Provides for notification to the state when a foster home is decertified, not renewed or a child is removed; requires evaluation to determine if home be re-opened

Summary of specific provisions

Section 1 and 2 amend sections 376 and 377 of the social Services Law, by requiring that when an agency or local social services commissioner is screening a prospective foster parent to be certified or licensed, the agency or local commissioner must determine whether the applicant has ever been a foster parent before, and, if so, whether the certificate or license was revoked, not renewed, or a child was removed from the home. If any of these instances have occurred, the agency or commissioner must evaluate the circumstances and the reason(s) for such action, to determine whether a certificate should be issued and the home reopened.

Justification

When a child enters foster care, the state assumes the responsibility of providing a safe and secure environment for the child. However, this is not always the case, According to agency reports and hearing testimony, there continues to be instances where children are further abused or even killed by their foster parents.

State statute and regulations currently set screening requirements for prospective foster parents, including a check against the Statewide Central Registry of Child Abuse and Maltreatment (The Child Abuse Hotline), which houses data on reports of abuse and maltreatment against individuals, including foster parents. However, such a check will only provide information for reported and investigated cases.

In some cases, when a foster parent is suspected of not providing a safe and secure environment, the caseworker will remove the child or children from the home, but will not revoke the certificate or license, or report the foster parent to the Child Abuse Hotline Rather, the home remains open with no children placed there by the agency. Then, when the home is up for annual renewal, the agency simply does not renew their certification.

In such cases, the foster parent may simply apply to another agency to take foster children. Without a formal mechanism in place to check on the prior history of the applicant, and to follow up with any previous agencies, the new agency could certify the applicant without ever knowing about prior problems, and as a result, place more children in jeopardy.

OCFS does currently have a mechanism for checking information on prospective foster parents. OCFS computerized foster parent registry is intended to house information on all current and former foster parents, Internal policies direct caseworkers to check the registry before a new foster parent can be certified and added to the system. However, there is no formal guidance as to how to evaluate any problems. Further, the system contains limited information on the reason(s) a home was closed or a child removed.

This bill would address these gaps by requiring that the local social services district or authorized agency review any history of removals, revocations, and non-renewals of certificates and licenses, including the reason for such actions, It further directs OCFS to establish regulations to help agencies and local social service commissioners evaluate the circumstances around such actions, and decide whether to reopen the home. Similar regulations and procedures already exist for evaluating indicated reports from the Child Abuse Hotline and instances where applicants have a criminal history.

Prior legislative history

2011/12: S.1345 - Passed Senate; Amended on 3rd Reading - Passed Assembly 2009/10: S.1078 - Died in Codes

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

180 days following enactment.