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A01775 Summary:

A01775 Actions:

A01775 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
 submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)



 
BILL NUMBER: A1775
 
SPONSOR: Lentol

 
TITLE OF BILL:
 
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to special stand-
ards for shelters for adults
 
 
SECTIONS OF LAW AFFECTED:
 
This bill would add a new Section 461-u, to the Social Services Law.
 
 
SUBJECT AND PURPOSE:
 
The purpose of this bill is to ensure an equitable geographic distrib-
ution of temporary shelters for single adults within local communities
throughout the State.
 
 
SUMMARY AND DESCRIPTION OF PROVISIONS:
 
This bill would require temporary shelters for single adults to phase
down the number of residents within each facility to a minimum number of
100 persons and to maintain a geographic distribution of at least 3
miles apart no later than 12 months from the effective date of the bill.
 
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.8741 of 1985-86
A.2372/S.1435 of 1987-88
A.1271/S.701 of 1989-90
A.116/S.157 of 1991-92
A.3270/S.1880 of 1993-94
A.3347/S.221 of 1995-96
A.885 of 1997-98
A.537 of 1999-00
A.698 of 2001-02
A.93 of 2003-04
A.799 of 2005-06
A.1139-A of 2007-2008
A.3893 of 2009-10
A.482 of 2011-12
A.3490 of 2013-14
A.1383 of 2015-16
A2940 Lentol (MS) No Same as 2017-18

A01775 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          1775
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 17, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Social Services
 
        AN  ACT  to amend the social services law, in relation to special stand-
          ards for shelters for adults
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Legislative  intent. Because certain local governments in
     2  New York state have not developed a comprehensive plan for dealing  with
     3  the homeless, they have started the practice of sheltering large numbers
     4  of  the  homeless in large, single sites that often do not meet building
     5  codes. This practice does not benefit either  the  homeless  themselves,
     6  because proper services do not reach them, or the community in which the
     7  shelter  is  located,  because  its  resources  are  strained past their
     8  limits.
     9    The problem of this practice of warehousing is compounded when instead
    10  of distributing smaller shelters equally to  all  communities  within  a
    11  locality,  a  few  communities  are  forced  to  provide  shelter  for a
    12  disproportionate number of the homeless.  A  great  deal  of  stress  is
    13  placed on the affected community by the presence of people who are not a
    14  natural part of the community's life. Furthermore, the community's abil-
    15  ity  to  deliver  services,  such  as  health  care  and  rehabilitative
    16  services, to large numbers of people is usually limited.
    17    Cities in New York must develop a plan for the equitable  distribution
    18  of  the homeless population among its communities. For instance, each of
    19  New York city's fifty-nine community boards would  be  held  responsible
    20  for at least one facility in its geographic district which would provide
    21  services  and  shelter  for  approximately  one  hundred homeless men or
    22  women.
    23    § 2. The social services law is amended by adding a new section  461-u
    24  to read as follows:
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04627-01-9
        A. 1775                             2
 
     1    §  461-u.  Special  standards for shelters for adults. Any shelter for
     2  adults, as defined in section two of this chapter, which is certified to
     3  provide, pursuant to this article,  temporary  residential  services  to
     4  adults  or  any facility which is operated by a municipality or not-for-
     5  profit  corporation for the purpose of providing shelter and services to
     6  homeless single adults shall, no  later  than  twelve  months  from  the
     7  effective date of this section, limit the size of all new shelter facil-
     8  ities  to  one  hundred clients per facility and restrict the geographic
     9  placement of every facility to no nearer than a distance of a three mile
    10  radius from any other facility. Any shelter for adults which  is  certi-
    11  fied to provide such care after the effective date of this section shall
    12  have  twelve  months  from  the receipt of such operating certificate to
    13  phase down the number of clients housed to one hundred and  to  relocate
    14  any facility that is nearer than a three mile radius from any other such
    15  facility.    No  shelter for adults shall be certified to operate beyond
    16  December thirty-first, two thousand twenty, unless  such  shelter  meets
    17  the requirements of this section.
    18    §  3.  The New York state department of family assistance shall make a
    19  report to the legislature and the governor on  or  before  November  10,
    20  2019.  It  shall  contain  such  information concerning how locations to
    21  shelter the homeless are selected by localities and such recommendations
    22  as the commissioner of the office of children and family services  shall
    23  deem necessary or proper.
    24    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.