Bill Text: NY A01789 | 2013-2014 | 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) 2014-01-08 - referred to aging [A01789 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A01789-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         1789
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                      (PREFILED)
                                    January 9, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. MILLMAN, DINOWITZ, ENGLEBRIGHT, RIVERA, JAFFEE,
         GUNTHER -- Multi-Sponsored by --  M.  of  A.  ABBATE,  FINCH,  HOOPER,
         MAISEL -- 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, paragraph (d) of subdivision 4 as
    4  separately amended by chapter 410 of the laws of 2010, and paragraph (k)
    5  of subdivision 4, subparagraph 6 of paragraph (c) of subdivision 5-a and
    6  subdivision 6 as amended by chapter 320 of the laws of 2011, is  amended
    7  to read as follows:
    8    S  209.  Naturally  occurring  retirement community supportive service
    9  program. 1. As used in this section:
   10    (a) "Advisory  committee"  or  "committee"  shall  mean  the  advisory
   11  committee  convened  by  the director for the purposes specified in this
   12  section. Such committee shall be broadly representative of  housing  and
   13  senior citizen groups, and all geographic areas of the state.
   14    (b)  "Older  adults"  shall mean persons who are sixty years of age or
   15  older.
   16    (c) "Eligible applicant" shall mean a not-for-profit agency specializ-
   17  ing in housing, health or other human services  which  serves  or  would
   18  serve the community within which a naturally occurring retirement commu-
   19  nity is located.
   20    (d) "Eligible services" shall mean services including, but not limited
   21  to:  case  management,  care coordination, counseling, health assessment
   22  and monitoring,  transportation,  socialization  activities,  home  care
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD01921-01-3
       A. 1789                             2
    1  facilitation  and monitoring, and other services designed to address the
    2  needs of residents of  naturally  occurring  retirement  communities  by
    3  helping  them  extend their independence, improve their quality of life,
    4  and avoid unnecessary hospital and nursing home stays.
    5    (e)  ["Government assistance" shall mean and be broadly interpreted to
    6  mean any monetary assistance provided by the federal,  the  state  or  a
    7  local  government,  or  any  agency  thereof, or any authority or public
    8  benefit corporation, in any form, including loans or loan subsidies, for
    9  the construction of an apartment building or housing complex for low and
   10  moderate income persons, as such term is defined by  the  United  States
   11  Department of Housing and Urban Development.
   12    (f)]  "Naturally  occurring retirement community" shall mean an apart-
   13  ment building or housing complex OR OTHER HOUSING WITH A  LARGE  CONCEN-
   14  TRATION OF OLDER ADULTS which:
   15    (1) [was constructed with government assistance;
   16    (2)] was not [originally built] DEVELOPED for older adults;
   17    [(3)] (2) does not restrict admissions solely to older adults;
   18    [(4)  at  least  fifty percent of the units have an occupant who is an
   19  older adult or in which at least twenty-five hundred]
   20    (3) FORTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE OCCUPANTS OF WHICH ARE OLDER  ADULTS  OR
   21  IN WHICH TWO HUNDRED FIFTY of the residents are older adults; and
   22    [(5)]  (4)  a  majority  of  the  older adults to be served are low or
   23  moderate income, as defined by the United States Department  of  Housing
   24  and Urban Development.
   25    2.  [A  naturally  occurring  retirement  community supportive service
   26  program is established as a demonstration program to be administered  by
   27  the director.
   28    3.]  The  director  shall be assisted by the advisory committee in the
   29  development of appropriate criteria for the  selection  of  grantees  of
   30  funds  provided  pursuant  to  this  section  and programmatic issues as
   31  deemed appropriate by the director.
