Bill Text: NY S07694 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires social services districts to maintain a waiting list of certain families applying for child care assistance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-22 - referred to social services [S07694 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S07694-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7694

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 7, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Social Services

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring social
          services districts to maintain a  waiting  list  of  certain  families
          applying for child care assistance

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 410-z of the  social  services  law,  as  added  by
     2  section  52  of part B of chapter 436 of the laws of 1997, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    § 410-z. Reporting requirements.  1.  Each  social  services  district
     5  shall  collect  and  submit  to  the [department] office of children and
     6  family services, in such form and at such times as    specified  by  the
     7  [department]  office  of  children  and  family  services, such data and
     8  information regarding child  care assistance provided  under  the  block
     9  grant  as  the  [department]  office of children and family services may
    10  need to comply with federal reporting requirements.
    11    2.  (a) Each social services district shall maintain a waiting list of
    12  eligible families who have applied for child care assistance pursuant to
    13  this title and who have not received such assistance. Such waiting  list
    14  shall contain information including, but not limited to:
    15    (i) the date the child care assistance was requested;
    16    (ii) the date the child care assistance was received;
    17    (iii) the age of the child or children the assistance was requested on
    18  behalf of; and
    19    (iv) the total number of families on such waiting list as of the first
    20  day of each month.
    21    (b)  Each  district shall issue a report to the office of children and
    22  family services by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty-one, and annu-
    23  ally thereafter detailing month-to-month information  required  pursuant
    24  to  this  subdivision  for the preceding period of October first through
    25  September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
    26    (i) the average length of time for families on the waiting list;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14523-01-9
        S. 7694                             2

     1    (ii) the number of families on  the  waiting  list  for  each  of  the
     2  following time periods:
     3    (A) less than two weeks,
     4    (B) two weeks to less than a month,
     5    (C) one month to less than three months,
     6    (D) three months to less than six months,
     7    (E) six months to less than a year, and
     8    (F) one year or more;
     9    (iii) the average age of children represented on the waiting list;
    10    (iv)  the  number of children represented on the waiting list eligible
    11  for each:
    12    (A) infant,
    13    (B) toddler,
    14    (C) pre-school, and
    15    (D) school-aged subsidized child care slots; and
    16    (v) the number of existing infant, toddler, pre-school and school-aged
    17  subsidized child care slots;
    18    (vi) the number of families who would receive  child  care  assistance
    19  except  that  they are waiting for available slots in a particular child
    20  care program; and
    21    (vii) other information as the district deems appropriate.
    22    (c) For purposes of this subdivision, "eligible family" shall  include
    23  all families with incomes at or below two hundred percent of the federal
    24  poverty  level,  as  most recently reported by the federal department of
    25  health and human services, who are otherwise eligible, but who may  have
    26  been  denied  assistance because the local social services district does
    27  not have enough funds to serve all eligible families and  has  opted  to
    28  apply its funds to lower income families as a priority population.
    29    3.  (a) Each social services district shall collect data regarding the
    30  income of families who applied for child  care  assistance  pursuant  to
    31  this title, specifying:
    32    (i) the number of families who were denied;
    33    (ii) the number of families who received such assistance; and
    34    (iii)  a  listing  of  the  incomes  pursuant to paragraph (b) of this
    35  subdivision of the families who applied for such assistance.
    36    (b) Each district shall issue a report to the office of  children  and
    37  family services by October fifteenth, two thousand twenty-one, and annu-
    38  ally thereafter, detailing month-to-month information collected pursuant
    39  to  this  subdivision  for the preceding period of October first through
    40  September thirtieth, and shall include the following:
    41    (i) the number of all families who applied for and received child care
    42  assistance pursuant to this title whose:
    43    (A) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal  poverty
    44  level  for  their family size and were in receipt of cash public assist-
    45  ance;
    46    (B) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal  poverty
    47  level  for  their  family  size  and  were not in receipt of cash public
    48  assistance;
    49    (C) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred twen-
    50  ty-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    51    (D) incomes were between one hundred twenty-six and one hundred  fifty
    52  percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    53    (E) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and one hundred
    54  seventy-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    55  and
        S. 7694                             3

     1    (F)  incomes  were  between  one  hundred  seventy-six and two hundred
     2  percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
     3    (ii)  the number of all families who applied for and were denied child
     4  care assistance pursuant to this title whose:
     5    (A) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal  poverty
     6  level  for  their  family  size,  and who were in receipt of cash public
     7  assistance;
     8    (B) incomes were under one hundred one percent of the federal  poverty
     9  level  for  their family size and who were not in receipt of cash public
    10  assistance;
    11    (C) incomes were between one hundred one percent and one hundred twen-
    12  ty-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    13    (D) incomes were  between  one  hundred  twenty-six  percent  and  one
    14  hundred  fifty  percent  of  the  federal poverty level for their family
    15  size;
    16    (E) incomes were between one hundred fifty-one percent and one hundred
    17  seventy-five percent of the federal poverty level for their family size;
    18  and
    19    (F) incomes were between  one  hundred  seventy-six  and  two  hundred
    20  percent of the federal poverty level for their family size; and
    21    (iii)  any  other  information  as  the  office of children and family
    22  services deems appropriate.
    23    4. The office of children  and  family  services  shall  compile  such
    24  reports  pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision two, and paragraph (b)
    25  of subdivision three of this  section,  into  one  comprehensive  report
    26  containing  all  required  information on a county by county basis. Such
    27  report shall be provided to the governor, the speaker of  the  assembly,
    28  the  temporary  president of the senate, the chairperson of the assembly
    29  committee on children  and  families,  the  chairperson  of  the  senate
    30  committee  on  children  and  families,  the chairperson of the assembly
    31  committee on social services, the chairperson of the senate committee on
    32  social services, the chairperson of the assembly ways and means  commit-
    33  tee  and  the  chairperson of the senate finance committee no later than
    34  December first, two thousand twenty-one, and annually thereafter.
    35    § 2. Nothing in this act shall be construed to  require  local  social
    36  services  districts  to  maintain  waiting lists for dates preceding the
    37  effective date of this act, or to collect data pursuant to subdivision 3
    38  of section 410-z of the social services law, as added by section one  of
    39  this act, for persons who applied for subsidized child care prior to the
    40  effective date of this act.
    41    §  3.  This  act shall take effect October 1, 2020; provided, however,
    42  that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any
    43  rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act  on  its
    44  effective  date  are authorized and directed to be made and completed on
    45  or before such effective date.