Bill Text: NY A05323 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Expands supportive services to the elderly in naturally occurring retirement communities by enlarging target group through eliminating head of household requirement, and including more such communities by reducing the number of elderly needed to qualify.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-06 - referred to aging [A05323 Detail]
Download: New_York-2015-A05323-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5323
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 18, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. CYMBROWITZ, DINOWITZ, ENGLEBRIGHT, RIVERA,
JAFFEE, GUNTHER -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. ABBATE, FINCH, HOOP-
ER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Aging
AN ACT to amend the elder law, in relation to expanding the coverage of
the naturally occurring retirement community supportive service
program
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
1 Section 1. Section 209 of the elder law, as amended by section 41 of
2 part A of chapter 58 of the laws of 2010, paragraph (b) of subdivision 1
3 as separately amended by chapter 348 of the laws of 2010, paragraph (d)
4 of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 271 of the laws of 2014, para-
5 graph (d) of subdivision 4 as separately amended by chapter 410 of the
6 laws of 2010, and paragraph (k) of subdivision 4, subparagraph 6 of
7 paragraph (c) of subdivision 5-a and subdivision 6 as amended by chapter
8 320 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
9 S 209. Naturally occurring retirement community supportive service
10 program. 1. As used in this section:
11 (a) "Advisory committee" or "committee" shall mean the advisory
12 committee convened by the director for the purposes specified in this
13 section. Such committee shall be broadly representative of housing and
14 senior citizen groups, and all geographic areas of the state.
15 (b) "Older adults" shall mean persons who are sixty years of age or
16 older.
17 (c) "Eligible applicant" shall mean a not-for-profit agency specializ-
18 ing in housing, health or other human services which serves or would
19 serve the community within which a naturally occurring retirement commu-
20 nity is located.
21 (d) "Eligible services" shall mean services including, but not limited
22 to: case management, care coordination, counseling, health assessment
23 and monitoring, transportation, socialization activities, home care
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09164-01-5
A. 5323 2
1 facilitation and monitoring, [education regarding the signs of elder
2 abuse and exploitation and available resources for a senior who is a
3 suspected victim of elder abuse or exploitation, chemical dependence
4 counseling provided by credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse coun-
5 selors as defined in paragraph three of subdivision (d) of section 19.07
6 of the mental hygiene law and referrals to appropriate chemical depend-
7 ence counseling providers,] and other services designed to address the
8 needs of residents of naturally occurring retirement communities by
9 helping them extend their independence, improve their quality of life,
10 and avoid unnecessary hospital and nursing home stays.
11 (e) ["Government assistance" shall mean and be broadly interpreted to
12 mean any monetary assistance provided by the federal, the state or a
13 local government, or any agency thereof, or any authority or public
14 benefit corporation, in any form, including loans or loan subsidies, for
15 the construction of an apartment building or housing complex for low and
16 moderate income persons, as such term is defined by the United States
17 Department of Housing and Urban Development.
18 (f)] "Naturally occurring retirement community" shall mean an apart-
19 ment building or housing complex OR OTHER HOUSING WITH A LARGE CONCEN-
20 TRATION OF OLDER ADULTS which:
21 (1) [was constructed with government assistance;
22 (2)] was not [originally built] DEVELOPED for older adults;
23 [(3)] (2) does not restrict admissions solely to older adults;
24 [(4) at least fifty percent of the units have an occupant who is an
25 older adult or in which at least twenty-five hundred]
26 (3) FORTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE OCCUPANTS OF WHICH ARE OLDER ADULTS OR
27 IN WHICH TWO HUNDRED FIFTY of the residents are older adults; and
28 [(5)] (4) a majority of the older adults to be served are low or
29 moderate income, as defined by the United States Department of Housing
30 and Urban Development.
31 2. [A naturally occurring retirement community supportive service
32 program is established as a demonstration program to be administered by
33 the director.
34 3.] The director shall be assisted by the advisory committee in the
35 development of appropriate criteria for the selection of grantees of
36 funds provided pursuant to this section and programmatic issues as
37 deemed appropriate by the director.
