Requires that every court, and every public board, commission, institution, or officer having powers or charged with duties in relation to abandoned, delinquent, destitute, neglected or dependent children who shall receive, accept or commit any child shall provide and keep a record showing if such child has a developmental disability; requires a study of the number of children in foster care who have a developmental disability.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A8846A
SPONSOR: Hevesi TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring main-
tained records for certain children to include whether they have a
developmental disability; and conducting a study on the number of chil-
dren in foster care who have a developmental disability
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of the bill is to require the Office of Children and Family
Services to conduct a study to determine the number of children in
foster care who have a developmental disability.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of the bill requires records maintained by entities charged
with powers or duties related to abandoned, delinquent, destitute,
neglected, or dependent children who accepts or commits such children to
include whether such child has a diagnosed developmental disability.
Section two of the bill requires commissioner of the office of children
and family services, in consultation with the commissioner of the office
for people with developmental disabilities to conduct a study to deter-
mine the number of children who have been placed in foster care and who
have been diagnosed with a developmental disability. The study shall
include an assessment of the demographics of such children, and evalu-
ation of the current guidelines and regulations used to oversee the
placement and treatment of such children, and an analysis of the extent
to which such age-appropriate children are prepared for a transition
from foster care to an independent living situation.
Section three defines the term "developmental disability."
Section four authorizes the commissioner of the office of children and
family services and the commissioner of the office for people with
developmental disabilities to acquire directly from the head of any
department, agency, or instrumentality of the state, available informa-
tion which the departments consider useful in the discharge of their
duties, and requires all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of
the state to furnish all information requested by the departments to the
extent permitted by law.
Section five requires that the commissioner of the office of children
and family services and the commissioner of the office for people with
developmental disabilities to submit a report of the findings of the
study to the governor and legislative leaders of the senate and assembly
no later than one year following the effective date of this act. The
report shall also include recommendations on how to consistently main-
tain a record of the number of children who have been placed in foster
care who have been diagnosed with a developmental disability, recommen-
dations to improve the placement and treatment of children in foster
care, and recommendations to further develop existing guidelines and
regulations to prepare age-appropriate children who have a developmental
disability for a transition to an independent living situation.
Section six establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) in
the United States are typically over-represented in the child welfare
system, particularly among voluntarily placed youth (Hill, 2017).
Nationally, anywhere from 30% to 50% of the youth involved in child
protective service have some type of disability (e.g., I/DD, emotional
behavioral; Helton et al., 2019; Slayter, 2016). Unfortunately, in New
York State currently there is no mechanism to identify which children
and youth involved with the child welfare system are diagnosed with a
disability. Understanding the breadth and depth of the problem of
persons with IDD in foster care is critical for several reasons: First,
individuals with I/DD are more likely than their counterparts to remain
in foster care placements until they age out as adults (Schmidt et al.,
2013). Therefore, it is critical for effective future planning for the
youth and for the service systems in NY to have an accurate understand-
ing of the numbers of individuals who will need connections to services
and service systems, including residential placement options. Second,
because these children and youth with I/DD may be placed in voluntary
placement (Hill, 2017) as the only means for families to o btain needed
supports for their children; thus, these children are more likely to
need of continued services that specifically meet their unique needs.
This group of youth are more likely to experience trauma, disruptions,
live in congregate care (Schmidt et al., 2013), and age out of the
foster care system. Additionally, individuals with I/DD are highly
susceptible to abuse. This includes sexual abuse (Finkelhoffer et. al.,
2014) and particularly transactional sexual abuse with individuals with
1/DD transitioning from child welfare settings (Carellas et al., 2021).
Third, data collected between 2014-2016 through a grant funded by the NY
Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC) demonstrated that
individuals with DD in NY are often unprepared for transition out of
foster care, have few if any community contacts in their home communi-
ties, and lack access to, needed mental health treatment. These are all
issues that will interfere with successful transition out of foster care
and ensuring these individuals, who are already at a significant isad-
vantage, will achieve any meaningful quality of life. Planning for tran-
sition to adulthood in NY schools for individuals with IEPs starts at
age 14. The process can be significantly enhanced if there is clear
identification of the youth that are in foster care with I/DD and the
need for multiple systems to be at the table. References: Blakeslee, J.
