Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
Emergency services. In addition to the provision of
temporary shelter at the facility, which must be available on a 24-hour basis,
seven days a week, including weekends and holidays, the following emergency
services must be offered and provided directly by the residential program or,
in the case of medical services, through a linkage agreement. Acceptance of any
service on behalf of the resident is voluntary.
(a) Hotline services: The provision of
immediate live assistance to victims of domestic violence through a telephone
hotline which provides crisis intervention counseling and information and
referral, and referrals to other available residential programs when the
facility is filled to capacity.
(1) Such
telephone hotline assistance must be made available on a 24-hour basis, seven
days a week, including weekends and holidays.
(2) Admissions into domestic violence
shelters and mixed occupancy shelters must be available on a 24-hours basis,
seven days a week, including weekends and holidays.
(3) Admissions to safe homes and safe
dwellings will be determined by the safe home network and domestic violence
sponsoring agency's policies and may be limited to regular business hours.
(4) Compensated employees or
volunteers responsible for the provision of such services must be knowledgeable
about the dynamics of domestic violence intervention, facility services and the
availability of community resources.
(b) Information and referral which means:
(1) providing information about and referral
to community services and programs which are available to meet the individual
needs of residents. Referrals to such services must be made available to
residents on a daily basis during regular business hours; and
(2) maintaining and making accessible to all
residents a list of community services and programs which may be reasonably
requested by victims of domestic violence, their minor children and other
dependent family members.
(c) Advocacy, which means the provision by a
program of liaison services or active intervention with community resources and
services on behalf of a resident.
(1)
Advocacy services must be made available to residents on a daily basis during
regular business hours.
(2)
Services must include and are not limited to, assistance in accessing legal
services, remedies and protections; obtaining medical care, social services,
employment and housing; and obtaining and submitting public assistance
applications where appropriate.
(3) Compensated employees or trained
volunteers responsible for advocacy services must be knowledgeable about
community services and agencies, and the rights of victims of domestic violence
to obtain necessary services and assistance.
(d) Counseling refers to crisis intervention,
emotional support, guidance and counseling services provided by advocates, case
managers, counselors or mental health professionals. Counseling may occur in
person or by telephone. Counseling must address the needs identified by the
resident. Such needs include and are not limited to:
(1) options available to enhance a resident's
safety and the safety of their minor children as applicable;
(2) information to enhance a resident's
understanding of domestic violence; and
(3) informing residents of the legal,
financial, and housing options; available to them.
(e) Children's services include the
following, which may be delivered in collaboration with the parent receiving
services:
(1) making appropriate arrangements
to, provide for the education of school- aged children in compliance with
article 65 of the New York State Education Law, part 1, section 3201 et
seq.;
(2) assisting parents, as
needed, in arranging care for their children when such care is necessary to
enable the parent to seek employment, housing and/or services or activities
necessary to alleviate the parent's need for temporary shelter and emergency
services;
(3) offering age
appropriate recreational and social activities on a daily basis during regular
business hours for children residing in the facility; and
(4) offering and providing appropriate
counseling services to children residing in the facility.
(f) Support groups which means a group of
people who have similar experiences and concerns related to domestic violence,
and who meet to provide emotional help, advice and encouragement for one
another.
(1) Support groups must be made
available to residents at least once each week.
(2) Such groups must be coordinated by a
qualified employee or trained volunteer and must not replace individual
counseling when requested by the resident.
(g) Transition planning which means the
program:
(1) prior to a resident's planned
departure from the facility, efforts are made to involve the resident in
discussions on available community services and programs which may assist the
resident in carrying out their intended future plans upon departure. Such
transitional plan may include, and are not limited to, counseling services,
employment or training services, educational services, legal services, medical
services, day care and housing services. Any referrals to other residential
programs for victims of domestic violence must be documented in the resident's
case record; and
(2) recognizing
every resident's need for safety and confidentiality and contacting residents
after departure only when the residents have given prior written approval. Such
approval must be documented in the resident's case record. Nothing in this
subparagraph mandates the participation of the resident in transitional
planning.
(h) Medical
services which means:
(1) The program having
an established linkage, documented by a letter of agreement, with a fully
accredited medical institution or clinic or with qualified medical personnel,
which include a physician, physician's assistant or nurse practitioner, for the
referral of residents for health examinations where necessary, and follow-up
visits.
(2) When a referral for
additional screening for physical examination, laboratory and tuberculin tests,
inoculations and other appropriate treatment has been made, the program must
assist the resident in arranging for such treatment when requested by the
resident.
(i)
Transportation which means the program:
(1)
to the extent possible, arranging for transportation to the facility in an
emergency; and
(2) to the extent
possible, making transportation available to residents in order for the
residents to secure legal, medical, housing, employment, or public assistance
services or assist residents to obtain available public or private
transportation where possible.
(j) Community education/outreach which means
the provision of educational activities by the program to the community on the
need for and benefits of domestic violence services, the dynamics of domestic
violence, and prevention of domestic violence by making presentations,
distributing written materials, and utilizing the media.
(1) When there is more than one agency in the
community providing residential and/or non-residential services to victims of
domestic violence, a residential program must make an effort to coordinate its
community education/outreach activities with these other agencies such that to
avoid potential conflict of activities.
(2) The availability of program services must
be made known to police agencies, courts, hospital personnel, and local social
services districts.
(3) A segment
of such community education/ outreach must be focused on informing victims of
domestic violence about existing services.
(4) To ensure the safety of persons receiving
services for victims of domestic violence and the confidentiality of their
identities, the community education/outreach activities must not identify the
location where residential services for victims of domestic violence are
provided.
(k) Language
access services which means providing interpretation and translation services
of information for limited and/or non-English speaking victims of domestic
violence.
