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 427.6 - Foster family boarding home program-payments and State reimbursement

Universal Citation: 18 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs § 427.6

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

(a) Each social services district must establish and submit to the department annually a schedule of rates which it pays to foster family boarding homes for normal, special, exceptional and extraordinary foster care services and clothing replacement provided to children; however, State reimbursement for payments for such care based upon such rates is limited to the maximum provided for in subdivision (b) of this section.

(b) State reimbursement must be made only on actual payments to certified or approved foster parents providing care for children in foster family boarding homes up to the maximum levels established by the department for normal, special, exceptional and extraordinary foster care services and clothing replacement based upon data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other generally accepted sources, relating to the cost of raising children.

(c) If approved by the department, social services districts are eligible to receive State reimbursement for payments for special foster care services made on behalf of children who:

(1) are boarded out with foster parents who meet the criteria of subdivision (e) of this section; and

(2) suffer from pronounced physical conditions as a result of which a physician certifies that the child requires a high degree of physical care; or

(3) are awaiting family court hearings on PINS or juvenile delinquency petitions, or have been adjudicated as PINS or juvenile delinquents; or

(4) have been diagnosed by a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist as being moderately developmentally disabled, emotionally disturbed or having a behavioral disorder to the extent that they require a high degree of supervision; or

(5) are refugees or Cuban/Haitian entrants, as defined in section 427.2(p) and (q) of this Part and are unable to function successfully in their communities because of factors related to their status as refugees or entrants. Such factors include but are not limited to, the inability to communicate effectively in English, the lack of effective daily living skills and the inability of the child to relate to others in the child's community; or

(6) enter foster care directly from inpatient hospital care. Such children are eligible for special foster care services for a period of one year. Eligibility after one year will continue only if the child meets one of the conditions described in paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5) or (7) of this subdivision; or

(7) in the judgment of the local social services commissioner, have a condition equivalent to those in paragraph (2), (3), (4) or (5) of this subdivision. Special payments for foster children who have the equivalent conditions described in this paragraph are approved if:

(i) a list of equivalent conditions has been developed by the local social services commissioner and approved by the department as eligible for special foster care services; or

(ii) individual, child specific requests for special foster care services have been approved by the local social services commissioner. Such child specific requests must be approved by the department within 60 days after approval by the local social services commissioner.

(d) If approved by the department, social services districts are eligible to receive State reimbursement for payments for exceptional foster care services made on behalf of foster children who:

(1) are boarded out with the foster parents who meet the criteria of subdivision (e) of this section; and

(2) require, as certified by a physician, 24-hour-a-day care provided by qualified nurses, or persons closely supervised by qualified nurses or physicians; or

(3) have severe behavior problems characterized by the infliction of violence on themselves, other persons or their physical surroundings, and who have been certified by a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist as requiring high levels of individual supervision in the home; or

(4) have been diagnosed by a qualified physician as having severe mental illnesses, such as child schizophrenia, severe developmental disabilities, brain damage or autism; or

(5) have been diagnosed by a physician as having acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related illness, as defined by the AIDS Institute of the State Department of Health. Such definitions are contained in directives issued by the department from time to time. Foster children who have tested positive for HIV infection and subsequently tested negative for HIV infection due to seroconversion remain eligible for exceptional services for a period of one year from the date of the test which indicated seroconversion. Upon expiration of such one-year period, the child's condition must be evaluated and the local social services commissioner must determine the child's continued need for exceptional services in accordance with paragraph (2), (3), (4) or (6) of this subdivision; or

(6) in the judgment of the local social services commissioner, have a condition equivalent to those in paragraph (2), (3), (4) or (5) of this subdivision. Exceptional payments for foster children who have the equivalent conditions described in this paragraph are approved if:

(i) a list of equivalent conditions has been developed by the local social services commissioner and approved by the department as eligible for exceptional foster care services; or

(ii) individual, child specific requests for exceptional foster care services have been approved by the local social services commissioner. Such child specific requests must be approved by the department within 60 days after approval by the local social services commissioner.

(e) If approved by the department, social services districts are eligible to receive State reimbursement for payments for special or exceptional foster care services made to foster parents who:

(1) provide foster family boarding home care to the foster children described in subdivisions (c) and (d) of this section; and

(2) have demonstrated their ability to care for foster children with special or exceptional conditions through past training and experience in nursing, special education, child care or the completion of or participation in special training provided by an authorized child caring agency or other relevant training and experience; and

(3) actively participate in agency training for foster parents of not less than four hours per year in the case of providers of special foster care services and five hours per year in the case of providers of exceptional foster care services; and

(4) actively participate in case conferences as determined by the authorized agency; and

(5) are able to provide the intensive supervision and interpersonal relationships that are consistent with the child's therapeutic goals. This includes the ability to work with the professionals involved in the treatment plan, such as physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists. Foster parents must also be able to accept assistance and guidance in caring for the child.

