New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services
Subchapter C - Social Services
Article 2 - Family and Children's Services
Part 427 - STANDARDS OF PAYMENT FOR FOSTER CARE OF CHILDREN
Section 427.3 - Allowable items of expenditure

Universal Citation: 18 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs § 427.3

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024

(a) Payments for only the following items are allowable expenditures for the purpose of this Part and State reimbursement for local expenditures:

Salaries

Administrative

Social services

Child care

Medical--clinical

Child support

Maintenance

Fringe benefits and payroll taxes

Social Security

Insurance--Life/Health

Pension and Retirement

Workers' Compensation/Unemployment/NYS Disability

Postage

Dues, licenses, permits

Office supplies

Subscriptions--publications

Fringe benefits and payroll taxes

Workers' Compensation

Transportation and workers expense

Allowances--children

Allowances--parents

Activities--children

Tuition--children

Related school expense

Outside camp fees

Religious stipends

Purchase of services

Purchase of health services

Food

Clothing

Bedding--linen--uniforms

Supplies and equipment

Supplies and equipment--medical

Rent

Rent--furnishing and equipment

Rent--vehicles

Utilities

Repairs and maintenance--plant

Repairs and maintenance--equipment

Repairs and maintenance--vehicles

Telephone and telegraph

Conference expense

Administrative expense

Staff development

Research activities

Publicity

Audit, legal and advisory fees

Insurance

Interest

Taxes

Use charges/Property

Plant

Equipment--Vehicles

Office

Other

Boarding home payments--normal

Boarding home payments--special

Boarding home payments--exceptional

Boarding home payments--emergency

Clothing payments--initial regular

Special payments (boarding homes)

Charges from parent organizations

(b) For purposes of allowability in the maximum State aid rate-setting process, the following additional limitations shall apply to the following stated item of expenditures:

(1) Rental costs (including sale and leaseback of facilities).

(i) Related party transactions.

(a) Actual costs for rentals of land, building and equipment and other personal property owned or controlled by organizations or persons affiliated with an authorized agency, or owned or controlled by members, directors, trustees, officers or other key personnel of such authorized agency or their families either directly or through corporations, trusts or other similar arrangements in which they hold more than 10 percent interest in such land, building and equipment or an interest valued at $1,000 or more, whichever is less, are allowable only to the extent that such rentals do not exceed the amount the authorized agency would have received had legal title to the rented items or facilities been vested in it.

(b) Actual charges in the nature of rent between or among authorized agencies or organizations under common control are allowable to the extent such charges do not exceed the normal costs of ownership, such as depreciation, taxes, insurance and maintenance; provided that no part of such costs shall duplicate any other allowed costs.

(ii) Nonrelated party transactions. Rental costs of land, building, and equipment and other personal property are allowable if the rates are reasonable in light of such factors as rental costs of comparable facilities and market conditions in the areas, the type, life expectancy, condition and value of the facilities leased, options available and other provisions of the rental agreement. Application of these factors, in situations where rentals are extensively used, may involve among other consideration, comparison of rental costs with the amount which the institution would have received had it owned the facilities.

(iii) Sales/leaseback transactions. Rental costs specified in sale and leaseback agreements, incurred by authorized agencies through selling plant facilities to investment organizations, such as insurance companies, associate institutions or private investors, and concurrently leasing back the same facilities, are allowable only to the extent that such rentals do not exceed the amount which the authorized agency would have received had it retained legal title to the facilities.

(2) Tuition.

(i) Reimbursement of tuition paid is available at the normal reimbursable rate for children residing in an authorized child care institution who attend a special act school district statutorily affiliated with the child care institution in which they reside.

(ii) State reimbursement of tuition paid is available until July 1, 1979 at the normal reimbursable rate for children who have attended a special act school district which is not statutorily affiliated with the child care institution in which they reside during the period between September 1, 1978 and December 31, 1978. Commencing January 1, 1979, State reimbursement of tuition paid is not available for children who attend a special act school district which is not statutorily affiliated with the child care institution in which they are placed, unless such school placements are approved in advance by the local social services commissioner responsible for their placement, or unless the children are placed into such institution on an emergency basis, in which case approval for such placement must be received from the local commissioner within 60 days after placement if such reimbursement is to continue. Such approvals will remain in effect for the duration of each academic year.

