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a. The commissioner shall establish, maintain and operate housing-readiness training for all eligible homeless persons determined to be in need of such training. This training shall include such subjects as the commissioner shall determine are necessary to enable such eligible homeless persons to acquire the skills necessary for adjustment to and remaining in permanent housing. On or before December 31, 1995, the commissioner shall promulgate a housing-readiness training plan to be used in such training as shall be established, maintained and operated pursuant to this section. Beginning on December 31, 1995, such housing-readiness training shall be available no less frequently than on a quarterly basis.
b. The commissioner shall establish, maintain and operate aftercare programs to assist eligible homeless persons who have been placed in permanent housing to adjust to and remain in such housing. The commissioner shall determine the period for which such eligible homeless persons may remain in aftercare programs. For the purposes of this section, aftercare shall be defined to include, but not be limited to, follow-up case management services and assisting formerly eligible homeless persons who have been placed in permanent housing to access needed services in their communities.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/051 and L.L. 1995/075.
a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
Housing specialist. The term "housing specialist" means a case manager or other staff of the department, or of a provider under contract or similar agreement with the department, assigned to work in transitional housing facilities in order to help clients in such facilities secure appropriate housing.
Transitional housing facility. The term "transitional housing facility" means a shelter placement for families with children, adult families, single adults, or veterans managed by the department or a provider under contract or similar agreement with the department.
b. Training and supervision of housing specialists. The department shall designate housing specialists to serve in each transitional housing facility. Where housing specialists are placed in transitional housing facilities and are employed by not-for-profit or for-profit operators of such facilities, the commissioner shall establish a training program for such housing specialists which shall include, but not be limited to, establishing expertise in the various housing programs to which eligible homeless persons may be referred and proper case management techniques. The commissioner shall develop definite program goals and timetables by which the commissioner shall assess the performance of housing specialists in matching as expeditiously as possible eligible homeless persons with available housing resources.
c. Reporting on housing specialists. No later than January 15, 2024, and no later than January 15 annually thereafter, the department shall submit to the speaker of the council and post on its website a report regarding information on housing specialists. Such report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the number of transitional housing facilities, disaggregated by district and type of transitional housing facility; (ii) the number of housing specialists within all transitional housing facilities, disaggregated by district and type of transitional housing facility; (iii) the average caseload of housing specialists within each transitional housing facility; and (iv) the goals and timetables by which the commissioner shall assess the performance of housing specialists. No information that is required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported if doing so would violate any applicable provision of federal, state, or local law relating to the privacy, confidentiality, use, or disclosure of that information, or if there are fewer than 5 data points in the reporting cohorts. If there are fewer than 5 data points, the report shall designate this with an asterisk in place of the data point.
(Am. L.L. 2023/045, 4/16/2023, eff. 8/14/2023)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/051 and L.L. 1995/075.
In order to ensure that the delivery of services provided by the department to eligible homeless persons is efficiently coordinated with the services provided by the department of social services to such persons, the commissioner shall, to the maximum extent possible and in conformance with federal and state confidentially laws, develop computer systems which can easily access and share data with department of social services computer systems regarding such persons. The commissioner may appoint an interagency computer liaison to facilitate such interagency communication and information sharing.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/051 and L.L. 1995/075.
The commissioner shall establish, in conjunction with the department of housing preservation and development and the New York city housing authority, a permanent housing resource clearinghouse to coordinate and track such permanent housing resources as may be approved as available to eligible homeless persons.
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/051 and L.L. 1995/075.
There shall be a continuum of care steering committee, which shall be responsible for providing advice to the commissioner on implementation of the requirements of the homeless emergency assistance and rapid transition to housing act of 2009, codified in chapter 119 of title 42 of the United States code, and any regulations promulgated pursuant to such act. The steering committee shall be created pursuant to section 578.5 of title 24 of the code of federal regulations and shall at a minimum include at least one member who is currently or formerly homeless. The members of the steering committee shall be representative of the relevant organizations and of projects serving homeless subpopulations. The members of the steering committee shall serve without compensation. The steering committee shall submit its advice to the commissioner, or his or her designee, in person or in writing, on a quarterly basis. The commissioner, or his or her designee, shall meet with the steering committee regularly.
(Am. L.L. 2017/207, 11/17/2017, eff. 11/17/2017)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/051 and L.L. 1995/075.
a. There shall be an interagency coordinating council established by the mayor which shall consist of representatives of each city agency providing transitional housing or services to eligible homeless persons and other homeless individuals and families. Such interagency coordinating council shall include, but shall not be limited to, representatives of the department of homeless services, the department of social services/the human resources administration, including at least one representative who works in housing for individuals with HIV/AIDS, housing for victims of domestic violence, and supportive housing, the department of housing preservation and development, the department of youth and community development, the administration for children's services, the department of education, the department of health and mental hygiene, and such other agencies as the mayor shall designate. The mayor shall designate a deputy mayor to serve as chairperson of the interagency coordinating council. The commissioner of the department of homeless services shall provide appropriate personnel to assist the interagency coordinating council in the performance of its functions. Representatives of the New York city housing authority and of the office to end domestic and gender-based violence may serve on the interagency coordinating council, and the chairperson of the interagency coordinating council or his or her designee shall notify such agencies of their ability to serve.
b. The interagency coordinating council shall:
1. not later than October 1, 2018, and each year thereafter, prepare, in consultation with the office of management and budget, an annual breakdown of each member agency's expenditures for housing and services to the homeless in the adopted budget;
2. review the organization and operations of member agencies with respect to contracted service providers to the homeless, including service delivery, management and evaluation of performance;
3. recommend means by which the fragmentation of the provision of housing for, and delivery of services to, the homeless may be reduced and the efficiency, effectiveness and economy of service delivery may be enhanced;
4. consider proposals for the improvement of transitional and permanent housing programs and service delivery to the homeless; and
5. recommend to the mayor and the city council joint agency projects or programs which could facilitate more efficient use of existing resources.
c. The interagency coordinating council shall meet at least quarterly and shall hold at least one public hearing annually, at which public testimony shall be taken. A report on each such public hearing shall be submitted in writing to the speaker of the city council within ten days of the date on which such public hearing was held. Where the interagency coordinating council fails to hold such meetings or public hearings as required pursuant to this subdivision, a report shall be submitted in writing to the speaker of the city council including an explanation of the failure to hold such meetings or public hearings.
d. No later than January 1, 2018, and every January 1 thereafter, the interagency coordinating council shall submit an annual report to the speaker of the council and the mayor containing the interagency coordinating council's recommendations as developed pursuant to subdivision b of this section. Such report shall be posted on the department's website. The reports required pursuant to this section shall remain permanently available on the department's website.
(Am. L.L. 2017/207, 11/17/2017, eff. 11/17/2017; Am. L.L. 2019/038, 2/24/2019, eff. 2/24/2019)
Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1993/051 and L.L. 1995/075.
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