Bill Text: NY S03109 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the office of the foster care ombudsman to provide support to foster parents, biological parents, relatives, and youth in care.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S03109 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S03109-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3109 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 27, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PERSAUD, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing the office of the foster care ombudsman The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Title 3 of article 19-G of the executive law is amended by 2 adding a new subtitle C to read as follows: 3 SUBTITLE C 4 OFFICE OF THE FOSTER CARE OMBUDSMAN 5 Section 524. Purpose. 6 524-a. Definitions. 7 524-b. Office of the foster care ombudsman. 8 524-c. Duties of the office of the foster care ombudsman. 9 524-d. Access to the office of the foster care ombudsman. 10 524-e. Duties of the director. 11 524-f. Conduct and scope of mediation and problem-solving. 12 524-g. Confidentiality of reports. 13 524-h. Foster care ombudsman independent review board. 14 524-i. Access to records. 15 § 524. Purpose. The purpose of this subtitle is to support foster 16 parents, including kinship families, as well as relatives or fictive 17 kin, in providing family-based foster care to children at risk for or 18 removed from their homes pursuant to article ten of the family court 19 act, by codifying the office of the foster care ombudsman. 20 § 524-a. Definitions. As used in this subtitle: 21 1. "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the office of children and 22 family services. 23 2. "Director" means the director of the office of the foster care 24 ombudsman. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03304-01-1S. 3109 2 1 3. "Office" means the office of children and family services. 2 4. "Foster parents" means all adults providing out of home care to 3 children at risk for or who have been removed from their home pursuant 4 to article ten of the family court act. This includes relatives and 5 non-relatives. 6 5. "Anti-bias training" means instruction on implicit bias, discrimi- 7 nation, cultural competency and structural inequity, including with 8 respect to gender, race and sexual orientation, and on how these factors 9 impact the work of the office of the foster care ombudsman. 10 § 524-b. Office of the foster care ombudsman. There is hereby estab- 11 lished the office of the foster care ombudsman in the office of children 12 and family services. The independent review board described in section 13 five hundred twenty-four-h of this subtitle shall appoint the director 14 of the office of the foster care ombudsman, who shall report to the 15 commissioner. The director shall have expertise in the areas of child 16 welfare, foster care, dispute resolution and system improvement, specif- 17 ically in the state of New York, as evidenced by at least ten years of 18 relevant experience in the field. A two-thirds majority vote of the 19 independent review board shall be required to appoint or remove the 20 director. Persons employed by the office of the foster care ombudsman 21 to act as "ombudsmen" shall have a comprehensive knowledge of the 22 state's foster care system and expertise in the fields of child welfare, 23 foster care, and dispute resolution, specifically in the state of New 24 York, as evidenced by demonstrated professional and personal experience, 25 or by academic background, the level and sufficiency of which shall be 26 determined by the director. 27 § 524-c. Duties of the office of the foster care ombudsman. 1. The 28 office of the foster care ombudsman shall: 29 (a) receive, document and respond to inquiries, grievances and 30 complaints raised by foster parents, biological parents, relatives, and 31 youth in care; 32 (b) investigate and seek resolution of inquiries, grievances, and 33 complaints; 34 (c) make referrals, where appropriate, to additional information, 35 services and resources; 36 (d) ensure that any resolution or response does not result in retali- 37 ation against the person contacting the foster care ombudsman; 38 (e) provide information to foster parents, biological parents, rela- 39 tives, and youth in care about applicable law, regulation and policy; 40 (f) work with the local department of social services, voluntary agen- 41 cies, foster parents, biological parents, relatives, and youth in care 42 to resolve conflicts concerning application of applicable law, regu- 43 lation and policy with regard to the provision of foster care; 44 (g) monitor the implementation of applicable law, regulation and poli- 45 cy concerning the provision of foster care through the process of 46 receiving, documenting, tracking and responding to inquiries, grievances 47 and complaints; 48 (h) recommend policies, regulations, and legislation designed to 49 promote and improve family-based foster care; 50 (i) prepare an annual report to the commissioner and the legislature, 51 which shall be publicly posted on the office's website, with aggregate 52 data on the total number and types of concerns raised to the foster care 53 ombudsman, the number of parties serviced, the number of disputes 54 resolved and responses provided, the nature of the resolution, the 55 trends and issues that arose while responding to the concerns, byS. 3109 3 1 region, and recommendations for changes to applicable law, rules, regu- 2 lations and policy concerning the provision of foster care; and 3 (j) present quarterly reports containing information regarding major 4 inquiries, grievances, and complaints received by the office of the 5 foster care ombudsman, and the status of the responses to such 6 inquiries, grievances and complaints, to the commissioner and the inde- 7 pendent foster care ombudsman review board. 8 2. Nothing in this section shall permit the office of the foster care 9 ombudsman to participate in any pending child welfare investigation or 10 family court proceeding. 11 § 524-d. Access to the office of the foster care ombudsman. The 12 office of the foster care ombudsman shall provide information to any 13 person who contacts it, including, but not limited to: 1. foster 14 parents; 2. biological parents; 3. relatives; 4. youth in care; 5. coun- 15 ty officials; and 6. private agencies, through telephone and internet- 16 based communication. 