   32    [4.] 3. The criteria recommended by the committee and adopted  by  the
   33  director for the award of grants shall be consistent with the provisions
   34  of this section and shall include, at a minimum:
   35    (a)  the number, size, type and location of the projects to be served;
   36  provided, that the committee and director shall make reasonable  efforts
   37  to  assure  that geographic balance in the distribution of such projects
   38  is maintained, consistent with the needs to be addressed, funding avail-
   39  able, applications for eligible applicants, other requirements  of  this
   40  section, ABILITY TO COORDINATE SERVICES AND PLANNING WITH THE AREA AGEN-
   41  CY ON AGING, and other criteria developed by the committee and director;
   42    (b)  the appropriate number and concentration of older adult residents
   43  to be served by an individual project; provided, that such criteria need
   44  not specify, in the case of a project which includes several  buildings,
   45  the number of older adults to be served in any individual building;
   46    (c) the demographic characteristics of the residents to be served;
   47    (d)  the  financial  or in-kind support required to be provided to the
   48  project by the owners, managers and residents of  the  housing  develop-
   49  ment; provided, however, that such criteria need not address whether the
   50  funding is public or private, or the source of such support;
   51    (e)  the scope and intensity of the services to be provided, and their
   52  appropriateness for the residents proposed to be  served.  The  criteria
   53  shall not require that the applicant agency be the sole provider of such
   54  services,  but  shall  require  that the applicant at a minimum actively
   55  manage the provision of such services;
       A. 1789                             3
    1    (f) the experience and financial stability of  the  applicant  agency,
    2  [provided  that  the  criteria  shall  require that priority be given to
    3  programs already in operation, including those projects participating in
    4  the resident advisor program administered by the  office,  and  enriched
    5  housing  programs] which meet the requirements of this section and which
    6  have demonstrated to the satisfaction of the director [and  the  commit-
    7  tee]  their  fiscal and managerial stability and programmatic success in
    8  serving residents;
    9    (g) the nature and extent of requirements proposed to  be  established
   10  for active, meaningful participation for residents proposed to be served
   11  in  project  design,  implementation,  monitoring, evaluation and gover-
   12  nance;
   13    (h)  an  agreement  by  the  applicant  to  participate  in  the  data
   14  collection and evaluation project [necessary] SUFFICIENT to complete the
   15  [report  required by this section] REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ESTABLISHED BY
   16  THE DIRECTOR;
   17    (i) the policy and program roles of the applicant agency and any other
   18  agencies involved in the provision of services or the management of  the
   19  project,  including  the  housing  development  governing body, or other
   20  owners or managers of the apartment buildings and housing complexes  and
   21  the  residents  of  such  apartment buildings and housing complexes. The
   22  criteria shall require a clear delineation of such  policy  and  program
   23  roles;
   24    (j)  a requirement that each eligible agency document the need for the
   25  project and financial commitments to it from such sources as the commit-
   26  tee and the director shall deem  appropriate  given  the  character  and
   27  nature of the proposed project, and written evidence of support from the
   28  appropriate housing development governing body or other owners or manag-
   29  ers  of  the  apartment  buildings and housing complexes. The purpose of
   30  such documentation shall be to demonstrate the  need  for  the  project,
   31  support  for it in the areas to be served, and the financial and manage-
   32  rial ability to sustain the project;
   33    (k) a requirement that any aid provided pursuant to  this  section  be
   34  matched  by  an  equal  amount,  in-kind support of equal value, or some
   35  combination thereof from  other  sources,  provided  that  such  in-kind
   36  support  to be utilized only upon approval from the director and only to
   37  the extent matching funds are not available, and that at  least  twenty-
   38  five  percent  of  such amount be contributed by the housing development
   39  governing body or other owners or managers and residents of  the  apart-
   40  ment  buildings  and housing complexes in which the project is proposed,
   41  or, upon approval by the director, sources in  neighborhoods  contiguous
   42  to the boundaries of the geographic areas served where services may also
   43  be provided pursuant to subdivision six of this section; and
   44    (l)  the  circumstances under which the director may waive all or part
   45  of the requirement for provision of an  equal  amount  of  funding  from
   46  other  sources  required  pursuant to paragraph (k) of this subdivision,
   47  provided that such criteria shall include provision for  waiver  at  the
   48  discretion  of  the  director  upon  a  finding by the director that the
   49  program will serve a low income or hardship  community,  and  that  such
   50  waiver is required to assure that such community receive a fair share of
   51  the  funding available. The committee shall develop appropriate criteria
   52  for determining whether a community is a low income or hardship communi-
   53  ty.
   54    [5.] 4. Within amounts specifically appropriated therefor and consist-
   55  ent with the criteria developed and required pursuant  to  this  section
   56  the  director shall approve grants to eligible applicants in amounts not
       A. 1789                             4
    1  to exceed one hundred fifty thousand dollars for a project in any twelve
    2  month period. [The director shall not approve more than  ten  grants  in
    3  the first twelve month period after the effective date of this section.
