Casework Contacts for Foster Children
NY-ADR
5/18/16 N.Y. St. Reg. CFS-07-16-00014-A
NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
VOLUME XXXVIII, ISSUE 20
May 18, 2016
RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
NOTICE OF ADOPTION
I.D No. CFS-07-16-00014-A
Filing No. 442
Filing Date. May. 03, 2016
Effective Date. May. 18, 2016
Casework Contacts for Foster Children
PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
Amendment of sections 428.3, 430.11, 430.12 and 441.21 of Title 18 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Social Services Law, sections 20(3)(d), 34(3)(f) and 398(6)(a)
Subject:
Casework contacts for foster children.
Purpose:
To implement federal standards which require monthly face-to-face, in-person casework contact with foster children.
Text or summary was published
in the February 17, 2016 issue of the Register, I.D. No. CFS-07-16-00014-P.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
No changes.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Public Information Office, New York State Office of Children and Family Services, 52 Washington Street, Rensselaer, New York 12144, (518) 473-7793, email: [email protected]
Initial Review of Rule
As a rule that requires a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2019, which is no later than the 3rd year after the year in which this rule is being adopted.
Assessment of Public Comment
The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) received comments from one local department of social services on the casework contact regulations for foster children.
1. Out-of State Placements
The commenter expressed concerns in regard to conducting face-to-face contacts with foster children between the ages of 18 and 21 who are out-of-state and who are in college, incarcerated, in substance abuse programs or outside of the United States.
The proposed regulations refer to a foster child who is placed in a home or facility outside of New York State. Such placements involve where the foster child has been placed in a foster boarding home or a child care facility. Accordingly, the out-of-state placements over which the commenter is concerned would not be subject to the regulatory monthly face-to-face contact requirement. This will be clarified in a release OCFS will issue after the proposed regulations are filed for adoption.
The regulation was not changed.
2. Compelling Reasons
The commenter raised the issue of the application of the face-to-face casework contact requirement where the foster child is ill and it is the advice of a medical professional that the face-to-face contact may be dangerous to the youth ‘s or another person’s health. The commenter recommended that a compelling reason exception be added to the regulations for why monthly face-to-face casework contacts casework are not possible.
The proposed regulations reflect the federal mandate under Title IV-B of the Social Security Act of monthly casework contact of children in foster care. The federal standards do not include a compelling reason exception. To the extent there are any specific exceptions authorized by the federal government, OCFS will so advise local departments of social services in policy releases.
The regulation was not changed.
3. Department of Corrections
The commenter questioned whether casework contacts with an incarcerated foster child by staff of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision would count towards the monthly foster care face-to-face contact requirement. The answer is no. In regard to contacts involving foster children cared for in other than foster care placements, the regulations only recognize foster children who are residing in facilities operated or supervised by the Office of Mental Health, Office of People With Developmental Disabilities or the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
The regulation was not changed.
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