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a. For the purposes of this section, the term "school of origin" means the school that a child or youth attended at the time of their entry into foster care or prior to transferring foster care placements.
b. Not later than February 1, 2017, and on or before December 1 annually thereafter, ACS shall submit to the speaker of the council and post on its website annual reports regarding the educational continuity of children in foster care. Such reports shall include the following information:
1. Of the children who entered foster care during the school year, the number and percentage who remained in their school of origin 90 days after the child's initial entry into foster care;
2. Of the children who entered foster care during the school year, the number and percentage who remained in their school of origin 90 days after transferring to a new foster care placement;
3. Of the children who entered foster care during the school year, the number and percentage who did not return to their school of origin upon initial entry into foster care;
4. Of the children who transferred foster care placements during the school year, the number and percentage who did not return to their school of origin after transferring to a new foster care placement; and
5. The average school attendance rates of children in foster care disaggregated by the following percentages: less than 50 percent, 50-59 percent, 60-69 percent, 70-79 percent, 80-89 percent and 90 percent or more, disaggregated by age as follows: 5-10; 11-15; 16-21.
c. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law relating to the privacy of information respecting youth in foster care or that would interfere with law enforcement investigations or otherwise conflict with the interests of law enforcement. If any category requested contains between 1 and 5 youth in foster care, or allows another category to be narrowed to between 1 and 5 youth in foster care, the number shall be replaced with a symbol. The reports required pursuant to this section shall remain permanently accessible on ACS' website.
(L.L. 2016/142, 11/16/2016, eff. 11/16/2016)
a. For the purposes of this section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA)" means a permanency planning goal for young people in foster care who are over the age of fourteen that seeks to assist foster care youth in their transition to self-sufficiency by connecting the youth to an adult permanency resource, equipping the youth with life skills and, upon discharge, connecting the youth with any needed community and/or specialized services.
2. "Discharge Checklist" is a form completed by the ACS contracted foster care agency in consultation with a young person leaving foster care that is intended to guide discussions about the youth's plans after leaving care. The document is intended to develop and document a discharge plan that is youth-driven, is as detailed as the youth elects and enables the young person to address any outstanding topics prior to discharge.
3. "Government-issued personal identification" shall mean a birth certificate, social security card, state-issued driver's license or non-driver identification card, United States permanent resident card, individual taxpayer identification number, municipal identification card, consular identification card, or passport.
4. "Preparing Youth for Adulthood (PYA) Checklist" is a form completed by the ACS contracted foster care agency in consultation with a young person transitioning from foster care that is intended to guide discussions about the youth's plans after leaving care. The document is intended to assess and document a transition plan that is youth-driven and enables the young person to address any outstanding barriers to the successful transition to independence.
b. Beginning no later than January 31, 2015, and no later than every January 31 thereafter, the commissioner shall submit to the speaker of the council and post on ACS' website an annual report for the prior calendar year that includes the following information:
1. the number of youth in foster care who are aged seventeen or older; and the total number of youth in foster care who are aged seventeen or older and have a form of government-issued personal identification, disaggregated by birth certificate, social security card, state-issued identification, municipal identification, passport or other form of government-issued personal identification, the number of such youth who only possess one form of government-issued personal identification, disaggregated by the type of identification and the number of youth in foster care who obtained such identification with assistance from ACS; provided, however, that the information relating to municipal identification, passports or other forms of government-issued personal identification required by this paragraph shall be included in such report only upon required New York state approval of changes to the Discharge Checklist and PYA Checklist in a manner that reasonably allows for the collection of such information beginning with the report for the second calendar year following such approval;
2. the number of youth in foster care who were discharged with an APPLA goal; and the total number of youth with an APPLA goal who were in possession of a birth certificate, social security card, state-issued identification, municipal identification or passport at the time of discharge from foster care, disaggregated by the type of identification and the number of such youth who only possess one form of government-issued personal identification at the point of discharge, disaggregated by the type of identification; provided, however, that the information relating to municipal identification and passports required by this paragraph shall be included in such report only upon required New York state approval of changes to the Discharge Checklist and PYA Checklist in a manner that reasonably allows for the collection of such information beginning with the report for the second calendar year following such approval; and
3. a description of the actions ACS has taken in the prior calendar year to assist youth in foster care in obtaining the kinds of government-issued personal identification described in the report required by this subdivision. The reports required pursuant to this section shall remain permanently accessible on ACS' website.
(Am. L.L. 2016/141, 11/16/2016, eff. 11/16/2016)
a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
Another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA). The term "another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA)" means a permanency planning goal to assist foster care youth in their transition to self-sufficiency by connecting the youth to an adult permanency resource, equipping the youth with life skills and, upon discharge, connecting the youth with any needed community and/or specialized services.