    4    5-a.]   5.  The  director  may,  in  addition  recognize  neighborhood
    5  naturally occurring retirement communities, or Neighborhood  NORCs,  and
    6  provide  program support within amounts specifically available by appro-
    7  priation therefor, which shall be subject to the requirements, rules and
    8  regulations of this section, provided however that:
    9    (a) the term Neighborhood NORC as used in this subdivision shall  mean
   10  and refer to a residential dwelling or group of residential dwellings in
   11  a  geographically  defined neighborhood of a municipality containing not
   12  more than two thousand persons who are older adults reside in  at  least
   13  forty  percent  of  the units and which is made up of low-rise buildings
   14  six stories or less in height and/or single and multi-family  homes  and
   15  which area was not originally developed for older adults, and which does
   16  not restrict admission strictly to older adults;
   17    (b)  grants  to  an  eligible  Neighborhood NORC shall be no less than
   18  sixty thousand dollars for any twelve-month period;
   19    (c) the director shall be assisted by the advisory  committee  in  the
   20  development of criteria for the selection of grants provided pursuant to
   21  this section and programmatic issues as deemed appropriate by the direc-
   22  tor. The criteria recommended by the committee and adopted by the direc-
   23  tor  for  the award of grants shall be consistent with the provisions of
   24  this subdivision and shall include, at a minimum, the following require-
   25  ments or items of  information  using  such  criteria  as  the  advisory
   26  committee and the director shall approve:
   27    (1)  the  number,  size, type and location of residential dwellings or
   28  group of residential dwellings selected as candidates for [neighborhood]
   29  NEIGHBORHOOD NORCs funding. The director shall make  reasonable  efforts
   30  to  assure that geographic balance in the distribution of such grants is
   31  maintained, consistent with the needs to be  addressed,  funding  avail-
   32  able,  applications  from  eligible  applicants,  ability  to coordinate
   33  services and other requirements of this section;
   34    (2) the appropriate number and concentration of older adult  residents
   35  to  be  served by an individual Neighborhood NORC. The criteria need not
   36  specify the number of older adults to be served in any individual build-
   37  ing;
   38    (3) the demographic characteristics of the residents to be served;
   39    (4) a requirement that the applicant demonstrate  the  development  or
   40  intent  to  develop  community wide support from residents, neighborhood
   41  associations, community groups, nonprofit organizations and others;
   42    (5) a requirement that the boundaries of the  geographic  area  to  be
   43  served  are  clear  and  coherent and create an identifiable program and
   44  supportive community;
   45    (6) a requirement that the applicant commit to raising matching funds,
   46  in-kind support, or some combination  thereof  from  non-state  sources,
   47  provided  that  such in-kind support be utilized only upon approval from
   48  the director and only to the extent matching funds  are  not  available,
   49  equal to fifteen percent of the state grant in the second year after the
   50  program  is  approved,  twenty-five  percent  in  the  third year, forty
   51  percent in the fourth year, and fifty percent in  the  fifth  year,  and
   52  further  commit  that in each year, twenty-five percent of such required
   53  matching funds, in-kind support, or combination thereof be raised within
   54  the community served and, upon approval by the  director,  in  neighbor-
   55  hoods  contiguous to the boundaries of the geographic areas served where
   56  services may also be  provided  pursuant  to  subdivision  six  of  this
       A. 1789                             5
    1  section. Such local community matching funds, in-kind support, or combi-
    2  nation  thereof  shall  include  but  not  be limited to: dues, fees for
    3  service, individual and community contributions, and such other funds as
    4  the advisory committee and the director shall deem appropriate;
    5    (7) a requirement that the applicant demonstrate experience and finan-
    6  cial stability;
    7    (8)  a  requirement that priority in selection be given to programs in
    8  existence prior to the effective date of this subdivision which,  except
    9  for  designation and funding requirements established herein, would have
   10  otherwise generally qualified as a Neighborhood NORC;
   11    (9) a requirement that the applicant conduct or have conducted a needs
   12  assessment on the basis of which  such  applicant  shall  establish  the
   13  nature  and  extent  of  services  to be provided; and further that such
   14  services shall provide a mix of appropriate services that provide active
   15  and meaningful participation for residents;
   16    (10) a requirement that residents to be served shall  be  involved  in
   17  design,  implementation,  monitoring,  evaluation  and governance of the
   18  Neighborhood NORC;
   19    (11) an agreement by the applicant that it  will  participate  in  the
   20  data  collection  and  evaluation  necessary  to  complete the reporting
   21  requirements as established by the director;
   22    (12) the policy and program roles of  the  applicant  agency  and  any
   23  other  agencies  involved in the provision of services or the management
   24  of the Neighborhood NORC, provided that the  criteria  shall  require  a
   25  clear delineation of such policy and program roles;
   26    (13) a requirement that each applicant document the need for the grant
   27  and  financial  commitments  to  it  from  such  sources as the advisory
   28  committee and the director shall deem appropriate  given  the  character
   29  and  nature  of  the  proposed Neighborhood NORC and written evidence of
   30  support from the community;
   31    (14) the circumstances under which the director may waive all or  part
   32  of  the  requirement  for  provision  of an equal amount of funding from
   33  other sources required pursuant to this subdivision, provided that  such
   34  criteria  shall  include  provision  for waiver at the discretion of the
   35  director upon a finding by the director that the Neighborhood NORC  will
   36  serve  a  low  income  or  hardship  community,  and that such waiver is
   37  required to assure that such community receive a fair share of the fund-
   38  ing available. For purposes of this paragraph, a hardship community  may
   39  be  one that has developed a successful model but which needs additional
   40  time to raise matching funds required herein. An applicant applying  for
   41  a  hardship  exception  shall submit a written plan in a form and manner
   42  determined by the director detailing its  plans  to  meet  the  matching
   43  funds requirement in the succeeding year;
   44    (15)  a requirement that any proposed Neighborhood NORC in a geograph-
   45  ically defined neighborhood of a municipality containing more  than  two
   46  thousand older adults shall require the review and recommendation by the
   47  advisory committee before being approved by the director;
   48    (d)  on  or before March first, two thousand eight, the director shall
   49  report to the governor and the fiscal and aging committees of the senate
   50  and the assembly concerning the effectiveness of Neighborhood  NORCs  in
   51  achieving  the  objectives  set  forth  by this subdivision. Such report
   52  shall address each of the  items  required  for  Neighborhood  NORCs  in
   53  achieving  the objectives set forth in this section and such other items
   54  of information as the director shall deem appropriate, including  recom-
   55  mendations  concerning  continuation or modification of the program, and
   56  any recommendations from the advisory committee.