38 [4.] 3. The criteria recommended by the committee and adopted by the
39 director for the award of grants shall be consistent with the provisions
40 of this section and shall include, at a minimum:
41 (a) the number, size, type and location of the projects to be served;
42 provided, that the committee and director shall make reasonable efforts
43 to assure that geographic balance in the distribution of such projects
44 is maintained, consistent with the needs to be addressed, funding avail-
45 able, applications for eligible applicants, other requirements of this
46 section, ABILITY TO COORDINATE SERVICES AND PLANNING WITH THE AREA AGEN-
47 CY ON AGING, and other criteria developed by the committee and director;
48 (b) the appropriate number and concentration of older adult residents
49 to be served by an individual project; provided, that such criteria need
50 not specify, in the case of a project which includes several buildings,
51 the number of older adults to be served in any individual building;
52 (c) the demographic characteristics of the residents to be served;
53 (d) the financial or in-kind support required to be provided to the
54 project by the owners, managers and residents of the housing develop-
55 ment; provided, however, that such criteria need not address whether the
56 funding is public or private, or the source of such support;
A. 5323 3
1 (e) the scope and intensity of the services to be provided, and their
2 appropriateness for the residents proposed to be served. The criteria
3 shall not require that the applicant agency be the sole provider of such
4 services, but shall require that the applicant at a minimum actively
5 manage the provision of such services;
6 (f) the experience and financial stability of the applicant agency,
7 [provided that the criteria shall require that priority be given to
8 programs already in operation, including those projects participating in
9 the resident advisor program administered by the office, and enriched
10 housing programs] which meet the requirements of this section and which
11 have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the director [and the commit-
12 tee] their fiscal and managerial stability and programmatic success in
13 serving residents;
14 (g) the nature and extent of requirements proposed to be established
15 for active, meaningful participation for residents proposed to be served
16 in project design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and gover-
17 nance;
18 (h) an agreement by the applicant to participate in the data
19 collection and evaluation project [necessary] SUFFICIENT to complete the
20 [report required by this section] REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY
21 THE DIRECTOR;
22 (i) the policy and program roles of the applicant agency and any other
23 agencies involved in the provision of services or the management of the
24 project, including the housing development governing body, or other
25 owners or managers of the apartment buildings and housing complexes and
26 the residents of such apartment buildings and housing complexes. The
27 criteria shall require a clear delineation of such policy and program
28 roles;
29 (j) a requirement that each eligible agency document the need for the
30 project and financial commitments to it from such sources as the commit-
31 tee and the director shall deem appropriate given the character and
32 nature of the proposed project, and written evidence of support from the
33 appropriate housing development governing body or other owners or manag-
34 ers of the apartment buildings and housing complexes. The purpose of
35 such documentation shall be to demonstrate the need for the project,
36 support for it in the areas to be served, and the financial and manage-
37 rial ability to sustain the project;
38 (k) a requirement that any aid provided pursuant to this section be
39 matched by an equal amount, in-kind support of equal value, or some
40 combination thereof from other sources, provided that such in-kind
41 support to be utilized only upon approval from the director and only to
42 the extent matching funds are not available, and that at least twenty-
43 five percent of such amount be contributed by the housing development
44 governing body or other owners or managers and residents of the apart-
45 ment buildings and housing complexes in which the project is proposed,
46 or, upon approval by the director, sources in neighborhoods contiguous
47 to the boundaries of the geographic areas served where services may also
48 be provided pursuant to subdivision six of this section; and
49 (l) the circumstances under which the director may waive all or part
50 of the requirement for provision of an equal amount of funding from
51 other sources required pursuant to paragraph (k) of this subdivision,
52 provided that such criteria shall include provision for waiver at the
53 discretion of the director upon a finding by the director that the
54 program will serve a low income or hardship community, and that such
55 waiver is required to assure that such community receive a fair share of
56 the funding available. The committee shall develop appropriate criteria
A. 5323 4
1 for determining whether a community is a low income or hardship communi-
2 ty.
3 [5.] 4. Within amounts specifically appropriated therefor and consist-
4 ent with the criteria developed and required pursuant to this section
5 the director shall approve grants to eligible applicants in amounts not
6 to exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars for a project in any twelve
7 month period. [The director shall not approve more than ten grants in
8 the first twelve month period after the effective date of this section.