Kinship guardianship assistance program (KinGAP). The term "kinship guardianship assistance program (KinGAP)" means the permanency and discharge outcome for children for whom a relative has become the legal guardian via court order and whereby the relative and ACS has entered into a final KinGAP agreement for a subsidy pursuant to the Kingship Guardianship Assistance Program.
b. By December 31, 2017, ACS shall submit to the speaker of the council and post on its website a five-year plan to address barriers to permanency for youth in foster care. Such plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following information:
1. A case study of a statistically significant sample of children who have spent at least two years in foster care, but no less than 5% of the total foster care population, including but not limited to the following aggregated information:
(a) Age, gender, race/ethnicity, and, if available, sexual orientation;
(b) Permanency plan, including reunification, adoption, KinGAP, APPLA, or other;
(c) The number of months in care; and
(d) Barriers to permanency, including but not limited to parental homelessness, parental relapse, parental childcare needs, education issues, family court delays, lack of permanency resources, juvenile incarceration, college enrollment, and any other barrier as determined by ACS.
2. An analysis of how ACS plans to address the systemic barriers to permanency identified during the case study required pursuant to paragraph 1.
c. The five-year plan shall be reviewed and updated by ACS annually and the updated version shall be submitted to the speaker of the council and posted online one year following the submission of the initial five-year report and annually on such date thereafter.
d. In the fifth year covered by each such five-year plan, ACS shall submit to the speaker of the council and post on its website a new five-year plan to address barriers to permanency for the next succeeding five-year period not later than six months prior to the last day of such fifth year. The previous five-year report shall remain on ACS' website when the new report is added.
e. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law relating to the privacy of information respecting youth in foster care or that would interfere with law enforcement investigations or otherwise conflict with the interests of law enforcement. If any category requested contains between 1 and 5 youth in foster care, or allows another category to be narrowed to between 1 and 5 youth in foster care, the number shall be replaced with a symbol.
(L.L. 2016/143, 11/16/2016, eff. 11/16/2016)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2016/143.
a. Commencing one year after the effective date of the local law that added this section, ACS shall provide to all youth in foster care ages 13 and older an annual survey regarding such youth's experiences with each foster care placement where the youth resided that year. For youth placed with foster parents, such surveys shall be administered in a location other than the foster parent's home, or administered online or through a mobile application. ACS shall explain the purpose of such survey to youth and shall not attribute survey responses to youth without their consent. In addition to questions, such survey shall provide space for such youth to provide ACS with any additional information they wish to share.
b. Such survey shall include but not be limited to questions addressing the following topic areas: access to food and clothing; religious practices; relationships with foster families, biological families and friends; personal allowances; education and extracurricular activities; and internet and phone access.
c. No later than six months following the first administration of the survey, and annually thereafter, ACS shall submit to the speaker of the council and post on its website aggregated data from the surveys required pursuant to this section and any steps ACS had taken in response to the information provided in such surveys.
d. Not later than 120 days after the effective date of the local law that added this section, ACS shall submit to the speaker of the council a report on its plan for the implementation of the survey required pursuant to this section.
e. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law relating to the privacy of information respecting youth in foster care or that would interfere with law enforcement investigations or otherwise conflict with the interests of law enforcement. If any category requested contains between 1 and 5 youth in foster care, or allows another category to be narrowed to between 1 and 5 youth in foster care, the number shall be replaced with a symbol.
(L.L. 2016/146, 11/16/2016, eff. 11/16/2016)
ACS shall permit youth in secure detention facilities to receive visitors including, but not limited to, a coach, teacher, clergy person or other appropriate adult, except when the facility director determines that such visits are detrimental to the youth, or that the visitors refused to comply with rules governing visitation, or the visit would not be consistent with public safety.
(L.L. 2017/172, 9/8/2017, eff. 12/10/2017)
ACS shall establish and operate a program that permits youth in secure detention facilities to communicate through video conference or substantially similar technology with family, as defined by ACS, or legal guardians, except when the facility director determines that such communication is detrimental to the youth or not consistent with public safety. Video conferences shall be held primarily for the purpose of discharge planning, treatment, and rehabilitative conversations.
(L.L. 2017/173, 9/8/2017, eff. 3/11/2019)
ACS shall conduct an internal review of the effectiveness of the current system for maintaining health records created for individuals in juvenile detention facilities including whether maintaining such records electronically would improve the current system and submit to the council, by December 31, 2017, a report including recommendations for improvements to the health records maintenance system and a timeframe for implementation of such improvements.
(L.L. 2017/169, 9/8/2017, eff. 9/8/2017)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 2017/169.
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