(f) If approved by the department, social services districts are eligible to receive state reimbursement for payments for extraordinary foster care services on behalf of children if:

(1) Such payments are made on behalf of foster children who are determined by the social services districts to need an extraordinary level of care and by virtue of their needs, without an extraordinary level of care in a foster family home setting, would:

(i) Need, as determined by the local department of social services to be placed into a setting governed by Part 439 of this Title or require, as certified by a physician, 24-hour-a-day care provided by qualified nurses or persons closely supervised by qualified nurses or physicians, and:

(ii) Meet one or more of the criteria below:

(a) Have severe behavior problems characterized by the infliction of violence on themselves, other persons or their physical surroundings, and who:

(1) have been certified by a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist as requiring high levels of individual supervision in the home; or

(2) have been adjudicated as a Person in Need of Supervision (PINS) or Juvenile Delinquent (JD); or

(3) have been diagnosed by a qualified physician as having severe mental illnesses, such as child schizophrenia, severe brain injury that seriously affects the child's ability to relate to his peers and/or authority figures, intellectual or developmental disability or;

(b) Have been diagnosed by a physician as having acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-related illness, as defined by the AIDS Institute of the State Department of Health. Such definitions are contained in directives issued by the department from time to time. Foster children who have tested positive for HIV infection and subsequently tested negative for HIV infection due to seroconversion remain eligible for extraordinary services for a period of one year from the date of the test that indicated seroconversion. Upon expiration of such one-year period, the child's condition must be evaluated, and the local social services commissioner must determine the child's continued need for extraordinary foster care services in accordance with this subdivision; or

(d) The child has been placed temporarily in a Qualified Residential Treatment Program as defined in section 441.2 of this Title but are ineligible to stay in such placement due to a determination by the qualified individual through an assessment process and is identified as eligible for extraordinary level care; or

(e) The child is a survivor of, or at high risk of commercial labor or sexual exploitation; or

(f) In the judgment of the local social services commissioner, the child has a condition equivalent to those delineated in this paragraph. Extraordinary level of care payments for foster children who have the equivalent conditions described in this paragraph are approved if:

(1) A list of equivalent conditions has been developed by the local social services commissioner and approved by the department as eligible for extraordinary foster care services; or

(2) Individual, child specific requests for extraordinary foster care services have been approved by the local social services commissioner. Such child specific requests must be submitted to the department for review and approval within 60 days after approval by the local social services commissioner.

(2) If approved by the department, social services districts are eligible to receive state reimbursement for payments for extraordinary foster care services made to foster parents who:

(i) provide foster family boarding home care to the foster children described in paragraphs (1) of subdivision (f) of this section; and

(ii) have the ability to be readily accessible to meet a child?s need on an ongoing and emergent needed basis; and

(iii) have demonstrated their ability to care for foster children with special, exceptional or extraordinary conditions through past training and experience in nursing, special education, child care or the completion of or participation in special training provided by an authorized agency or other relevant training and experience; and

(iv) have only one foster child placed in the home at a time; and

(v) actively participate in agency training for foster parents of not less than eight hours per year; and

(vi) actively participate in case conferences as determined by the authorized agency; and

(vii) actively participate in daily contact Monday through Friday with the applicable authorized agency to provide daily reports of the child?s progress via email, phone calls, virtual or face-to-face contact; and

(viii) actively participate in weekly foster parent group meetings focused on training in parenting practices and support; and

(ix) actively support implementation of an individualized behavior management program daily in the home; and

(x) actively support individualized therapy for the foster child, including implementing strategies in the home identified as part of child?s treatment plan; and

(xi) actively participate in individualized skills training and coaching for the foster child; and

(xii) are able to provide the intensive supervision and interpersonal relationships that are consistent with the child's therapeutic goals. This includes the ability to work with the professionals involved in the treatment plan, such as physicians, nurses, school personnel for those children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists. Foster parents must also be able to accept assistance and guidance in caring for the child.

(g) State reimbursement through the Department of Social Services is not available for foster care or for bed reservations in any foster family boarding home during any period in which a child is being held therein for detention as defined in section 510-a of the Executive Law.

(h) In the case of a child or children who reside with their minor parents in the same foster family home, and who are not in the care and custody or custody and guardianship of the local commissioner of social services, State reimbursement will be made only for payments made to certified or approved foster parents providing care for such minor parent/child unit.

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