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History
- Referred to children and families
- Referred to children and families
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Establishes an incremental funding schedule to make home visiting programs available to at-risk children
In Senate Committee · Children And Families · Sponsor Darrel J. Aubertine
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:A242
Title of bill
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing incremental funding for home visiting programs available to children at risk of child abuse and neglect
Purpose
To increase funding for home visit programs across the state by establishing funding amounts for the years 2008-09 and 2009-10 and requiring the office of children and family services to develop a state- wide plan by 2011-2012.
Summary of provisions
Adds a new paragraph 8 to section 429 of the social services law to establish specific funding levels for home visit- ing programs for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 fiscal years. Adds a new para- graph 9 to require the office of children and family services to develop a statewide plan for home visiting by January 31, 2009.
Justification
Approximately 1,300 children die each year in this coun- try as a result of child abuse and neglect, and many others receive serious injuries. In New York State, 75,000 children are found to be maltreated each year. Of course, these are only the cases that are reported.
Child abuse and neglect continues to be a problem in this State and around the country. Insufficient resources are invested to prevent the abuse from occurring in the first place, while a huge financial cost is placed upon taxpayers to treat the consequences of child abuse includ- ing: Medicaid costs, court costs, incarceration, foster care, child protective services, and more. It is estimated that New York spends more than $2.5 billion to treat the consequences of child abuse, but about $25 million in primary prevention money.
Research in the last decade has concluded that child abuse can in many cases be prevented. Home visits made by trained personnel to families at risk of abuse and neglect is, to date, the most successful approach. Two programs that send trained personnel to visit the homes of at risk moth- ers to provide parenting skills and other advice--the Nurse Family Part- nership and Healthy Families New York--have operated in New York for more than a decade. They have undergone stringent, randomized evalu- ations and have been proven to improve the quality of life for children at risk of being maltreated in their homes.
Funding for home visiting has been limited to nominal increases and subject to state budget negotiations. Currently, home visiting is not available in many counties across the State. Establishing funding in statute and working toward a statewide plan would prevent cases of child maltreatment and save resources that follow cases of abuse.
Legislative history
2007-2008: A8741
Fiscal implications
Increases in home visiting will be offset by savings in the areas of incarceration, Medicaid, foster care, special education and more.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.