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Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) |
Adjusted Executive Legislative
Approp. Request Approp.
2000-01 2001-02 2001-02 Change
STATE OPERATIONS
General Fund 253,388,100 258,472,000 222,287,504 (36,184,496)
Special Rev.-Fed. 113,364,000 82,248,000 57,248,000 (25,000,000)
Special Rev.-Other 110,425,000 124,426,000 124,426,000 0
Fiduciary 3,242,000 3,225,000 3,225,000 0
Enterprise 500,000 500,000 500,000 0
Internal Service Fund 100,000 100,000 100,000 0
Total for Agency: 481,019,100 468,971,000 407,786,504 (61,184,496)
Total Contingency: 2,100,000 2,100,000 2,100,000 0
Total for
STATE OPERATIONS: 483,119,100 471,071,000 409,886,504 (61,184,496)
AID TO LOCALITIES
General Fund 1,071,313,769 1,107,594,000 1,145,104,000 37,510,000
Special Rev.-Fed. 1,777,890,000 1,703,908,000 1,887,908,000 184,000,000
Special Rev.-Other 21,000,000 15,000,000 15,000,000 0
Fiduciary 3,530,000 3,530,000 3,530,000 0
Total for
AID TO LOCALITIES: 2,873,733,769 2,830,032,000 3,051,542,000 221,510,000
Capital Projects Fund 44,800,000 95,450,000 62,650,000 (32,800,000)
Total for
CAPITAL PROJECTS: 44,800,000 95,450,000 62,650,000 (32,800,000)
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Agency Mission The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), authorized by Chapter 436 of the Laws of 1997, was created to enhance the delivery of services to children and families. Among its primary objectives is the provision of a system of support to help families provide their children with safe, permanent homes. In carrying out this mission, the Office administers a broad range of programs and services including: child protective services, preventive services, foster care, and adoption services; child care programs; and adolescent pregnancy prevention programs. The agency also administers domestic violence programs, adult services programs, and services to the blind and visually handicapped. In addition, OCFS is responsible for the operation of all former Division for Youth (DFY) residential and non-residential services, including juvenile delinquency prevention programs. Year-to-Year Change The Executive proposes a total All Funds appropriation in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2001-02 of $3,394,453,000, a decrease of $5,099,869 or 0.15 percent from SFY 2000-01. On an All Funds basis, the Executive recommends total appropriations of $468,971,000 for State Operations representing a net decrease of $12,048,100 or 2.50 percent. The Executive recommends total appropriations of $2,830,032,000 for Aid to Localities on an All Funds basis, a decrease of $43,701,769 or 1.52 percent from SFY 2000-01. Capital Projects funding of $95,450,000 proposed by the Executive for SFY 2001-02 reflects a projected increase of $50,650,000, or 113.06 percent, largely related to the construction of a new secure detention facility. Legislative Changes
The Executive recommends the construction of a new, 300-bed residential facility to replace the Harlem Valley Secure Center, in which the current population census is significantly below the number of beds that would be constructed in the proposed facility. The Assembly rejects funding for the construction of this new facility due to failure to close on the sale of the property and inadequate information regarding construction plans, including the lack of site selection for the new facility, as well as inconsistent data supporting the need for construction of a new secure detention facility of this capacity.
The Assembly rejects all new General Fund support in State Fiscal Year 2001-02 for the State Automated Child Welfare Information System (CONNECTIONS) project due to ongoing problems with the system's functionality despite the infusion of additional funding in prior years.
The Assembly eliminates the CONNECTIONS Federal account due to inadequate information regarding the amount of Federal participation on this project, the status of pending approvals, loss of funds that have already been claimed and penalties for failure to meet Federal reporting requirements.
Based on historical experience, the Assembly projects the Agency will have an unspent balance of $2,384,496 in nonpersonal services that is taken as savings.
