A number of media outlets have reported on violent and unfortunate incidents at emergency shelters and questioned the security of shelters and whether the residents of shelters are safe. Recent inspections of emergency shelters by OTDA have confirmed that security has been inadequate at some shelters and dangerous conditions have continued to exist. Failing to expand OTDA’s oversight in this area would endanger the health, safety and welfare of the residents and staff of emergency shelters. The regulation will help to ensure that reasonable security measures are implemented at emergency shelters, and that the safety of emergency shelter residents and staff is protected. In the absence of this emergency regulation, the security measures at some emergency shelters will remain inadequate, dangerous conditions will continue to exist, and homeless individuals and families will avoid emergency shelters out of fear for their physical safety. Under these circumstances, OTDA asserts that proposing this rule only as a “regular rule making” as provided by the State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA) should not be required because to do so would be detrimental to the health, safety and general welfare of residents and staff of these emergency shelters, while at the same time permitting public funds to be expended to maintain dangerous conditions in the emergency shelters. Recent investigations have confirmed the existence of such dangerous conditions and underscore the imperative of acting quickly to help assure that residents and staff of these emergency shelters are safe and protected. Without this emergency regulation, some emergency shelters will maintain the status quo, thereby endangering individuals, families, and children.

(1) measures taken to control access to the emergency shelter, including but not limited to admittance procedures in place for persons entering the facility and the installation and use of safety locks on exit and entry doors, security devices such as metal detectors, cameras and security or alarm systems;

(2) the surveillance of the grounds, facility and activities of the residents to prevent theft and resident harm;

(3) the training and deployment of staff responsible for security, and in the case of emergency shelters with mental health or domestic violence programs, the availability of security staff trained in recognizing and responding to mental health or domestic violence issues;

(4) fire safety measures, and the emergency shelter’s emergency and disaster plans, including but not limited to, procedures for conducting and supervising facility evacuations and periodic evacuation drills; actions taken in advance of an emergency to prepare emergency shelter employees to be ready for an emergency;

(5) procedures for handling and documenting individual emergencies, including arranging for medical care or other emergency services, maintaining records of any special medical needs or conditions, the prescribed regimens to be followed, and the names and phone numbers of medical doctors to contact should an emergency arise concerning these conditions; and

(6) Safety measures provided for emergency shelter staff.

1. Statutory Authority:

Social Services Law (SSL) § 17(a)-(b) and (i) provide, in part, that the Commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (“OTDA”) shall “determine the policies and principles upon which public assistance, services and care shall be provided within the [S]tate both by the [S]tate itself and by the local governmental units …”, shall “make known his policies and principles to local social services officials and to public and private institutions and welfare agencies subject to his regulatory and advisory powers …”, and shall “exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be imposed by law.”

SSL § 20(2) provides, in part, that the OTDA shall “supervise all social services work, as the same may be administered by any local unit of government and the social services officials thereof within the state, advise them in the performance of their official duties and regulate the financial assistance granted by the state in connection with said work.” Pursuant to SSL § 20(3)(d) and (e), OTDA is authorized to promulgate rules, regulations, and policies to fulfill its powers and duties under the SSL and “to withhold or deny State reimbursement, in whole or in part, from or to any social services district [“SSD”] or any city or town thereof, in the event of [their] failure… to comply with law, rules or regulations of [OTDA] relating to public assistance and care or the administration thereof.”

SSL § 34(3)(c) requires OTDA’s Commissioner to “take cognizance of the interests of health and welfare of the inhabitants of the [S]tate who lack or are threatened with the deprivation of the necessaries of life and of all matters pertaining thereto.” Pursuant to SSL § 34(3)(f), OTDA’s Commissioner must establish regulations for the administration of public assistance and care within the State by the SSDs and by the State itself, in accordance with the law. In addition, pursuant to SSL § 34(3)(d), OTDA’s Commissioner must exercise general supervision over the work of all SSDs, and SSL § 34(3)(e) provides that OTDA’s Commissioner must enforce the SSL and the State regulations within the State and in the local governmental units. Pursuant to SSL § 34(6), OTDA’s Commissioner “may exercise such additional powers and duties as may be required for the effective administration of the department and of the [S]tate system of public aid and assistance.”

SSL § 460-c confers authority upon OTDA to “inspect and maintain supervision over all public and private facilities or agencies whether [S]tate, county, municipal, incorporated or not incorporated which are in receipt of public funds,” which includes emergency shelters. SSL § 460-d confers enforcement powers upon the OTDA Commissioner, or any person designated by the OTDA Commissioner, to “undertake an investigation of the affairs and management of any facility subject to the inspection and supervision provision of this article, or of any person, corporation, society, association or organization which operates or holds itself out as being authorized to operate any such facility, or of the conduct of any officers or employers of any such facility.”

2. Legislative Objectives:

It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting the above statutes that OTDA establish rules, regulations, and policies to provide for the health, safety and general welfare of vulnerable families and individuals who are placed in emergency shelters.

