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 4 - Residential Programs for Victimes of Domestic Violence
Part 452 - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 452.9 - General operational standards
Universal Citation: 18 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 452.9
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) Admission standards.
(1) With the exception of those persons
described in paragraph (2) of this subdivision and to the extent space is
available, residential programs for victims of domestic violence must provide
emergency services and temporary shelter to any victim of domestic violence, as
defined in section
452.2(t)
of this Part. Residential programs must provide appropriate available services
for all victims of domestic violence, regardless of race, creed, color,
national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military
status, sex, marital status, disability, alien or non-qualified
alien.
(2) Programs may not accept
or retain any person who:
(i) is likely to
cause danger to himself/herself or others or to substantially interfere with
the health, safety, or provision of services to other residents;
(ii) is in need of a level of medical, mental
health, nursing care or other assistance that cannot be rendered safely and
effectively by the particular program, or that cannot be reasonably provided
with a reasonable accommodation as defined in Part 452.2(m) of this Title and
paragraph (4) of this section, or through the assistance of other community
resources;
(iii) has a generalized
systemic communicable disease, as identified by the New York State Department
of Health or a local health department, or a readily communicable local
infection which could be easily transmitted under normal shelter conditions to
other residents and cannot be properly isolated.
(iv) refuses to agree, accept, or adhere to
the rights and responsibilities as specified in paragraph (7) of this
section.
(3) Prior to
the admission of a person to a residential program for victims of domestic
determine whether such person is a victim of domestic violence as defined in
section
452.2(t)
of this Part, whether such person fits any of the criteria described in
paragraph (2) of this subdivision, and whether the individual program can
appropriately meet such person's physical and personal needs. Persons who do
not meet admission criteria must be referred to appropriate community
resources.
(4) Reasonable
accommodations may include changes to the physical environment,
policies/procedures or practices which permit a domestic violence victim or
his/ her child with a disability to be able to receive emergency services and
temporary shelter in a residential program for victims of domestic violence if
such changes are readily achievable. Readily achievable means easily
accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty or expense.
In determining whether an action is readily achievable, factors to be
considered include:
(i) The nature and cost
of the change needed; and
(ii) The
overall financial resources of the residential program for victims of domestic
violence; the number of persons served at such facility; the effect on expenses
and resources or the impact otherwise of such action upon the operation of the
facility; the number, type and location of its facilities.
(5) Service animals and therapy dogs.
(i) Service animals and therapy dogs must be
allowed to accompany domestic violence victims to a residential program for
victims of domestic provided that the service animal does not impose an undue
burden on the residential program for victims of domestic violence. Service
animals and therapy dogs must be under control of the domestic violence victim.
Care and supervision of service animals and therapy dogs are the responsibility
of the domestic violence victim, including toileting, feeding, grooming and
veterinary care.
(a) An undue burden may
include situations where:
(1) the service
animal or therapy dog poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others,
has a history of aggressive behavior, or is not under the control of the
domestic violence victim.
(2)
accommodating the accompaniment of the service animal or therapy dog would
create significant difficulty or expense to the residential program for victims
of domestic violence, taking into consideration the overall size and budget of
the residential program for victims of domestic violence.
(b) If the residential program for victims of
domestic violence determines that accompaniment by the service animal or
therapy dog would constitute an undue burden on the residential program, the
program must make reasonable efforts to facilitate placement of the service
animal or therapy dog at an off-site animal care facility, or to find another
suitable placement for the victim of domestic violence and their service animal
or therapy dog.
(ii)
Therapy dogs shall be allowed within the residential program for victims of
domestic violence for the purpose of providing therapeutic services.
(iii) Residential programs for victims of
domestic violence may have policies that permit residents to have emotional
support / comfort animals and/or pets accompany residents.
(6) Where an adult or child resident appears
to be physically injured or seriously ill and/or makes statements indicating
the possibility of serious physical injury or illness such resident must be
offered a referral for a health examination conducted by an appropriate medical
or mental health professional within 48 hours of admission to a residential
program for victims of domestic violence.
