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 5 - Adult and Family Services
Part 462 - Nonresidential Services For Victims Of Domestic Violence
Section 462.4 - Service requirements

Universal Citation: 18 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs § 462.4

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

(a) Core services. Each non-residential program for victims of domestic violence operated directly by a social services district or by a not-for-profit organization pursuant to a purchase of services contract with a social services district must offer and provide all of the following core services directly. Acceptance of any service on behalf of the victim of domestic violence is voluntary. Core services must be offered on a daily basis, excluding weekends and holidays, during regular business hours:

(1)Telephone hotline assistance which means providing immediate crisis intervention counseling and information and referral services to victims of domestic violence through a telephone hotline.

(i) Such assistance must be provided directly by the non-residential program during regular business hours.

(ii) When the program is closed, the non-residential program, at a minimum, must have an answering machine that provides victims of domestic violence with a telephone number to call for emergency assistance.

(iii) The employees and volunteers responsible for providing telephone hotline assistance must have received training on the dynamics of domestic violence, the program's services, and the availability of residential programs for victims of domestic violence and of other community resources.

(2) Information and referral services which means:

(i) providing information about and referral to community services and programs which meet the individual needs of victims of domestic violence including, but not limited to, referral to residential programs for victims of domestic violence and to medical services;

(ii)providing alleged perpetrators of domestic violence, upon request, with information and referral to existing community services and programs which may meet the individual

(iii) maintaining and making accessible a list of community services and programs which it is reasonable to expect may be required by victims of domestic violence, their minor children and other family or household members.

(3) Advocacy which means providing liaison services or active intervention with community services and programs on behalf of victims of domestic violence.

(i) Such services must include, and are not limited to, assistance in accessing legal remedies and protections and law enforcement personnel; obtaining medical care, social services, employment and housing; and obtaining and submitting public assistance applications.

(ii) The employees and volunteers responsible for advocacy services must be knowledgeable about the community services and programs that are available to meet the needs of victims of domestic violence, and of the rights of victims of domestic violence to obtain necessary services and assistance.

(4) Counseling refers to crisis intervention, emotional support, guidance and counseling provided by advocates, case managers, counselors or mental health professionals. Such counseling may occur in person or by telephone.

(a) The counseling provided must stress self-sufficiency and must:

(i) address the needs identified by the victims;

(ii) assist the victims to seek services on their own behalves;

(iii) inform the victims of the options available to enhance their safety and the safety of their minor children;

(iv) inform the victims of the nature of domestic violence and its effects on children as appropriate;

(v) inform the victims of the legal, financial and housing options available to them; and

(vi) assist the victims to improve their problem-solving skills.

(b) Mediation or counseling for couples must not replace the individual and/or group counseling which must be made available to victims of domestic violence pursuant to this subdivision. Nothing in this provision requires that mediation or counseling for couples be provided, and would not be considered a core service.

(5) Community education/outreach activities which means providing educational activities to the community regarding the need for and benefits of domestic violence services, the dynamics of domestic violence, and the prevention of domestic violence by making presentations, distributing written materials and using the media.

(i) When there is more than one agency in the community providing non-residential and/or residential services to victims of domestic violence, a non-residential program must make an effort to coordinate its community education/outreach activities with these other agencies.

(ii) A segment of the community education/outreach activities must be focused on informing the personnel of schools, police agencies, courts, hospitals and social services districts about the availability of the program's services.

(iii) A segment of the community education/outreach activities also must be focused on informing victims of domestic violence, including underserved populations, about existing services for such victims. The community education/outreach activities must be relevant to the ethnic composition of the community.

(iv) 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.

(6) Language access services, which means providing interpretation and translation services for limited and/or non-English speaking victims of domestic violence.

(b) Optional services. Each nonresidential program for victims of domestic violence operated directly by a social services district or by a not-for-profit organization pursuant to a purchase of services contract with a social services district may provide any of the following optional services:

(1) Children's services, which means the program, in collaboration with the parent receiving services:

(i) assisting victims of domestic violence in arranging child care for their children when such care is necessary to enable the victims to seek services or to participate in activities which would alleviate the victims' needs for nonresidential services for victims of domestic violence; and

(ii) offering and providing appropriate counseling to the children of victims of domestic violence.

(2) Support groups which means providing peer support to interested victims of domestic violence by conducting meetings during which groups of victims discuss their experiences with domestic violence.

(i) Support groups must be coordinated by a qualified employee or trained volunteer.

(ii) Support groups may not replace the individual and/or group counseling which must be made available to victims of domestic violence pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section.

(3) Transportation which means making transportation available to victims of domestic violence so they can secure legal, medical, housing, employment or public assistance services by providing such transportation directly or by assisting victims to obtain available public or private transportation where possible.

(4) Repealed

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