Bill Text: NY A07296 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directs the office of children and family services to study current policies regarding placement of children in kinship care to avoid foster care placements and make recommendations for regulations governing kinship care placements.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-03 - enacting clause stricken [A07296 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A07296-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7296
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                      May 4, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee
         on Children and Families
       AN ACT to direct the office of children and  family  services  to  study
         current  policies  regarding  placement of children in kinship care to
         avoid foster care placements and make recommendations for  regulations
         governing kinship care placements
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. The office of children and family services  shall  examine,
    2  evaluate and review current policies governing facilitation of placement
    3  of children in kinship care to avoid foster care placements in the state
    4  and shall develop recommendations for regulations governing kinship care
    5  placements, which shall include recommendations related to:
    6    (a)  a description of the rights and responsibilities of local boards,
    7  birth parents, and kinship caregivers;
    8    (b) a process for the facilitation of placement or transfer of  custo-
    9  dy;
   10    (c) a model disclosure letter to be provided to the parents and poten-
   11  tial  kinship  caregivers,  including  information about the differences
   12  between kinship care and kinship foster care, the impact of transferring
   13  custody from the birth  parent  to  the  kinship  caregiver,  the  birth
   14  parent's  role following transfer, and the plan requirements for custody
   15  to be returned to the birth parent;
   16    (d) a process for developing a safety or service plan for the  family,
   17  which  shall  include  gathering  input  from  birth  parents, potential
   18  kinship caregivers, and other community and family supports;
   19    (e) a description of funding sources available to  support  safety  or
   20  service plans;
   21    (f)  a process for gathering and reporting data regarding the well-be-
   22  ing and permanency of children in kinship care; and
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD10700-01-5
       A. 7296                             2
    1    (g) a description of the training plan for local department of  social
    2  services workers.
    3    S  2. The office of children and family services shall also review the
    4  fiscal impact of proposed regulations.
    5    S 3. The office of children  and  family  services  shall  report  its
    6  recommendations and findings to the governor, the temporary president of
    7  the  senate,  the  speaker  of  the assembly, the minority leader of the
    8  senate and the minority leader of the assembly by January 1, 2016.
    9    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.