(7) Within the first working day following
admission to a residential program for victims of domestic violence, the
program must seek to obtain the informed consent of each adult resident
regarding the rights, responsibilities and rules of the program governing
day-to-day life and activities including the maximum length of stay in such
program and the conditions for discharge of residents from the program.
(8) Additional requirements for
rights and responsibilities utilized by a safe home network and a domestic
violence sponsoring agency are set forth in sections
454.6
and, 455.5 of this Title, respectively.
(9) Within the first working day following
admission to a residential program for victims of domestic violence, the
program must provide the resident with a notice of the following, including and
not limited to, rights and responsibilities:
(i) Resident's Rights
(a) the right of the resident to receive
confidential services and to reside in a safe and secure environment;
(b) the right to have or refuse private
written, verbal or electronic communications, including the right to leave the
facility, safe home or safe dwelling. Any limitations on the use of the
facility, safe home or safe dwelling for such meetings or communications
including prior notice, hours of access, or access to private areas or any
outright prohibition must be set forth in the resident rights and
responsibilities;
(c) the right to
leave and return to the facility, safe home or safe dwelling at reasonable
hours in accordance with the written rights and responsibilities of the
program;
(d) the right to
confidential treatment of personal, social, financial, and medical records as
well as any other information which may result in the disclosure of the
presence of the resident at the program, except where contrary to any law or
regulation;
(e) the right to
receive courteous, fair, respectful and responsive services designed to
effectively meet the needs of individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and
experiences;
(f) the right to
present grievances on one's own behalf, or on behalf of other residents, to the
program operator or operator's designee, the local social services district
and/or the Office without fear of reprisal and the procedures to voice such
grievances;
(g) the right to manage
one's own financial affairs, including information regarding public assistance
and care so that the resident can make an informed decision whether to apply
for benefits, including what benefits are available, what personally
identifying information is required for the application, and how that
information will be used;
(h) the
right to be free from restraint or confinement;
(i) the right to exercise one's civil rights,
including the right to religious liberty;
(j) a victim of domestic violence with a
disability has the right to be accompanied by a service animal. A person who is
a handler of a therapy dog has the right to be accompanied by their therapy
dog. If it is unclear if the animal is a service animal, the program may ask if
it is a service animal required because of a disability. The program may also
ask what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A person with a
service animal is not required to provide proof of their disability or any
other proof that the animal is a service animal;
(k) reasonable efforts must be made to
facilitate placement of the service animal or therapy dog of the handler
resident at an off-site animal facility in the event the animal poses a direct
threat to the health or safety of others;
(l) the right to be informed and receive a
copy of the program's policies that prohibit discrimination or harassment of
any person in the residential program because of the person's race, creed,
color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression,
military status, sex, marital status, disability, alien or non-qualified alien
status.
(ii) Resident
Responsibilities
(a) maintaining the
cleanliness of their own sleeping and living areas, including bathroom and
cooking areas, if any, as well as changing linens and towels
regularly;
(b) using communal areas
respectfully;
(c) notifying
facility staff of any illnesses of each member of the family;
(d) refraining from engaging in acts which
endanger the health and safety of oneself or others, or which substantially
interfere with the orderly operation of the facility.
(iii) Program Responsibilities
(a) the requirement for program employees to
report all suspected cases of child abuse and maltreatment to the State central
register of child abuse and maltreatment, as specified in subdivision (d) of
this section;
(b) the availability
of and assistance in accessing legal support and advocacy;
(c) to inform residents of the types of
services available through the program and the frequency with which such
services are offered, including whether storage facilities to secure
possessions are available;
(d) the
right of programs to discharge residents who are disruptive of the program's
operation or who are likely to cause danger to himself/herself or others or to
substantially interfere with the health, safety, or provision of services to
other residents, household members, and/or staff;
(e) to inform residents that in accordance
with Social Services Law §
460 et. seq., the program must allow the
Office access to the grounds, buildings, books, papers, employees, and
residents of the program for the purpose of supervision and inspection;
(b) Records and reports.
