N.Y. Social Services Law § 481-e: William B

§ 481-e. William B. Hoyt Memorial children and family trust fund;

awarding of grants. 1. The commissioner is hereby authorized to issue

grants from funds credited to the William B. Hoyt Memorial children and

family trust fund as provided in section four hundred eighty-one-f of

this article to public agencies or not-for-profit corporations for the

purpose of establishing or extending any or all of the following:

(a) primary prevention programs;

(b) secondary prevention programs;

(c) programs which provide services to victims of family violence,

such as establishing temporary shelters and other emergency services;

programs which provide or facilitate counseling, or other appropriate

follow-up services to victims and their family or household members; and

any other program deemed helpful in the treatment of victims of family

violence.

2. (a) Funds shall be awarded in the following manner: forty percent

for local child abuse prevention or family resource and support

programs, forty percent for local domestic violence prevention or

service programs and twenty percent for regional or statewide family

violence prevention programs; provided, however, that any unexpended

portion of such twenty percent as allocated shall be made available for

local family violence prevention programs and provided further, however,

that in determining the eligibility of any regional or statewide family

violence prevention program or of any local family violence prevention

program for any part of such unexpended portion, the commissioner shall

give first consideration to those programs which combine both child

abuse prevention and domestic violence prevention.

(b) For a program which combines child abuse prevention and domestic

violence prevention, the commissioner shall predetermine, to the extent

feasible, the percentage of concentration for each within such program

and shall apportion the total amount awarded between such forty percent

allocation in the same proportion.

3. No moneys from the fund established pursuant to section four

hundred eighty-one-f of this article shall be granted for services

mandated under this chapter. Funds awarded to not-for-profit

corporations or public agencies pursuant to the provisions of

subdivision one of this section shall not be used to supplant other

federal, state or local funds.

4. The commissioner, with the advice and recommendations of the

William B. Hoyt Memorial children and family trust fund advisory board,

shall issue requests for proposals and specify methods to evaluate the

effectiveness of proposed programs. Such evaluation shall include but

not be limited to the following:

(a) appropriate accounting and fiscal control procedures which shall

include the filing of an annual financial statement by each provider so

as to ensure the proper disbursement and accounting for funds received

by public agencies and not-for-profit corporations for services; and

(b) appropriate written records regarding the population served and

type and extent of services rendered by the provider; and

(c) confidentiality standards in conformance with appropriate federal

and state standards so as to ensure the confidentiality of records of

persons receiving services; and

(d) nature and quality of services provided and impacts upon the

populations and communities served.

5. The commissioner shall solicit and shall select proposals for the

provision of services funded pursuant to this act. Public agencies and

not-for-profit corporations shall be eligible for purposes of

application for grants provided for herein and subject to any rules and

regulations promulgated pursuant to subdivision four of this section.

6. The commissioner, with the advice of the William B. Hoyt Memorial

children and family trust fund advisory board, shall publicize the

availability of funds to be used for purposes of this section. The

commissioner shall request, on prescribed forms, information determined

to be necessary and relevant for the evaluation of each application. The

commissioner may solicit comments on the applications from concerned

individuals and agencies. Applications for local grants shall be

submitted to the local commissioner of social services and to the local

youth bureau in the locality in which the program will operate and

applicants for local grants shall solicit comments on the application

from such local commissioner of social services and such local youth

bureau prior to submitting such application to the commissioner.

Applicants shall inform the local commissioner of social services and

the local youth bureau that their comments upon the application may be

submitted either to the applicant or to the commissioner or to both. The

commissioner shall give full consideration to any such comments received

within twenty-one days after the application deadline and shall review

the applications in relation to relevant local plans before approving or

disapproving such applications. The commissioner shall inform the local

commissioner of social services and the local youth bureau of the final

disposition of the applications. No grant award shall be for a period in

excess of twelve months unless renewed by the commissioner, with the

advice of the advisory board. The initial grant and the first year

renewal, if any, shall not exceed one hundred percent of the cost of

providing the service. The third year grant, if any, shall not exceed

seventy-five percent of the initial grant. The fourth year grant and any

grant thereafter, if any, shall not exceed fifty percent of the initial

grant. No program shall receive funding after the fourth year unless the

commissioner, annually, finds that the program effectively prevents

family violence or provides a necessary service to victims of family

violence.

7. Pursuant to subdivision one of this section, the commissioner shall

ensure that grants are awarded evenly across the state with

consideration given to geographic areas with the greatest need and that

priority is given to programs:

(a) which are innovative; or

(b) of demonstrated effectiveness; and/or

(c) illustrates the capacity to coordinate with established community

programs; and/or

(d) which can demonstrate a potential for future financial

self-sufficiency.

8. The commissioner with the advice and recommendations of the William

B. Hoyt Memorial children and family trust fund advisory board shall

submit a report prior to the fifteenth day of December beginning in

nineteen hundred eighty-five and annually thereafter to the governor and

the legislature regarding the implementation and evaluation of the

effectiveness of prevention and treatment services related to family

violence. Prior to submitting such reports to the governor and the

legislature, the commissioner shall permit the William B. Hoyt Memorial

children and family trust fund advisory board to review and comment upon

such reports. Such report shall include:

(a) the number of persons estimated to have been assisted in programs

covered by this section;

(b) the number, recipients and amounts of grants to public agencies

and not-for-profit corporations;

(c) the amount of public and private funds used for approved programs

by service type;

(d) the amount of funds used for the administration of such services;

(e) a description of the nature and quality of services provided and

the impact upon the populations and communities served and their

potential for being replicated elsewhere;

(f) a description of how the moneys of the fund collected pursuant to

section six hundred thirty-g of the tax law were utilized during the

preceding calendar year, including information concerning:

(i) the amount of money disbursed from the fund and the distribution

process used for such disbursements;

(ii) recipients of the expenses from the fund;

(iii) the amount allotted to each;

(iv) the purposes for which such distributions were granted; and

(v) a summary financial plan for such monies which shall include

estimates of all receipts and all disbursements for the current and

succeeding fiscal years; and

(g) all such other matters as may be necessary to inform the governor

and the legislature regarding the implementation and evaluation of the

effectiveness of programs covered by this section and the success of

such programs in accomplishing the intent of the legislature.