N.Y. Executive Law § 532-e: Powers and duties of the office of children and family services

§ 532-e. Powers and duties of the office of children and family

services. The office of children and family services shall: 1. visit,

inspect and make periodic reports on the operation and adequacy of

approved runaway programs and transitional independent living support

programs;

2. certify residential facilities providing care to runaway and/or

homeless youth, provided, however, that no certification shall be issued

or renewed until it can be demonstrated that a program operated pursuant

to this article has consistent with appropriate collective bargaining

agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law, developed

and implemented a procedure for reviewing and evaluating the backgrounds

of and the information supplied by any person applying to be an

employee, volunteer or consultant, which shall include but not be

limited to the following requirements: that the applicants set forth his

or her employment history, provide personal and employment references

and sign a sworn statement indicating whether the applicant, to the best

of his or her knowledge, has ever been convicted of a crime in this

state or any other jurisdiction;

3. maintain a register of approved runaway programs, transitional

independent living support programs and runaway and homeless youth

service coordinators;

4. submit to the governor and legislature an annual report detailing

the numbers and characteristics of runaway and otherwise homeless youth

throughout the state and their problems and service needs;

5. develop and promulgate in consultation with county youth bureaus

and organizations or programs which have had past experience dealing

with runaway and homeless youth, regulations concerning the coordination

and integration of services available for runaway and otherwise homeless

youth and prohibiting the disclosure or transferal of any records

containing the identity of individual youth receiving services pursuant

to this section, without the written consent of the youth;

6. develop and promulgate regulations in consultation with the office

of temporary and disability assistance concerning the provision of

services by transitional independent living support programs consistent

with the provisions of this article;

7. require all employees of approved programs providing care to

runaway and/or homeless youth to complete training as set forth in

regulations promulgated by the office. Such training shall require all

employees of such residential facilities to receive instruction as

specified by the office in the regulations, except where an employee has

already received training which would satisfy such requirements, and

shall, at a minimum, include instruction in issues pertaining to

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth with particular emphasis

on:

(a) appropriate terminology;

(b) particular challenges for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender

runaway and homeless youth, including why lesbian, gay, bisexual, and

transgender youth are disproportionately homeless;

(c) how to address homophobia or transphobia from other youth at the

shelter;

(d) confidentiality in the cases of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and

transgender youth; and

(e) how to address the families of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and

transgender youth; and

8. in conjunction with the commissioner of education, develop and

annually review a plan to ensure coordination and access to education

for homeless children, in accordance with the provisions of section

thirty-two hundred nine of the education law, and monitor compliance of

residential programs for runaway and homeless youth with such plan.