The Assembly proposes the maximum allowable transfer of funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant in the Office of Temporary and Disabiity Assistance to the Child Care Block Grant in OCFS. Legislative Proposals Equity and Access to Child Care The availability of safe, reliable, and affordable child care gives parents the opportunity to seek and to retain employment, and serves to enhance children's cognitive and social development. Child care is both a major concern and expense for working families; thus, improving the affordability, quality and accessibility of child care are goals of the Assembly. In SFY 2001-02, the Assembly proposes $184,000,000 in additional funding for child care to be transferred to the Child Care Block Grant within the Office of Children and Family Services from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant in the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Of this amount, the Assembly proposes $169,000,000 together with the withdrawal of an additional $8,000,000 from the Child Care Reserve Fund, for a total $177,000,000 to support additional low-income child care subsidies and an increase in the income threshold to reach families with incomes at or below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty level. Equally as important as child care that is affordable and accessible is the reliability and quality of such child care. Therefore, the Assembly proposes that the remaining $15 million in new TANF funding be used for wage enhancements for child care workers to strengthen recruitment and to encourage professional development and retention of child care staff through extension of the Child Care Professional Retention Program. In addition, the Assembly proposes continued development of child care capacity by providing $30,000,000 in capital funding for the Child Care Facilities Development Program to support the construction of new child care centers, as well as the expansion and renovation of existing centers. The Assembly also proposes the creation of a three-member child care facilities development board that would be charged, with the authority to oversee the administration of the Child Care Facilities Development Program. This three-member panel would provide advice and consent on final approval for all grants awarded under the Program to insure that completed projects will serve the needs of low-income working families and effectively address demonstrated need for additional child care capacity throughout the State. Child Welfare Financing The Assembly recognizes that the method by which child welfare services are financed must support a partnership between Federal, State and local governments. Over the last six years, the existing funding methodology threatened that partnership, as well as government's ability to maintain the quality of services it provides children and families in crisis. In SFY 1995-96, the Legislature approved the creation of the Family and Children's Services Block Grant. The Block Grant consolidated State reimbursement for child welfare services and promised increased flexibility in their delivery. From its creation and regardless of service demands, the State's participation was limited to the level appropriated annually in the Block Grant. The Block Grant is scheduled to expire on March 31, 2001. The future funding of child welfare services after that date, as well as any programmatic and administrative changes to the delivery of child welfare services, are priorities for the Assembly. A shift from long-term, expensive reactions to the crises faced by vulnerable children and families to less costly preventive, community-based approaches with measurable outcomes remains an Assembly goal. Accordingly, the Assembly proposes to replace the Family and Children's Services Block Grant with a methodology that provides 50 percent State reimbursement for foster care services and 65 percent reimbursement for child protective, preventive, independent living, after care and adoption services, other than adoption subsidies. Beginning in 2004, any social services district that has successfully achieved permanency for children in foster care, at prescribed levels, will receive 75 percent reimbursement for these preventive services. The proposal also addresses the need to increase the quality and availability of child welfare services through a shift to an outcome based system of accountability and the creation of the State Commission on Quality of Care for Children. The Commission would monitor the quality of foster care placements, inspect foster care facilities, and review complaints of abuse and neglect of children in foster care. In addition, the Commission would have the authority to complete a comprehensive review of the efficacy of the current standards of payment system which governs reimbursement to local social services districts. The Assembly recommends $500,000 to support the Commission, as well as an additional $4,000,000, effective October 1, 2001, to assist local social services districts in meeting caseload standards recommended by the Child Welfare League of America. The Assembly further proposes $16,950,000 in additional General Fund appropriations to improve the availability, accessibility and quality of services for children and families at risk of negative outcomes. Of this increase, the Assembly proposes $15,000,000, effective October 1, 2001, to encourage the recruitment and retention of child welfare professionals for salary enhancements to direct care workers in voluntary agencies. Also part of this new General Fund support is $1,500,000 for caseworker education and training for county and not-for-profit agency staff, $300,000 to provide cultural competency training to child welfare service workers, and $150,000 