9 5-a.] 5. The director may, in addition recognize neighborhood
10 naturally occurring retirement communities, or Neighborhood NORCs, and
11 provide program support within amounts specifically available by appro-
12 priation therefor, which shall be subject to the requirements, rules and
13 regulations of this section, provided however that:
14 (a) the term Neighborhood NORC as used in this subdivision shall mean
15 and refer to a residential dwelling or group of residential dwellings in
16 a geographically defined neighborhood of a municipality containing not
17 more than two thousand persons who are older adults reside in at least
18 forty percent of the units and which is made up of low-rise buildings
19 six stories or less in height and/or single and multi-family homes and
20 which area was not originally developed for older adults, and which does
21 not restrict admission strictly to older adults;
22 (b) grants to an eligible Neighborhood NORC shall be no less than
23 sixty thousand dollars for any twelve-month period;
24 (c) the director shall be assisted by the advisory committee in the
25 development of criteria for the selection of grants provided pursuant to
26 this section and programmatic issues as deemed appropriate by the direc-
27 tor. The criteria recommended by the committee and adopted by the direc-
28 tor for the award of grants shall be consistent with the provisions of
29 this subdivision and shall include, at a minimum, the following require-
30 ments or items of information using such criteria as the advisory
31 committee and the director shall approve:
32 (1) the number, size, type and location of residential dwellings or
33 group of residential dwellings selected as candidates for [neighborhood]
34 NEIGHBORHOOD NORCs funding. The director shall make reasonable efforts
35 to assure that geographic balance in the distribution of such grants is
36 maintained, consistent with the needs to be addressed, funding avail-
37 able, applications from eligible applicants, ability to coordinate
38 services and other requirements of this section;
39 (2) the appropriate number and concentration of older adult residents
40 to be served by an individual Neighborhood NORC. The criteria need not
41 specify the number of older adults to be served in any individual build-
42 ing;
43 (3) the demographic characteristics of the residents to be served;
44 (4) a requirement that the applicant demonstrate the development or
45 intent to develop community wide support from residents, neighborhood
46 associations, community groups, nonprofit organizations and others;
47 (5) a requirement that the boundaries of the geographic area to be
48 served are clear and coherent and create an identifiable program and
49 supportive community;
50 (6) a requirement that the applicant commit to raising matching funds,
51 in-kind support, or some combination thereof from non-state sources,
52 provided that such in-kind support be utilized only upon approval from
53 the director and only to the extent matching funds are not available,
54 equal to fifteen percent of the state grant in the second year after the
55 program is approved, twenty-five percent in the third year, forty
56 percent in the fourth year, and fifty percent in the fifth year, and
A. 5323 5
1 further commit that in each year, twenty-five percent of such required
2 matching funds, in-kind support, or combination thereof be raised within
3 the community served and, upon approval by the director, in neighbor-
4 hoods contiguous to the boundaries of the geographic areas served where
5 services may also be provided pursuant to subdivision six of this
6 section. Such local community matching funds, in-kind support, or combi-
7 nation thereof shall include but not be limited to: dues, fees for
8 service, individual and community contributions, and such other funds as
9 the advisory committee and the director shall deem appropriate;
10 (7) a requirement that the applicant demonstrate experience and finan-
11 cial stability;
12 (8) a requirement that priority in selection be given to programs in
13 existence prior to the effective date of this subdivision which, except
14 for designation and funding requirements established herein, would have
15 otherwise generally qualified as a Neighborhood NORC;
16 (9) a requirement that the applicant conduct or have conducted a needs
17 assessment on the basis of which such applicant shall establish the
18 nature and extent of services to be provided; and further that such
19 services shall provide a mix of appropriate services that provide active
20 and meaningful participation for residents;
21 (10) a requirement that residents to be served shall be involved in
22 design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and governance of the
23 Neighborhood NORC;
24 (11) an agreement by the applicant that it will participate in the
25 data collection and evaluation necessary to complete the reporting
26 requirements as established by the director;
27 (12) the policy and program roles of the applicant agency and any
28 other agencies involved in the provision of services or the management
29 of the Neighborhood NORC, provided that the criteria shall require a
30 clear delineation of such policy and program roles;
31 (13) a requirement that each applicant document the need for the grant
32 and financial commitments to it from such sources as the advisory
33 committee and the director shall deem appropriate given the character
34 and nature of the proposed Neighborhood NORC and written evidence of
35 support from the community;
36 (14) the circumstances under which the director may waive all or part
37 of the requirement for provision of an equal amount of funding from
38 other sources required pursuant to this subdivision, provided that such
39 criteria shall include provision for waiver at the discretion of the
40 director upon a finding by the director that the Neighborhood NORC will
41 serve a low income or hardship community, and that such waiver is
42 required to assure that such community receive a fair share of the fund-
43 ing available. For purposes of this paragraph, a hardship community may
44 be one that has developed a successful model but which needs additional
45 time to raise matching funds required herein. An applicant applying for
46 a hardship exception shall submit a written plan in a form and manner
47 determined by the director detailing its plans to meet the matching
48 funds requirement in the succeeding year;
49 (15) a requirement that any proposed Neighborhood NORC in a geograph-
50 ically defined neighborhood of a municipality containing more than two
51 thousand older adults shall require the review and recommendation by the
52 advisory committee before being approved by the director;
53 (d) on or before March first, two thousand eight, the director shall
54 report to the governor and the fiscal and aging committees of the senate
55 and the assembly concerning the effectiveness of Neighborhood NORCs in
56 achieving the objectives set forth by this subdivision. Such report
A. 5323 6
1 shall address each of the items required for Neighborhood NORCs in
2 achieving the objectives set forth in this section and such other items
3 of information as the director shall deem appropriate, including recom-
4 mendations concerning continuation or modification of the program, and
5 any recommendations from the advisory committee.
