Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a)
Location.
Programs shall be located in areas which are readily
accessible to homeless youth and families and the services available to
them.
(b)
Family
involvement.
Program staff shall encourage the participation of families
in the provision of services to youth, when appropriate.
(c)
Organizational structure.
Each program shall maintain a current description of its
organizational structure, including job descriptions and qualifications for all
program positions.
(d)
Staffing/supervision.
(1) The
director of each program shall provide sufficient and qualified staff and
volunteers, in order to ensure adequate coverage and supervision of youth in
accordance with specific program needs and population.
(2) Individual personnel files shall be
maintained for all program staff and volunteers.
(3) The director of each program shall
develop and implement procedures for the annual evaluation of all staff and
volunteers.
(4) The director of
each program shall develop a plan for adequate supervision of staff and
volunteers which is tailored to the specific population served and the type,
size and physical layout of the facility. In order to assure appropriate care
of youth, the plan shall include the following:
(i) staffing patterns and the rationale for
such patterns;
(ii) identification
of all supervisors of staff and volunteers, including the designation of
on-site supervisors; and
(iii) a
list of the qualifications and responsibilities of the supervisors.
(e)
Employee/volunteer/consultant screening.
(1) Information supplied by applicants for
employment or voluntary service and consultants shall be reviewed, evaluated
and verified according to procedures established by the program.
(2) Applicants for employment or voluntary
service shall not be subject to unlawful discriminatory treatment.
(3) Applicants for employment or volunteer
services shall provide, at a minimum, the following information:
(i) an employment history, including relevant
child care experience;
(ii) the
names, addresses and telephone numbers, where available, of references who can
verify employment history information and experience;
(iii) an educational history, including
elementary school(s) and/or secondary school(s) or college(s) attended, the
highest grade level or degree attained and credits earned;
(iv) all relevant special skills and
training;
(v) the name, address and
telephone number of two or more personal references, other than relatives, who
can attest to the character and reputation of the applicant or
volunteer;
(vi) the forms necessary
for the office to inquire whether the applicant is the subject of an indicated
report of child abuse or maltreatment on file with the Statewide Central
Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment, the forms necessary to check the
register of substantiated category one cases of abuse or neglect maintained by
the Justice Center for the Protection of Persons with Special Needs pursuant to
section
495 of the Social Services Law, a completed
fingerprint card necessary for the office to conduct a criminal history review,
and a sworn statement indicating whether, to the best of the applicant's
knowledge, he or she has ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony in New
York State or any other jurisdiction;
(vii) a sworn statement that all information
provided in the application is true, to the best of the applicant's or
volunteer's knowledge.
(f)
Training.
(1) The director of each program shall be
responsible for ensuring that at least 40 hours of in-service training is
provided to each staff member and that documentation is made of the receipt of
such training by staff during each full year of service. Such training shall
include the following topics:
(i) safety and
emergency procedures, including first aid;
(ii) HIV awareness and education;
(iii) case records and confidentiality of
information;
(iv) youth development
and youth issues;
(v) reportable
incidents as defined in section
488 of the Social Services Law shall be
reported immediately upon discovery to the Vulnerable Persons' Central
Register, in accordance with section
491 of the Social Services Law. Discovery
occurs when the mandated reporter witnesses a suspected reportable incident or
when another person, including the vulnerable person, comes before the mandated
reporter in the mandated reporter's professional or official capacity and
provides the mandated reporter with reasonable cause to suspect that the
vulnerable person has been subjected to a reportable incident;
(vi) suicide prevention; and
(vii) runaway and homeless youth
regulations.
(2) The
director of each program shall be responsible for ensuring that in-service
training is provided to volunteers in an amount commensurate with the specific
volunteer duties performed and the amount of volunteer service provided by each
individual volunteer.
(g)
Nondiscriminatory treatment.
(1) Each program shall employ policies and
procedures designed to ensure that youth are not subject to unlawful
discriminatory treatment in any program decision making process or when being
considered for any available service.
(2) Each program shall employ policies and
procedures designed to reasonably ensure that non-English speaking youth
understand all written and oral communications from program staff and
volunteers, including program rules and requirements.
(h)
Personal property.
The personal money and property of any youth shall remain
as such, and shall not be comingled with any other private or program
funds.
(i)
Services.
(1) A current list of
community providers of youth services shall be maintained at each program
site.
(2) Program staff shall
assist youth in accessing relevant community resources, in order to ensure that
comprehensive services are provided to youth in accordance with individual case
plans.
(3) Program staff shall
assist eligible youth in obtaining care or services from a local social
services district.
(j)
Case management.
Program staff shall directly provide, or make arrangements
with a local agency for the provision of, case management services to youth in
program.
(1) The case management
service provider shall conduct an initial comprehensive assessment of each
youth and develop an individualized service plan with such youth within 30 days
of admission to a program.
(2) A
comprehensive assessment shall address the reason(s) why the youth is without a
place of shelter where supervision and care are available, the youth's current
functional level with regard to independent living skills, and the youth's
ability to progress to independent living within 12 months based upon
identification of the following immediate needs:
(i) education, vocational training and/or
employment;
(ii) medical and
nutritional;
(iii) emotional and
psychological;
(iv)
financial;
(v) clothing and
shelter; and
(vi) family, social
and recreational.