to support domestic violence training for child protective service workers. Funds appropriated for these training modules are expected to leverage additional Federal funding. Child Welfare Initiatives The Assembly adds $8,360,000 in additional General Fund appropriations to support various initiatives designed to promote self-sufficient families. Of this increase, $2,360,000 is provided to restore funding to existing settlement houses and to establish the Amadou Diallo Welcome House, a multiple service settlement house. The remaining $6,000,000 is targeted to family preservation centers, the William B. Hoyt Memorial Children and Family Trust Fund, technical assistance and start-up funding for minority foster care and adoption agencies, and to enhance program services to runaway and homeless youth. The Assembly proposes $36,000,000 in additional funding for children and family services to be transferred to the Office of Children and Family Services from the TANF Block Grant in the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Of this amount, $33,000,000 will maintain support for integrated programs that build community capacity to provide intensive case management for families affected by substance abuse and foster care diversion. These programs are funded in SFY 2000-01 and are administered by the OCFS and the Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS). The remaining $3,000,000 will provide support for caretaker relatives, and programs that strengthen families by helping low-income, non-custodial parents, particularly fathers with low skill levels, poor work histories, and/or substance abuse problems, to assume greater responsibility for the care and support of their children. The Assembly also proposes a $10,000,000 bonded appropriation to establish the Child Welfare Facility Improvement Fund for the rehabilitation, renovation and construction of facilities in the child welfare system, to ensure the health and safety of children in foster care and to provide a continuum of residential options for children placed with not-for-profit and voluntary agencies. CONNECTIONS The CONNECTIONS computer system is the State's response to Federal recommendations to establish a statewide automated child welfare information system (SACWIS). It is intended to track the children and families who enter and receive services in the child welfare system. Over the last six years, however, CONNECTIONS, has been in a perpetual state of development and escalating costs. While it is not uncommon for information technology contracts to require certain modifications and increases, the project's two major contracts have grown over time by 167 percent and 53 percent, which together represents an overall increase of 90 percent in the project's costs. The development and ultimate completion of an efficient data system that can validly and reliably maintain records, and that can be used to measure performance outcomes, is of the highest priority for the Assembly. Without the assurance that the current project can deliver such a product, the Assembly denies additional funding for CONNECTIONS in SFY 2001-02. Juvenile Justice and Youth Programs Programs that operate when school is not in session can provide children and youth not only with a safe, supervised refuge, but also with an opportunity to broaden their cognitive and social skills. Ensuring that children and youth are engaged in constructive activities during after-school hours, school breaks and summer vacation is a major priority for the Assembly. Therefore, the Assembly proposes an additional $5,000,000 from the General Fund for delinquency prevention programs to help mitigate the circumstances that can lead to juvenile crime. The Assembly also provides $2,000,000 in TANF funds to support demonstration programs that provide services to persons alleged to be in need of supervision to divert them from the custody of the State or local social services districts, and for projects that provide intensive, after care services to youth discharged from OCFS residential facilities to ensure their effective reintegration into the community and to reduce recidivism. An additional $500,000 in General Fund support is provided for treatment and monitoring of substance abuse dependent youth in the custody of the OCFS. Community Residential Homes are residential placements that function as brief transitional programs for youth returning to their communities. This type of placement helps facilitate the successful reintegration into the community for youth who are not ready to return or will not be returning home. The Executive proposes savings through the conversion of twelve Community Residential Homes to Evening Reporting Centers. Evening reporting centers are alternatives to residential placement in which youth reside in their homes while receiving supervision and services. For youth who cannot return home, this is not a viable alternative. Therefore, the Assembly rejects this proposal and restores $800,000 associated with 12 full time equivalent (FTE) positions that would have been eliminated by the conversion. The Assembly rejects the Executive's proposal to permit the OCFS to transfer 16 and 17 year old juvenile offenders to the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) through an administrative procedure rather than returning the matter to the sentencing court. The Assembly also rejects the Executive's proposal to authorize the OCFS to impose fiscal sanctions on youth detention facilities that do not comply with regulations governing secure and non-secure detention programs, and to promulgate regulations establishing standards of payment for care, maintenance and supervision provided to youth in detention facilities.
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