the procedures for making referrals to the child support
enforcement unit of the social services district; a statement that the parents
may be legally responsible for the costs of public assistance and care paid on
behalf of their children; and a statement that court orders may be sought in
order to determine the amounts of the support obligations.
(b) Such information also must be provided to
parents of children in foster care when there is a change of circumstances
which requires referral of the parent or parents to the child support
enforcement unit of the social services district.
(c) In accordance with section
422.4 of
this Part, an assessment must be made of the appropriateness of referring each
parent of a child in foster care to the child support enforcement unit of the
social services district. Each parent must be evaluated individually for the
appropriateness of making a referral.
(d) Where it is determined that a referral to
the child support enforcement unit of the social services district is
appropriate the social services district must:
(1) obtain documentation required by this
subdivision from any available sources;
(2) provide necessary documentation to make
such referral in accordance with the procedures of the child support
enforcement unit of the social services district and transmit such information
to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district;
(i) such documentation must be provided in
the form and manner required by the department;
(ii) to the extent available, necessary
documentation includes but is not limited to the following concerning absent
parents, putative fathers and/or legally responsible relatives:
(a) name, address, sex, date of birth, and
social security number;
(b)
employer name and address;
(c)
medical insurance carrier and policy number;
(d) CIN number;
(e) whether paternity has been established by
acknowledgment or by court adjudication and, if a court adjudication of
paternity has been granted, the court where the order has been entered and the
date of the order of filiation;
(f)
if a court order for support is in effect, the court where the order has been
entered, the date of the order for support, the amount and payment frequency
and whether health care coverage is included in the order of support;
and
(g) date of
abandonment;
(iii)
necessary documentation includes but is not limited to the following concerning
children in foster care:
(a) name, sex, date
of birth and social security number;
(b) date of placement, placement address;
and
(c) case number, claiming
category and the name and telephone number of the foster care case
manager;
(3)
determine the costs of foster care for each foster child for whom a referral is
to be made in accordance with standards established by the department pursuant
to Part 427 of this Title and transmit this information as part of the referral
to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district. For the
purposes of this Part, the costs of foster care are:
(i) those costs associated with the care and
maintenance of the foster child which, at the time of placement or replacement,
are regular and recurring, or other expenses incurred by the child during the
course of placement, exclusive of medical and educational costs; and
(ii) those administrative costs associated
with a child's placement in a residential program operated or administered by a
voluntary authorized agency; or
(iii) those costs that are equivalent to the
amount of any adoption subsidy payment provided in accordance with section
421.24 of
this Title.
Nothing herein is intended to preclude the right of the
State and social services district to recover from the parents the costs of any
medical assistance paid on behalf of the child;
(4) redetermine the costs of foster care each
time a foster child's placement changes and transmit the fact of the changed
placement and any change to the costs of foster care to the child support
enforcement unit of the social services district;
(5) notify the child support enforcement unit
of the social services district when a child is discharged from foster
care;
(6) notify the child support
enforcement unit of the social services district of any change in the foster
child's status including, but not limited to, trial discharge, legal detention,
absent from foster care without consent, hospitalization, and that foster care
payments are no longer being made for the child;
(7) notify the child support enforcement unit
of the social services district when a foster child born out-of-wedlock is
surrendered for adoption, or when the adoption of a foster child is completed
after the termination of parental rights pursuant to section 384-b of the Social Services Law or a
surrender pursuant to section 383-c or 384 of such law;
(8) respond to requests for information from
the child support enforcement unit of the social services district;
and
(9) forward any new or changed
information regarding a previous referral to the child support enforcement unit
of the social services district including changes to a foster child's costs of
care.