(3) An
individualized service plan shall include:
(i)
long- and short-term goals;
(ii)
methods and timeliness for achieving such goals; and
(iii) the names of community providers who
may assist the youth in fulfilling the plan, by providing activities designed
to develop independent living skills, including:
(a) problem solving;
(b) decision-making;
(c) communication;
(d) employment;
(e) effective use of leisure time;
(f) personal hygiene;
(g) health maintenance;
(h) housekeeping; and
(i) financial management.
(4) Case management
providers shall identify available community resources to meet the needs
addressed in a youth's individualized service plan and ensure that such
resources are accessible and provided to such youth. Such resources shall
include, where appropriate, the support of available family, neighbors,
friends, ethnic groups and the religious community.
(5) All homeless youth shall be encouraged to
assess individual strengths, identify areas of needed growth, develop
decision-making skills and assume personal responsibility for their progress in
attaining individualized service plan goals.
(6) Youth shall be regarded as full partners
in the planning and implementation of individualized service plans.
(7) Individualized service plans shall be
reviewed with each youth at least every 60 days. Such plans shall be revised,
as necessary, based upon additional information received and the youth's
progress.
(8) Case management
providers shall develop contingency plans for back-up emergency services to
assist youth in coping with setbacks which may arise during their progress
toward independent living.
(k)
Emergency procedures.
Each program director shall maintain procedures to be
followed in the event of fire, flood, energy failure, snowstorm and other civil
or natural disasters. Such procedures shall be reviewed annually and revised,
as necessary.
(l)
Policy and procedure manual.
Each program shall have a policy and procedure manual
containing, at a minimum, the following documents:
(1) A copy of the Runaway and Homeless Youth
Act (article 19-H of the Executive Law) and the division's rules and
regulations promulgated pursuant to the act (9 NYCRR 182-1 and
182-2).
(2) A copy of all division
policies and procedures applicable to runaway and homeless youth
programs.
(3) The program's
policies, procedures and plans developed pursuant to the requirements of this
Subpart.
(4) The program's abuse,
neglect or maltreatment and significant incident reporting responsibilities and
procedures, including the toll-free number of the Statewide Central Register of
Child Abuse and Maltreatment, and the Vulnerable Persons' Central
Register.
(m)
Reporting abuse.
(1) Program
staff shall immediately report to the Vulnerable Persons' Central Register
where there is reasonable cause to suspect abuse, neglect, or a significant
incident as defined in Social Services Law section
488.
(2) Program staff shall immediately report to
the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment or local child
protective service, as appropriate, where there is a reasonable cause to
suspect that a youth has been abused, maltreated or neglected outside of the
program.
(n)
Records.
(1) All programs shall
keep accurate and complete records of:
(i)
all youth, staff and volunteers;
(ii) the daily operation of the program;
and
(iii) the provision of services
by the program and community providers.
(2) Individual case records shall be
maintained for each youth served. Youth case records shall contain, at a
minimum, the following information:
(i) the
name, gender, race and birthdate of the youth;
(ii) the name, address and telephone number
of the youth's parent(s), guardian(s) or legal custodian(s);
(iii) the date and time of intake or
admission, source of referral, circumstances surrounding the youth's presence
at the program and the physical and emotional condition of the youth upon
intake or admission;
(iv) for
residential programs, the time and date of parental notification regarding
youth under the age of 18 years, the name of the individual receiving such
notification and the name of the staff member providing such
notification;
(v) any executed
consents for the release of information concerning the youth;
(vi) copies of individualized service plans
and progress reports concerning such plans;
(vii) a copy of the discharge report prepared
by program staff pursuant to the provisions of this Subpart; and
(viii) information about the youth's
dependent infant(s) and/or children, if present in the program, including the
name, gender, age, physical condition and medical condition.
(3) Reports received or filed and
any information concerning abuse, maltreatment or neglect by an employee,
volunteer or consultant of a program are confidential and shall be maintained
separate from the youth's case records. Such reports may be disclosed to
appropriate authorities in connection with an investigation of abuse, neglect
or maltreatment in accordance with the Social Services Law. Reports received by
the authority investigating abuse, neglect or maltreatment shall not be
disclosed except as provided by the Social Services Law. Any report which is
unfounded or unsubstantiated shall be completely expunged from the confidential
records of the program.
(4) Records
of a facility or provider agency, as defined in section
488(4) of the Social
Services Law, shall be made available for public inspection and copying when
such records relate to abuse and neglect of vulnerable persons to the same
extent that those records would be available from a State agency. Requests for
such records shall be made in writing to the Justice Center. Facilities or
provider agencies covered by this subdivision shall cooperate with the Justice
Center, including providing any requested records to the Justice
Center.
(o)
Voluntary termination.
The program director shall give notice to both the county
youth bureau and the division, in writing, of the director's intention to
voluntarily terminate program operation at least 60 days prior to such intended
termination. This notice shall indicate proposed steps to assure appropriate
referral of youth to an alternate facility or program and to preserve the
confidentiality of records.
(p) Contact the appropriate local social
services district if it is believed that a youth may be a destitute child as
such term is defined under section 1092 of the Family Court Act.
(q) Provide information to eligible youth
about their ability to re-enter foster care in accordance with article 10-B of
the Family Court Act, and in appropriate cases, refer any such youth who may be
interested in re-entering foster care to the applicable local social services
district.