(iii) State reimbursement of tuition paid is available until July 1, 1979 at the normal reimbursable rate for children who have attended a special act school district during the period between September 1, 1978 and December 31, 1978, and who reside in group homes. Commencing January 1, 1979, reimbursement of tuition paid is not available for children who attend a special act school district and who are placed in group homes, unless such school placements are approved in advance by the local social services commissioner responsible for their placement, or unless the children are placed into such group home on an emergency basis, in which case approval for such placement must be received from the local commissioner within 60 days after placement if such reimbursement is to continue. Such approvals will remain in effect for the duration of each academic year.

(iv) State reimbursement of tuition paid for children who attend a special act school district and who reside in group homes shall not include reimbursement for tuition charged by public school districts other than special act school districts.

(1) For purposes of allowability in the maximum State aid rate-setting process, the term special payments, as referred to in subdivision (a) of this section, means those expenditures made on behalf of a child residing in a foster boarding home for items, costs, or services that are approved pursuant either to paragraph (3) or (4) of this subdivision as being necessary for the child but that are not included in establishing rates for board, care and clothing.

(2) Special payments include but, are not limited to expenditures for the following categories of items, costs and services:

(i) special attire for proms, religious observances and graduation, and for circumstances or occasions, such as school attendance or scouting activities, in which uniforms are necessary items of clothing;

(ii) school expenses such as books, activity fees, costs of field trips, club dues, school jewelry, school pictures, art supplies, and yearbooks;

(iii) music, art, and dancing lessons, and the purchase or rental of items needed to take part in such activities;

(iv) gifts for birthdays, holidays and other special occasions;

(v) extraordinary transportation and communication expenses. These expenses include:

(a) transportation provided by the foster parents for visits to the staff of an authorized agency, the foster child's birth parents, siblings who continue to reside with the birth parents, and to siblings who are placed separately with relatives or who are in foster care or adoption homes;

(b) payments to the birth parents, legal guardians, other relatives and significant others, for travel in excess of 50 miles (including the first 50 miles) to visit children in foster care;

(c) the costs of public transportation when it is necessary for school attendance if such costs are not reimbursed by the school district;

(d) other exceptional transportation required by the authorized agency or for agency approved reasons; and

(e) extraordinary telephone costs for communication with birth parents and siblings;

(vi) day care and baby-sitting services when necessary for the care and supervision of a child in foster care;

(vii) special furniture/equipment for the care of children in foster care such as cribs, high chairs, and car seats;

(viii) window guards necessary to protect the safety of a foster child;

(ix) special recreational/hobby expenditures including travel expenses such as lodging, tools and the costs of transportation, entry or use fees, uniforms and materials. These expenditures are limited to $400 per calendar year per foster child;

(x) compensation to a foster parent for the damage to and/or loss of personal property owned by the foster parent that is caused by the foster child in his or her care to the extent not covered by insurance. Requests for such compensation must be submitted in writing to the appropriate social services district in a manner required by such district within 30 days from the date the foster parents become aware of such damage or loss of personal property. The compensation herein provided for is limited to a maximum of $1,000 per foster child per foster boarding home over a two year period from the date of placement in such home. Compensation of less than $25 will not be granted;

(xi) day camp or residential summer camp costs, including registration and transportation expenses. Reimbursement for residential summer camp fees is available for a maximum of two weeks;

(xii) nonmedical needs of a handicapped child, including special equipment or clothing that is not covered by medical assistance, which arise from the child's handicap; and

(xiii) costs of diapers for a child from birth to the date of the child's fourth birthday.

(3) Requests for special payments for items, costs, or services identified in the categories set forth in paragraph (2) of this subdivision must be reviewed and approved by the social services district.

(4) A social services district may wish to make special payments to a foster parent for items, costs or services not otherwise identified among the categories set forth in paragraph (2) of this subdivision. In order to be eligible for State reimbursement for such payments, the social services district must request approval from the department through the appropriate regional office of the Division of Services and Community Development. The regional office will notify the social services district whether the items, costs or services are equivalent to those in paragraph (2) of this subdivision. This approval must be obtained before the payment can be made.

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