6 (e) in providing program support for Neighborhood NORCs as authorized
7 by this subdivision, the director shall in no event divert or transfer
8 funding for grants or program support from any naturally occurring
9 retirement community supportive service programs authorized pursuant to
10 other provisions of this section.
11 6. The director may allow services provided by a naturally occurring
12 retirement community supportive service program or by a neighborhood
13 naturally occurring retirement community to also include services to
14 residents who live in neighborhoods contiguous to the boundaries of the
15 geographic area served by such programs if: (a) the persons served are
16 older adults; (b) the services affect the health and welfare of such
17 persons; and (c) the services are provided on a one-time basis in the
18 year in which they are provided, and not in a manner which is said or
19 intended to be continuous. The director may also consent to the
20 provision of such services by such program if the program has received a
21 grant which requires services to be provided beyond the geographic boun-
22 daries of the program. The director shall establish procedures under
23 which a program may request the ability to provide such services. The
24 provision of such services shall not affect the funding provided to the
25 program by the department pursuant to this section.
26 7. The director shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to
27 carry out the provisions of this section.
28 [8. On or before March first, two thousand five, the director shall
29 report to the governor and the finance committee of the senate and the
30 ways and means committee of the assembly concerning the effectiveness of
31 the naturally occurring retirement community supportive services
32 program, other than Neighborhood NORCs, as defined in subdivision five-a
33 of this section, in achieving the objectives set forth by this section,
34 which include helping to address the needs of residents in such
35 naturally occurring retirement communities, assuring access to a contin-
36 uum of necessary services, increasing private, philanthropic and other
37 public funding for programs, and preventing unnecessary hospital and
38 nursing home stays. The report shall also include recommendations
39 concerning continuation or modification of the program from the director
40 and the committee, and shall note any divergence between the recommenda-
41 tions of the director and the committee. The director shall provide the
42 required information and any other information deemed appropriate to the
43 report in such form and detail as will be helpful to the legislature and
44 the governor in determining to extend, eliminate or modify the program
45 including, but not limited to, the following:
46 (a) the number, size, type and location of the projects developed and
47 funded, including the number, kinds and functions of staff in each
48 program;
49 (b) the number, size, type and location of the projects proposed but
50 not funded, and the reasons for denial of funding for such projects;
51 (c) the age, sex, religion and other appropriate demographic informa-
52 tion concerning the residents served;
53 (d) the services provided to residents, reported in such manner as to
54 allow comparison of services by demographic group and region;
55 (e) a listing of the services provided by eligible applicants, includ-
56 ing the number, kind and intensity of such services; and
A. 5323 7
1 (f) a listing of other organizations providing services, the number,
2 kind and intensity of such services, the number of referrals to such
3 organizations and, to the extent practicable, the outcomes of such
4 referrals.]
5 S 2. Such moneys as may be necessary to effect the purposes of this
6 act shall be appropriated to the director of the office for the aging
7 for expenses associated with such purposes, but in no event shall funds
8 be diverted from any of the naturally occurring retirement community
9 supportive service programs in existence prior to the effective date of
10 this act.
11 S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