(1) Programs must maintain individual case
records, by individual resident or by adult resident and related family member,
which shall reflect that they have asked for the information below, provided,
however, that nothing shall require a resident to answer any information as a
condition to receive services:
(i) the
resident's prior home address and listing of family members receiving
residential services from the program;
(ii) identification of person or persons to
be contacted in case of emergency;
(iii) referrals for any medical or mental
health services of resident(s) pursuant to paragraph (a)(6) of this
section;
(iv) information on the
status of any court proceeding to which the resident is a party or a
complainant if such proceedings are directly related to the reasons the
resident is in need of a residential program for victims of domestic
violence;
(v) inquire about any
special medical conditions or medications prescribed for any resident family
members, the prescribed regimen to be followed, and the names and telephone
numbers of medical doctors to contact should an emergency arise concerning
these conditions;
(vi) the
resident's description of the situation which caused the resident to enter the
program as a victim of domestic violence;
(vii) entries indicating the dates and the
emergency core services provided pursuant to section 452.12 of this Part;
and
(viii) where appropriate,
documentation that a transition plan has been discussed with the resident,
which includes, discussion on community services and programs which may be
helpful to the individual resident upon departure and documentation of any
referrals to other residential programs for victims of domestic
violence.
(2) The
program must maintain non-personally identifying information for the purpose of
reimbursement from a social services district as provided in section
452.10(a)(4)(c)
of this Part.
(3) The program must
maintain at the program office or the program's principal place of business,
personnel records as outlined in 452.11(f)(6), (7) and (8) of this
Part.
(4) The program must maintain
at the program office or the program's principal place of business payroll
records and appropriate financial records and reports accounting for the
revenues and expenditures and the financial status of the program. These
records must be kept in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles.
(5) The program must
maintain at the program office a daily roster or other mechanism to record the
number of residents in the program at all times.
(6) The program must maintain at the program
office records of reportable incidents occurring at the domestic violence
shelter, domestic violence program, safe home or safe dwelling, including a
description of each incident and steps taken to control, manage or prevent the
recurrence of such an incident.
(i) Reportable
incident means an incident that, because of its severity or the sensitivity of
the situation, may result in, or has the reasonably foreseeable potential to
result in, harm to the health, safety or welfare of any resident and shall
include but shall not be limited to: death of resident while in shelter, fire,
gas leak, carbon monoxide, water main break, structural damage to the facility,
etc., to the Office within 24 hours in a form and manner prescribed by the
Office;
(7) Operational
records must be maintained for a minimum period of six years.
(8) The program, with the exception of safe
homes, must have written disaster and emergency plans.
(9) Individual case records must be retained
by the program upon change of staff or ownership and must be retained for a
minimum of six years after the resident leaves the program. If the resident
returns for residential services as a result of a new domestic violence
incident, the record retention period starts over.
(10) Once a program determines that record(s)
may be destroyed, it must do so in a manner as to maintain confidentiality of
the records.
(c) Length of stay.
(1) Maximum length of stay will be
determined in accordance with section
408.6
of the Part. Potential residents of each program must be informed of the
program's length of stay at their initial admission interview, and all
counseling of the residents must recognize the need to secure safe and
appropriate alternative housing.
(2) A former resident of a residential
program for victims of domestic violence may reenter a residential program for
victims of domestic violence if such person is a victim of domestic violence as
defined in section
452.2(t)
of this Part as a result of a new domestic violence incident occurring
subsequent to the previous stay at a residential program for victims of
domestic violence. For purposes of calculating the length of stay of such
residents, the day of readmission will be counted as day one.
(d) Reporting of child abuse.
