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History
- Referred to children and families
- Notice of committee consideration - requested
- 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.
Provides for alternative to detention programs for court-involved children
In Assembly Committee · Children And Families · Sponsor William Scarborough
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S64
Title of bill
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to reimbursement for alternatives to detention and alternative to residential placement programs
Purpose of the bill
To expand the use of alternative to juvenile justice detention and institutional placement programs.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 amends the executive law to establish a reimbursement to localities in order to fund alternative to detention and institutional placement programs.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
Existing law
The state currently provides a 50% reimbursement to counties for the cost of detention and institutional placement, but guarantees no reimbursement for alternative to detention or alternative to placement programs.
Prior legislative history
Passed the Senate on June 22, 2010; Passed the Assembly Children and Families Committee; Died in Assembly Ways and Means Committee
Statement in support
The Governor's Task Force on Transforming Juvenile Justice recommends that New York reduce reliance on placement by encouraging localities to develop high quality alternative to placement programs. This bill responds to that recommendation.
New York reimburses local jurisdictions for 50 percent of the cost of placing a youth in a state operated facility. New York does not guarantee localities a similar reimbursement when youth are assigned to more effective and cheaper community-based alternative to placement programs.
These community-based alternative programs rely on therapeutic approaches to changing youth behaviors. By keeping the youth in the community, and working with the youth's family, these programs achieve better results than institutional placements in state operated facilities, as demonstrated by the lower re-arrest and reconviction rates for participants.
This bill establishes a 65 percent reimbursement for these alternative programs. This level of reimbursement was recommended by the Task Force, and is also the rate used by programs which are familiar to localities and providers, such as Community Optional Prevention Services.
This reimbursement will reduce youth recidivism, provide meaningful life interventions and drastically reduce the costs associated with incarcerating juveniles. Institutional placements are very expensive;
indeed,each placement costs approximately $210,000 per child per year. The Task Force estimates that if New York diverted 15% of the. youth in OCFS custody to alternative to placement programs, the State would save nearly $3 million in taxpayer money.
Fiscal impact
This legislation, if enacted, would significantly reduce placements in OCFS operated facilities. Each OCFS placement costs more than two hundred thousand dollars, for which the State reimburses the local government for fifty percent of the cost. Even a modest reduction in placements would save the State and local governments millions of dollars.
Effective date
Immediately and shall be deemed to have been in full force on and after April 1, 2011.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.