E., Powers, L. E., Geenen, S., Schmidt, J., Nelson, M., Fullerton, A., &
Bryant, M. (2020). Evaluating the My Life self-determination model for
older youth in foster care: Establishing efficacy and exploring moder-
ation of response to intervention. Children and Youth Services Review,
119, 105419. Carrellas, A., Resko, S. M., & Day, A. G. (2021). Sexual
victimization and intellectual disabilities among child welfare involved
youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 115, 104986. Finkelhor, D., Shattuck, A.,
Turner, H. A.., & Hamby, S. L (2014). The lifetime prevalence of child
sexual abuse and sexual assault assessed in late adolescence. Journal of
Adolescent Health, 55, 329-333. Helton, J,J., Lightfoot, E., Fu, Q. J.,
& Bruhn, C. M. (2019). Prevalence and severity of child impairment in a
US sample of child maltreatment investigations. Journal of Developmen-
tal,& Behavioral Pediatrics, 40(4), 285-292. Hill, K.(2017). Preva-
lence, experiences, and characteristics of children and youth who enter
foster care through voluntary placement agreements. Children and Youth
Services Review, 74, 62-70. Schmidt, J., Cunningham, M., Dalton, L. D.,
Powers, L E., Geenen, S., & Orozco, C. G. (2013). Assessing restric-
tiveness: A closer look at the foster care placements and perceptions of
youth with and without disabilities aging out of care. Journal of Public
Child. Welfare, 7(5), 586-609. Slayter,E. (2016). Youth with disabili-
ties in the United States child welfare system. Children and Youth
Services Review, 64, 155-165.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023:A.2798/S.3119- Vetoed
2021-22: A.9080-A, A.9080/S.8046A Vetoed
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Takes effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8846--A
IN ASSEMBLY
January 18, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, CRUZ, SIMON, GUNTHER, OTIS, DARLING,
MAHER, LUNSFORD -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. MANKTELOW -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families -- commit-
tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
mitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring main-
tained records for certain children to include whether they have a
developmental disability; and conducting a study on the number of
children in foster care who have a developmental disability
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 372 of the social services law,
2 paragraph (j) as amended by chapter 555 of the laws of 1978, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 1. Every court, and every public board, commission, institution, or
5 officer having powers or charged with duties in relation to abandoned,
6 delinquent, destitute, neglected or dependent children who shall
7 receive, accept or commit any child shall provide and keep a record
8 showing:
9 (a) the full and true name of the child[,];
10 (b) his or her sex and date and place of birth, if ascertainable, or
11 his or her apparent age[,];
12 (c) the full and true names and places of birth of his or her parents,
13 and their actual residence if living, or their latest known residence,
14 if deceased or whereabouts unknown and the name and actual residence of
15 any other person having custody of the child, as nearly as the same can
16 reasonably be ascertained[,];
17 (d) the religious faith of the parents and of the child[,];
18 (e) the name and address of any person, agency, institution or other
19 organization to which the child is committed, placed out, boarded out,
20 or otherwise given into care, custody or control[,];
21 (f) the religious faith and occupation of the head or heads of the
22 family with whom the child is placed out or boarded out and their
23 relationship, if any, to the child[,];
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05107-04-4
A. 8846--A 2
1 (g) if any such child shall die, the date and cause of death and place
2 of burial[,];
3 (h) any further disposition or change in care, custody or control of
4 the child[,];
5 (i) the date or dates of reception and of any subsequent disposition
6 or change in care, custody or control and, in case of adoption, the name
7 and title of the judge or surrogate making the order of adoption, the
8 date of such order and the date and place of filing of such order[,];
9 (j) the reasons for any act performed in reference to such child here-
10 in required to be recorded, together with such further information as
11 the department may require; and shall make to the department upon blanks
12 provided by the department reports of each such child placed out, or
13 boarded out, containing the information herein required to be kept; and
14 shall furnish such information to any authorized agency to which any
15 such child shall be committed or otherwise given into custody; and
16 (k) if any such child shall have a developmental disability as defined
17 pursuant to subdivision twenty-two of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene
18 law, and, if so, the type of such developmental disability.
19 § 2. The commissioner of the office of children and family services,
20 in consultation with the commissioner of the office for people with
21 developmental disabilities, shall conduct a study to determine the
22 number of children who have been placed in foster care and who have been
23 diagnosed with a developmental disability. Such study shall include, but
24 shall not be limited to, the following:
25 (a) assessing the demographics of the children in foster care with a
26 developmental disability, including, but not limited to, their county of
27 residence, age, race and gender identity, and determining whether the
28 placement of such individuals in foster care was voluntary or court
29 ordered;
30 (b) evaluating the current guidelines and regulations used to oversee
31 the placement and treatment of children with a developmental disability;
32 and
33 (c) analyzing the extent to which such age-appropriate children are
34 prepared for a transition from foster care to an independent living
35 situation.
36 § 3. For purposes of this act, "developmental disability" shall have
37 the same meaning as set forth in subdivision 22 of section 1.03 of the
38 mental hygiene law.
39 § 4. The commissioner of the office of children and family services
40 and the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disa-
41 bilities may acquire directly from the head of any department, agency,
42 or instrumentality of the state, available non-identifiable information
43 which the offices consider useful in the discharge of their duties. All
44 departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the state shall cooper-
45 ate with the offices with respect to such information and shall furnish
46 all information requested by the offices to the extent permitted by law.
47 Information collected shall not reveal the name, social security number
48 or any other information which may be used to identify the children or
49 the family of the children.
50 § 5. The commissioner of the office of children and family services
51 and the commissioner of the office for people with developmental disa-
52 bilities shall submit a report of the findings of the study, with any
53 personal and identifying information redacted, conducted pursuant to
54 section one of this act, to the governor, the temporary president of the
55 senate, the speaker of the assembly and the minority leaders of the
56 senate and assembly no later than one year following the effective date
A. 8846--A 3
1 of this act. The report shall also include recommendations on how to
2 consistently maintain a record of the number of children who have been
3 placed in foster care who have been diagnosed with a developmental disa-
4 bility, recommendations to improve the placement and treatment of chil-
5 dren in foster care and recommendations to further develop existing
6 guidelines and regulations to prepare age-appropriate children who have
7 a developmental disability for a transition to an independent living
8 situation.
9 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
