Establishes the office of children and family services shall determine the community reinvestment amount to be invested in alternative services each year

4 Co-sponsors

• William J. Larkin Jr.
• Thomas P. Morahan
• Frank Padavan
• Dale M. Volker

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the office of children and family services shall determine the community reinvestment amount to be invested in alternative services each year

Purpose or general idea

To require savings achieved in certain areas in the budget of the Office of Children and Family to be reinvested in alternatives to incarceration programs. The reinvestment amount is called the community reinvestment amount.

Summary of provisions

Adds a new subdivision 16 to section 501 of the executive law to make determination of the community reinvestment a duty of the commissioner of the Office of Children and Families.

The community reinvestment amount consist of projected savings from: (i) the closure or reduction of capacity of secure, limited secure, and non-secure facilities operated and maintained by the office of children and family services; (ii) a reduction for any reason in the projected costs of residential placement; and (iii) the costs associated with moving a child from placement in out-of-state congregate residential programs or residential schools to a facility, program, or home within the state.

The commissioner of OPCFS is required to report these amounts in detail by category and to provide detail of the methodology by which the amounts were calculated. The first report is due within three months of the passage of the budget. The report is updated periodically throughout the year, and must be included in the budget submitted to the legislature pursuant to section twenty-two of the state finance law. The first report is due within three months of the passage of the budget in the year in which this section shall have become a law.

(b) The community reinvestment amount then constitutes the base amount for the community reinvestment program. The base amount shall, subject to appropriation, be made available as follows: 50% for home visiting programs, and 50% for the purpose of reducing OCFS institutional placements through program modifications and/or services including, but not limited to, mental health and substance abuse programs, demonstrated effective programs such as evidence-based initiatives to divert youth at risk of placement and/or as alternatives to residential placements with such office.

Justification

It is widely acknowledged that the best way to avoid incarcerating youth is to provide alternatives to incarceration programs, and other initiatives that encourage good parenting. Sadly, the State has failed in these areas, even going so far in this budget year as to reduce alternatives programs while at the same time taking savings from other programs and reinvesting them in other agencies. This compounds a problem: For those youths whose problems stem in part from neglect by parent, are now being also neglected by the agency which should be helping them.

This bill does a simple thing. Each time a bed is closed, or savings is achieved for any reason in a residential program, or children are returned from out of state placement (Billy's Law), the funds are reinvested on a 50/50 basis in alternatives to incarceration and home visiting programs.

Importantly, the mechanisms created in this bill allow for a level of transparency to the Legislature and reporting to the public which has otherwise been unavailable from this agency.

Legislative history

S.7227: 2007-08 Referred to Social Services & Children and Families, Passed

Fiscal impact

None to the state.

Effective date

Immediate.