Bill Text: NY A00482 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires homeless shelters housing adults to restrict the number of clients housed to 100 and to be located no nearer than a three mile radius from another such facility; phases in requirements over one year; requires report by the department of family assistance regarding implementation of such standards; shelters must meet the requirements of these provisions by December 31, 2012.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - referred to social services [A00482 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A00482-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                          482
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 5, 2011
                                      ___________
       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    S 2. The social services law is amended by adding a new section  461-s
   24  to read as follows:
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD03482-01-1
       A. 482                              2
    1    S  461-S.  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
    5  NOT-FOR-PROFIT  CORPORATION  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF PROVIDING SHELTER AND
    6  SERVICES TO HOMELESS SINGLE ADULTS SHALL, NO LATER  THAN  TWELVE  MONTHS
    7  FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, LIMIT THE SIZE OF ALL NEW SHEL-
    8  TER  FACILITIES  TO  ONE  HUNDRED  CLIENTS PER FACILITY AND RESTRICT THE
    9  GEOGRAPHIC PLACEMENT OF EVERY FACILITY TO NO NEARER THAN A DISTANCE OF A
   10  THREE MILE RADIUS FROM ANY OTHER FACILITY. ANY SHELTER FOR ADULTS  WHICH
   11  IS  CERTIFIED  TO  PROVIDE  SUCH  CARE  AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS
   12  SECTION SHALL HAVE TWELVE MONTHS FROM  THE  RECEIPT  OF  SUCH  OPERATING
   13  CERTIFICATE  TO  PHASE  DOWN THE NUMBER OF CLIENTS HOUSED TO ONE HUNDRED
   14  AND TO RELOCATE ANY FACILITY THAT IS NEARER THAN  A  THREE  MILE  RADIUS
   15  FROM  ANY OTHER SUCH FACILITY.  NO SHELTER FOR ADULTS SHALL BE CERTIFIED
   16  TO OPERATE BEYOND DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST,  TWO  THOUSAND  TWELVE,  UNLESS
   17  SUCH SHELTER MEETS THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SECTION.
   18    S  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  2011.  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    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.