17 § 524-e. Duties of the director. The director shall: 18 1. provide administrative supervision and oversight to the ombudsmen; 19 2. establish procedures to ensure that the office of the foster care 20 ombudsman services are made available to foster parents, biological 21 parents, relatives, and youth in care; 22 3. participate in the policy development process of the office; 23 4. conduct annual anti-bias training for ombudsmen; and 24 5. oversee the preparation of the reports required under paragraphs 25 (h) and (i) of subdivision one of section five hundred twenty-four-c of 26 this subtitle. 27 § 524-f. Conduct and scope of mediation and problem-solving. 1. The 28 office of the foster care ombudsman shall provide relevant information 29 about applicable law and policy, and provide a means to resolve issues 30 among and between foster parents, biological parents, relatives, and 31 youth in care, involving the local department of social services and the 32 voluntary agency when necessary. 33 2. The office of the foster care ombudsman shall develop and apply a 34 process for receiving, documenting, investigating, and resolving or 35 answering inquiries, grievances and complaints raised by foster parents, 36 biological parents, relatives, and youth in care orally or in written 37 form. 38 3. The office of the foster care ombudsman shall review and evaluate 39 the effectiveness and efficiency of resolution procedures, and make 40 recommendations to the independent review board described in section 41 five hundred twenty-four-h for the improvement of such procedures. 42 4. The office of the foster care ombudsman shall develop and apply a 43 process for protecting those bringing inquiries, grievances and 44 complaints from retaliation. 45 § 524-g. Confidentiality of reports. Office of the foster care 46 ombudsman reports created in response to individual inquiries, griev- 47 ances and complaints raised by foster parents, biological parents, rela- 48 tives, and youth in care are confidential and shall be safeguarded from 49 coming to the knowledge of, and from inspection or examination by, any 50 person other than the commissioner, their designee or members of the 51 independent review board established pursuant to section five hundred 52 twenty-four-h of this subtitle. Authorized persons receiving such 53 reports shall not divulge information contained therein without the 54 written consent of the commissioner. The authorized disclosure of any 55 such information shall not contain any individually identifiable infor- 56 mation. Nothing in this section shall prevent the office from preparingS. 3109 4 1 and disseminating the reports required under paragraphs (h) and (i) of 2 subdivision one of section five hundred twenty-four-c of this subtitle. 3 § 524-h. Foster care ombudsman independent review board. 1. There is 4 hereby established an independent foster care ombudsman review board, 5 hereby referred to as the "board". The board shall be composed of twelve 6 board members, and shall consist of persons who are not employed by the 7 office. The board shall be composed of a diverse group of persons with 8 either child welfare policy expertise or child welfare system experi- 9 ence. The board members shall be appointed by April first, two thousand 10 twenty-two, as follows: 11 (a) The chief judge of the New York court of appeals shall appoint 12 three board members which shall be: 13 (i) an individual with experience representing children in family 14 court; 15 (ii) an individual with experience representing parents in family 16 court; and 17 (iii) an individual with experience as a family court judge. 18 (b) The governor shall appoint three board members which shall be: 19 (i) an individual with previous professional experience as a child 20 welfare case worker; 21 (ii) an individual with experience in primary or secondary education; 22 and 23 (iii) an individual with previous professional experience with a human 24 or social services agency or a private child welfare agency. 25 (c) The senate shall appoint three board members which shall be: 26 (i) an individual who was formerly a child in the foster care system; 27 (ii) a current or former foster parent, relative caregiver, or adop- 28 tive parent; and 29 (iii) an individual with professional or volunteer experience as a 30 court appointed special advocate. 31 (d) The assembly shall appoint three board members which shall be: 32 (i) a current or former foster parent, relative caregiver, or adoptive 33 parent; 34 (ii) a health care professional or psychologist with previous experi- 35 ence with child abuse and neglect cases; and 36 (iii) a licensed clinical social worker with previous experience with 37 child abuse and neglect cases. 38 2. Board members shall serve for terms of three years. Board members 39 shall be reimbursed for actual and reasonable expenses incurred in the 40 conduct of their duties. The board shall meet at least quarterly with 41 the director, the ombudsmen, and other appropriate officials to discuss 42 and review reports submitted by the office of the foster care ombudsman. 43 The board shall have the authority to: 44 (a) appoint the director of the office of the foster care ombudsman; 45 (b) meet with the director and ombudsmen quarterly; 46 (c) review reports submitted by the office of the foster care ombuds- 47 man; 48 (d) advise the office of the ombudsman on matters concerning 49 complaints and grievances, dispute resolution, and recommendations for 50 changes to applicable law, rules, regulations and policy concerning the 51 foster care system; 52 (e) evaluate the effectiveness and performance of the office of the 53 ombudsman and provide any necessary feedback in order to promote the 54 improvement of the foster care system; andS. 3109 5 1 (f) take steps to advise the public of the services offered by the 2 foster care ombudsman and promote the use of and access to the office of 3 the foster care ombudsman. 4 § 524-i. Access to records. In the conduct of his or her duties 5 pursuant to this subtitle, the ombudsman shall have access to all books, 6 records, logs, reports, memoranda and any and all other materials or 7 documents in the possession of a local department of social services, 8 the office, and facilities or programs of the office, including files 9 maintained in the New York State Child Welfare Information System. The 10 ombudsman may copy or make reference to any such report, document, memo- 11 randum, log entry or other material or document and, where appropriate, 12 may include a copy in his or her report. Consistent with applicable 13 laws and regulations, the confidentiality of records and documents 14 obtained by the ombudsmen shall be maintained by the ombudsmen. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