(1) Employees of residential programs for
victims of domestic violence are considered to be employees of a publicly
funded emergency shelter for families with children, and, in accordance with
the provisions of sections 413 and
415 of the Social Services Law, must report
any incidents of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the Statewide Central
Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (SCR), or cause such a report to be
made, when such employee has reasonable cause to suspect that a child, parent
or other person legally responsible for a child comes before them in their
professional or official capacity and provides information that gives the
employee a reasonable basis to suspect that a child is being abused or
maltreated. This must be done in the following manner:
(i) Residential programs for victims of
domestic violence must make an immediate report to the SCR by telephone,
followed by a written report within 48 hours, in the form and manner prescribed
by the Office, to the child protective service of the social services district
in the county in which the child resided at the time of the suspected
incident.
(ii) After making the
initial report, the reporting employee must immediately notify the director of
the program or a designee that the report was made.
(e) Incorporated not-for-profit organization; general terms and conditions.
(1) Governing board
(i) The legally constituted board of
directors or other governing board of an agency shall manage the affairs of
such agency in accordance with applicable provisions of law, regulations and
policy directives of the Office, the agency's certificate of incorporation, any
amendments thereto, and duly Adopted bylaws. In the event an agency operates
more than one residential program for victims of domestic violence, the
governing board may appoint a separate advisory body for each residential
program for victims of domestic violence operated by such agency.
(ii) So that the board of directors or other
governing board of an agency may properly oversee the affairs of the agency,
such board must include a member or members with knowledge of, or experience
in, the types of programs operated by the agency. Such board should also
include a member or members with knowledge of financial matters.
(iii)
(a)
No member of the board of directors or other governing board of an agency or
any of its advisory bodies may engage, directly or indirectly, in any business
or activity that is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his or
her duties as a member of such governing board or advisory body.
(b) The board of directors or other governing
board must adopt a conflict of interest policy. The policy must cover conflicts
of interest, including related party transactions in which a related party has
a financial interest.
(iv) The governing board must:
(a) appoint a chief executive officer, by
whatever title designated, who shall be responsible to the governing board for
the proper administration of the agency;
(b) make or cause to be made, receive and
preserve such records as may be required;
(c) meet as often as may be necessary, but no
less than four times a year, to oversee and provide for the proper orientation
of the agency and to oversee and provide for the proper delivery of services to
victims of domestic violence;
(d)
maintain and keep, at the administrative office of the agency, minutes of its
meetings;
(e) make periodic
reviews of the agency's written policies, review its services and programs to
determine whether they meet the needs of current or prospective victims of
domestic violence, and record such reviews in the minutes; and
(f) develop and maintain a program of
orientation and training for all new members of such board.
(v) The bylaws of an agency shall
provide for the appointment of such standing committees as may be appropriate
and proscribe their functions and responsibilities.
(vi) The governing board or committee thereof
shall be permitted and encouraged to visit each program and facility operated
by such agency, at least annually, in a manner which affords confidentiality to
such program's residents, to review the operation of such programs and
facilities as well as the quality of services provided to victims of domestic
violence.
(2) Finances.
(i) The governing board of an agency must
make provision for:
(a) adequate financial
resources for the operation of such agency's programs;
(b) adequate supervision of such agency's
property, both real and personal;
(c) a separate annual budget for each program
operated by such agency with an appropriate allocation for administrative and
centralized costs.
(ii)
Each agency shall submit financial forms and reports to the Office in
accordance to Part 408 of this Title.
(3) Chief executive officer.
(i) The chief executive officer shall direct,
evaluate and coordinate all aspects of an agency's programs. This officer shall
be responsible for the daily administration of the agency in accordance with
the regulations and policy directives of the Office and all other applicable
requirements of law and of the policies of the governing board; for supervision
of the services provided to victims of domestic violence and their children;
for admissions and discharges; for continuing analysis and improvement of
programs in light of the needs of victims of domestic violence being service;
for staff development and training; for selection and dismissal of all
employees, volunteers, consultants, and contractors; for preparing the annual
budget; for preparation of all required reports; for exploring and initiating
new programs and services when appropriate; and for the coordination with other
programs in the community.
(ii)
This chief executive officer shall have appropriate training and experience in
the human services field, as determined by the board of directors.
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