Bill Text: NY A03255 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the youth in progress advisory board and regional teams for adolescents in foster care to provide mentorship of youths in foster care; requires reporting.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2024-01-03 - referred to children and families [A03255 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A03255-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3255 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 2, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the youth in progress advisory board and regional teams for adolescents in foster care for the state The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a 2 new title 1-A to read as follows: 3 TITLE 1-A 4 YOUTH IN PROGRESS 5 Section 394. Youth in progress. 6 § 394. Youth in progress. 1. The youth in progress statewide advisory 7 board is hereby established for the purposes of bringing together youth 8 age fourteen and older who are or have been in foster care in order to 9 discuss common experiences, ideas and concerns. The local social 10 services departments, authorized agencies serving adolescents in foster 11 care, the office of children and family services, and contractors of the 12 office may recruit appropriate youth to participate in the youth in 13 progress advisory board and regional teams on a voluntary basis. 14 2. The office of children and family services shall facilitate the 15 formation of regional youth in progress teams and assist in identifying 16 an adult mentor for each youth team member. The regional youth in 17 progress teams and adult mentors shall meet on a regular basis and shall 18 conduct periodic regional forums for foster care youth to speak out on 19 issues of interest to adolescents in foster care. 20 3. The youth in progress statewide advisory board, shall include a 21 representative from the regional teams that will advise the office of 22 children and family services and the council on children and families on EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07679-01-3A. 3255 2 1 issues relating to foster care. In each of the six office of children 2 and family services regions the youth in progress regional team or teams 3 shall nominate up to four youth members and their adult mentors to 4 participate in the statewide youth in progress advisory board. In addi- 5 tion, four youth currently or formerly placed with the office of chil- 6 dren and family services' division of juvenile justice and opportunities 7 for youth shall be selected by the members of the statewide youth in 8 progress advisory board, to be members of the advisory board's member- 9 ship. The statewide youth in progress advisory board shall have up to 10 twenty-eight youth participants and shall meet at least three times each 11 year. 12 4. (a) The statewide youth in progress board may issue an annual 13 report with its recommendations on issues of interest to adolescents in 14 foster care. The report may include other information on the activities 15 of the youth in progress board. The office of children and family 16 services shall provide technical assistance to the statewide youth in 17 progress board, including distribution of the annual report. Such 18 reports shall be made available to the public and shall be submitted to: 19 the governor, the legislature, the director of the council on children 20 and families, and the member agencies of the council on children and 21 families. The contents of the youth in progress annual report shall be 22 solely the work product of the youth in progress board and its members, 23 and shall not be revised or edited by the office of children and family 24 services. 25 (b) At least sixty days prior to the commissioner of the office of 26 children and family services final approval of rules and regulations 27 pertaining to foster care or services for adolescents who are or have 28 been in foster care, other than emergency rules and regulations, the 29 commissioner shall submit the proposed rules and regulations to the 30 statewide youth in progress advisory board for review. The statewide 31 youth in progress board may report its recommendations thereon to the 32 commissioner of the office of children and family services within sixty 33 days. 34 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 35 have become a law.