3. Needs and Benefits:

In response to numerous problematic media reports concerning the physical safety of public assistance recipients residing in New York City’s emergency shelters, OTDA has taken action to inspect these placements and assess security measures taken by shelter operators to help assure that residents of emergency shelters are provided with safe and secure accommodations. The regulatory amendments will require the operator of each emergency shelter to submit to OTDA and the SSD in which the emergency shelter is located an annual security plan for the emergency shelter. The SSD will assess the adequacy of the plan and share the results of that assessment with OTDA. In addition, each SSD shall submit an annual plan to OTDA to help ensure that emergency shelters operating within the SSD are providing security and taking appropriate measures to protect the physical safety of emergency shelter residents and staff. Additionally, the regulatory amendments would clarify not only that reports of all serious incidents impacting upon the safety and well-being of shelter residents or staff must be timely submitted to OTDA, but also OTDA’s authority to direct an SSD or emergency shelter operator to take additional security measures where an incident is reported. Among other things, OTDA may direct an SSD or emergency shelter provider to deploy additional trained security staff or to relocate residents to another facility or emergency shelter.

These regulatory amendments are necessary to protect vulnerable, low-income individuals and families who have limited or no housing options and have placed their trust and well-being in a system that should help ensure that these persons have safe and acceptable accommodations during their difficult times.

Additionally, these individuals and families are being placed in emergency shelters at great expense to the taxpayers of New York, who care about the needs of these people and want to help ensure that funds paid to house these individuals and families are used effectively to provide safe, secure, quality housing. It is important for OTDA and the SSDs to be fiscally prudent and to help ensure that State, federal, and local funds are properly used when housing homeless individuals and families. The regulatory amendments confer full authority upon OTDA to take immediate action against facilities and SSDs that are not providing safe and secure emergency shelters.

4. Costs:

For rural governments, the fiscal impact of the new regulations is anticipated to be insignificant because relatively few rural SSDs have any emergency shelters, and the rural SSDs primarily pay for hotel/motel costs.

For urban local governments, the fiscal impact of the new regulations will be minimal as long as they are in compliance with existing security and fire safety standards. The new regulations require that the districts report compliance plans as well as violations under existing security and fire safety standards. Costs associated with the regulations would mostly be administrative costs incurred by the districts from the additional reporting requirements to OTDA. Where upgrades are required, corrective action plans will govern the nature, the extent and the costs of actions needed.

These new regulations will have a minimal impact on districts statewide as this information should be available.

There would also be an impact to the State due to the volume of submission of reports for review. This could impact OTDA from a resource/staffing perspective. OTDA is in the process of bringing on additional staff to address homeless shelter needs including shelter security concerns. We believe that these additional resources will satisfy this requirement.

5. Local Government Mandates:

Each SSD will be responsible for reviewing security plans submitted by emergency shelter operators and sharing the results of the reviews with OTDA, as well as submitting an annual security plan to OTDA. Upon OTDA’s review of the SSD’s and/or shelter operator’s annual plans or after a security incident has been reported to OTDA, OTDA may direct the SSD and/or operator to take additional security measures including, but not limited to, (1) engaging a qualified third party to conduct an evaluation and make recommendations regarding the security measures employed by the facility or (2) when is it determined that the SSD or shelter operator is unable to provide sufficient security or safety measures, directing the relocation of residents to another facility or emergency shelter.

6. Paperwork:

The regulatory amendments will require the operator of each emergency shelter to submit to OTDA and the SSD in which the emergency shelter is located an annual security plan for the emergency shelter. The SSD will assess the adequacy of the plan and share the results of that assessment with OTDA. In addition, each SSD will submit an annual plan to OTDA to help ensure that emergency shelters operating within the SSD are providing security and taking appropriate measures to protect the physical safety of emergency shelter residents and staff. OTDA by means of policy directives will establish the date by which the SSDs must submit their annual plans each year. Additionally, the regulatory amendments will clarify that reports of all serious incidents impacting upon the safety and well-being of shelter residents or staff must be immediately submitted to the SSD and OTDA.

7. Duplication:

The regulatory amendments would not duplicate, overlap, or conflict with any existing State or federal regulations.

8. Alternatives:

Inaction would jeopardize the health and safety of these vulnerable individuals and families by allowing dangerous conditions to continue to exist and by failing to prevent future security incidents. OTDA does not consider this a viable alternative to the regulatory amendments.

9. Federal Standards:

The regulatory amendments would not conflict with federal statutes, regulations or policies.

10. Compliance Schedule:

To protect the public health, safety and general welfare of emergency shelter residents and staff, these regulations would be effective immediately on their filing date.

1. Effect of rule:

Pursuant to the State Administrative Procedure Act § 102(8), a “small business,” in part, is any business which is independently owned and operated and employs 100 or fewer individuals. This regulation will apply to small businesses that provide emergency shelters, namely approximately 800 shelters administered by not-for-profit agencies. This regulation will also apply to all 58 social services districts (“SSDs”) in the State.

