N.Y. Public Health Law § 2515-a: Administration

§ 2515-a. Administration. 1. The department is authorized to request

and receive community service project plans, as defined in section

twenty-five hundred fifteen-b of this title. Such projects shall be

limited to a twelve month duration but may, with the approval of such

department, be renewed for additional periods based on demonstrated

effectiveness, need, and availability of funds. The department shall

offer technical assistance to applicants for and operators of community

service projects. Technical assistance shall be provided for, but shall

not be limited to, the following activities: development of community

service plans, overall program planning, contract development,

budgeting, and designing local client-specific data collection systems.

2. The department shall review such community service project plans.

The commissioner, within appropriations made therefor, may approve such

plans for funding in accordance with the provisions of this title. In

approving or disapproving the funding of such plans, the commissioner

shall only approve projects which meet the requirements set forth in

section twenty-five hundred fifteen-b of this title which demonstrate

clear coordinating activities with local social services districts and

other available city, school, county, state or federally funded programs

and shall give priority to projects which:

(a) stress the development and expansion of primary prevention

programs aimed at decreasing the incidence of adolescent pregnancy, and

the establishment of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to prevent

initial and repeated pregnancy and to deal more effectively with the

consequences associated with adolescent parenting;

(b) serve a geographic area where there is a large number of eligible

adolescents, or a high rate of adolescent pregnancy;

(c) serve a geographic area where the incidence of infant mortality,

low birth weight infants, childhood obesity and the prevalence of

low-income families are high and where the availability or accessibility

of services for eligible adolescents is low;

(d) utilize existing community resources; and

(e) maximize the use of federal, or other state, private and local

resources.