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Int 0081-2024

Requiring an audit and report on foster care placement notices.

IntroductionEnactedCommittee on Children and Youthintroduced 2024-02-08Local Law 2025/038

Enacted as Local Law 2025/038.

Official record · Legistar

Agenda: 2024-02-08Passed: 2025-04-11Enacted: 2025-04-11

Summary

The New York State Social Services Law and Family Court Act require that when a foster care placement changes, a social services agency or worker must provide the attorney for the child with notice of the change in placement. This bill would require the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) to conduct annual audits of foster care placement notifications. The audit would include a review of instances in which a notice was not provided as required, the time elapsed between a change in foster care placement and when the placement notice was provided, whether each notice included the information required by law, and a summary of the information that was missing from the notice. ACS would be required to report to the Mayor and the Speaker of the Council, and post on the ACS website, a report with the results of its audit from the preceding year.

Committee on Children and YouthAdministration for Children’s Services, the Division of Youth and Family Justice within the Administration for Children’s Services, Youth Board, Department of Youth and Community Development, Interagency Coordinating Council on Youth, and youth related programs.

How it compares

34% of similar bills passed

10 passed · 19 died

This bill: 397 days in committee

Similar bills: median 321 days · 211 days when passed

Sponsors (20)

Lifecycle

IntroducedIntroduced by Council
2024-02-08 · City Council
ActionReferred to Comm by Council
2024-02-08 · City Council
HeardHearing Held by Committee
2024-09-24 · Committee on Children and Youth
HeldLaid Over by Committee
2024-09-24 · Committee on Children and Youth
HeardHearing Held by Committee
2024-09-24 · Committee on Women and Gender Equity
HeldLaid Over by Committee
2024-09-24 · Committee on Women and Gender Equity
HeardHearing Held by Committee
2025-03-12 · Committee on Children and Youth
ActionAmendment Proposed by Comm
2025-03-12 · Committee on Children and Youth
ActionAmended by Committee
2025-03-12 · Committee on Children and Youth
AdvancedApproved by Committee
2025-03-12 · Committee on Children and Youth
AdvancedApproved by Council
2025-03-12 · City Council
ActionSent to Mayor by Council
2025-03-12 · City Council
AdvancedCity Charter Rule Adopted
2025-04-11 · Administration
ActionReturned Unsigned by Mayor
2025-04-14 · City Council

Votes (6)

Aye (6)
Althea V. StevensRita C. JosephLinda LeeJulie MeninChi A. OsséNantasha M. Williams

Heard at (5)

City Council · 2025-03-12 · 1:30 PM · Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee on Children and Youth · 2025-03-12 · 10:00 AM · Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee on Women and Gender Equity · 2024-09-24 · 1:00 PM · 250 Broadway - Committee Room, 16th Floor
Committee on Children and Youth · 2024-09-24 · 1:00 PM · 250 Broadway - Committee Room, 16th Floor
City Council · 2024-02-08 · 1:30 PM · Council Chambers - City Hall

Attachments (20)

Full text
Be it enacted by the Council as follows: Section 1. Chapter 9 of title 21 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 21-925 to read as follows: � 21-925 Foster care placement notices; audit and report. a. ACS shall conduct an annual random audit of 100 notices of an anticipated change in a foster care placement of a child as required by paragraph (g) of subdivision (3) of section 358-a of the social services law, subdivision (5) of section 1017 of the family court act, subdivision (j) of section 1055 of the family court act and item (H) of paragraph (vii) of subdivision (d) of section 1089 of the family court act. Such audit shall include a review of the following: 1. The number of such notices provided to the court and the attorneys for the parties, including the attorney for the child, as required by law and the number of such notices that were not provided as required by law; 2. The amount of time that elapsed between a change in a foster care placement and the provision of each such notice to the court and to the attorney for the parties, including the attorney for the child; 3. Whether each such notice included the information required by law; and 4. To the extent required information was not included in such notice, a summary of such information. b. No later than June 30, 2026, and annually thereafter, ACS shall submit to the mayor and the speaker of the council, and shall post conspicuously on the ACS website, a report for the immediately preceding year with the results of the audit required by subdivision a. Such report shall be based on the audit findings and include the following: 1. The number of instances in which a placement change notice was required but such notice was not provided; 2. The number of placement change notices provided, disaggregated by the number of days before or after the change in placement; 3. The number of emergency placement changes made, disaggregated by the number of notices conducted within 24 hours of such change and the number of notices provided 24 hours or more after such change; 4. The number of notices provided that included all required information; and 5. The number of notices provided that did not include all required information, disaggregated by the category of information that was missing; such categories shall include, but not be limited to, the information relating to the date of the placement change; the foster care agency; the foster care agency contact information; and the ACS attorney contact information. c. No report required by subdivision a of this section shall contain personally identifiable information. If a category contains between 1 and 5 children, or contains a number that would allow another category that contains between 1 and 5 children to be deduced, the number shall be replaced with a symbol. A category that contains zero shall be reported as zero, unless such reporting would violate any applicable provision of federal, state or local law relating to the privacy of child information. � 2. This local law takes effect immediately. Session 13 LS #8657 3/4/2025 7:41PM Session 12 RCC LS #8657 5/02/22 3 2