       A. 1789                             6
    1    (e) in providing program support for Neighborhood NORCs as  authorized
    2  by  this  subdivision, the director shall in no event divert or transfer
    3  funding for grants or  program  support  from  any  naturally  occurring
    4  retirement  community supportive service programs authorized pursuant to
    5  other provisions of this section.
    6    6.  The  director may allow services provided by a naturally occurring
    7  retirement community supportive service program  or  by  a  neighborhood
    8  naturally  occurring  retirement  community  to also include services to
    9  residents who live in neighborhoods contiguous to the boundaries of  the
   10  geographic  area  served by such programs if: (a) the persons served are
   11  older adults; (b) the services affect the health  and  welfare  of  such
   12  persons;  and  (c)  the services are provided on a one-time basis in the
   13  year in which they are provided, and not in a manner which  is  said  or
   14  intended  to  be  continuous.  The  director  may  also  consent  to the
   15  provision of such services by such program if the program has received a
   16  grant which requires services to be provided beyond the geographic boun-
   17  daries of the program. The director  shall  establish  procedures  under
   18  which  a  program  may request the ability to provide such services. The
   19  provision of such services shall not affect the funding provided to  the
   20  program by the department pursuant to this section.
   21    7. The director shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to
   22  carry out the provisions of this section.
   23    [8.  On  or  before March first, two thousand five, the director shall
   24  report to the governor and the finance committee of the senate  and  the
   25  ways and means committee of the assembly concerning the effectiveness of
   26  the   naturally   occurring  retirement  community  supportive  services
   27  program, other than Neighborhood NORCs, as defined in subdivision five-a
   28  of this section, in achieving the objectives set forth by this  section,
   29  which  include  helping  to  address  the  needs  of  residents  in such
   30  naturally occurring retirement communities, assuring access to a contin-
   31  uum of necessary services, increasing private, philanthropic  and  other
   32  public  funding  for  programs,  and preventing unnecessary hospital and
   33  nursing home  stays.  The  report  shall  also  include  recommendations
   34  concerning continuation or modification of the program from the director
   35  and the committee, and shall note any divergence between the recommenda-
   36  tions  of the director and the committee. The director shall provide the
   37  required information and any other information deemed appropriate to the
   38  report in such form and detail as will be helpful to the legislature and
   39  the governor in determining to extend, eliminate or modify  the  program
   40  including, but not limited to, the following:
   41    (a)  the number, size, type and location of the projects developed and
   42  funded, including the number, kinds  and  functions  of  staff  in  each
   43  program;
   44    (b)  the  number, size, type and location of the projects proposed but
   45  not funded, and the reasons for denial of funding for such projects;
   46    (c) the age, sex, religion and other appropriate demographic  informa-
   47  tion concerning the residents served;
   48    (d)  the services provided to residents, reported in such manner as to
   49  allow comparison of services by demographic group and region;
   50    (e) a listing of the services provided by eligible applicants, includ-
   51  ing the number, kind and intensity of such services; and
   52    (f) a listing of other organizations providing services,  the  number,
   53  kind  and  intensity  of  such services, the number of referrals to such
   54  organizations and, to the  extent  practicable,  the  outcomes  of  such
   55  referrals.]
       A. 1789                             7
    1    S  2.  Such  moneys as may be necessary to effect the purposes of this
    2  act shall be appropriated to the director of the office  for  the  aging
    3  for  expenses associated with such purposes, but in no event shall funds
    4  be diverted from any of the  naturally  occurring  retirement  community
    5  supportive  service programs in existence prior to the effective date of
    6  this act.
    7    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
feedback