2. Compliance requirements:

The regulatory amendments will require the operator of each emergency shelter to submit to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (“OTDA”) and the SSD in which the emergency shelter is located an annual security plan for the emergency shelter. The SSD will assess the adequacy of the plan and share the results of that assessment with OTDA. In addition, each SSD will submit an annual plan to OTDA to help ensure that emergency shelters operating within the SSD are providing security and taking appropriate measures to protect the physical safety of emergency shelter residents and staff.

3. Professional services:

It is anticipated that the need for additional professional services will be limited. The regulation imposes reporting requirements upon operators of emergency shelters and the SSDs which OTDA anticipates should be fulfilled without the need for securing professional services.

4. Compliance costs:

For rural governments, the fiscal impact of the new regulations is anticipated to be insignificant because relatively few rural SSDs have any emergency shelters, and the rural SSDs primarily pay for hotel/motel costs.

For urban local governments, the fiscal impact of the new regulations will be minimal as long as they are in compliance with existing security and fire safety standards. The new regulations require that the districts report compliance plans as well as violations under existing security and fire safety standards. Costs associated with the regulations would mostly be administrative costs incurred by the districts from the additional reporting requirements to OTDA. Where upgrades are required, corrective action plans will govern the nature, the extent and the costs of actions needed.

These new regulations will have a minimal impact on districts statewide as this information should be available.

There would also be an impact to the State due to the volume of submission of reports for review. This could impact OTDA from a resource/staffing perspective. OTDA is in the process of bringing on additional staff to address homeless shelter needs including shelter security concerns. We believe that these additional resources will satisfy this requirement.

5. Economic and technological feasibility:

Operators of emergency shelters and SSDs should already have the economic and technological abilities to comply with the regulation.

6. Minimizing adverse impact:

OTDA does not anticipate that the reporting requirements imposed by the regulation will adversely impact emergency shelters and SSDs. The regulation should not provide exemptions, because this would not serve the purposes of helping to ensure the health and safety of all emergency shelter residents and protecting these vulnerable residents from dangerous conditions.

7. Small business and local government participation:

It is anticipated that small businesses and SSDs will be dedicated to implementing the regulation and protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of residents and staff of emergency shelters.

1. Types and estimated numbers of rural areas:

The regulation will apply to the 44 rural social services districts (“SSDs”) and the emergency shelters located in those areas.

2. Reporting, recordkeeping and other compliance requirements; and professional services:

The regulatory amendments will require the operator of each emergency shelter to submit to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (“OTDA”) and the social services district (“SSD”) in which the emergency shelter is located an annual security plan for the emergency shelter. The SSD, including those in rural areas, will assess the adequacy of the plan and share the results of that assessment with OTDA. The regulation will also require each rural SSD to submit an annual plan to OTDA to help ensure that emergency shelters operating within the rural SSD are providing security and taking appropriate measures to protect the physical safety of emergency shelter residents and staff.

It is anticipated that the need for additional professional services will be limited. The regulation imposes reporting requirements upon operators of rurally-located emergency shelters and SSDs which OTDA anticipates should be fulfilled without the need for securing professional services.

3. Costs:

For rural governments, the fiscal impact of the new regulations is anticipated to be insignificant because relatively few rural SSDs have any emergency shelters, and the rural SSDs primarily pay for hotel/motel costs.

These new regulations will have a minimal impact on districts statewide as this information should be available.

4. Minimizing adverse impact:

OTDA does not anticipate that the reporting requirements imposed by the regulation will adversely impact rurally-located emergency shelters and SSDs. The regulations should not provide exemptions, because this would not serve the purposes of helping to ensure the health and safety of all emergency shelter residents in rural areas and protecting these vulnerable residents from dangerous conditions.

5. Rural area participation:

It is anticipated that small businesses and SSDs in rural areas will be dedicated to implementing the regulation and protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of residents of rurally-located emergency shelters.

A Job Impact Statement is not required for this regulation. The purpose of the regulation is to establish protections for residents and staff of emergency shelters by requiring the operator of each emergency shelter to submit to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (“OTDA”) and the social services district (“SSD”) in which the emergency shelter is located an annual security plan for the emergency shelter. The SSD will assess the adequacy of the plan and share the results of that assessment with OTDA. The regulation will also require each local SSD to submit an annual plan to OTDA to help ensure that emergency shelters operating within the SSD are providing security and taking appropriate measures to protect the physical safety of emergency shelter residents and staff. Additionally, the regulation would clarify not only that all serious incidents impacting upon the safety and well-being of shelter residents or staff must be timely reported to OTDA, but also OTDA’s statutory authority to direct an SSD or emergency shelter operator to take additional security measures where an incident is reported. It is apparent from the nature and the purpose of the regulation that it will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities in the private sector, in the SSDs, or in the State.

Thus, the regulatory amendments will not have an adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities in New York State.