Section 21-901.
§ 21-901. Definitions.
Whenever used in this chapter, the terms set forth below are defined
as follows:
"Abused child" means a child or youth who has been subjected to
"physical abuse," "sexual abuse" and/or "psychological abuse" as defined
in section four hundred eighty-eight of the New York state social
services law while in the custody of ACS.
"ACS" means the administration for children's services, or any
successor agency charged with operating the city's child welfare system.
"Bias-based incidents" means incidents, including fights or
altercations between a child and another child or staff, that arose in
whole or in part due to a child's perceived or actual sexual
orientation, gender expression or gender identity, as reported by such
child.
"Case worker" means a diagnostic child protective specialist assigned
to a zone.
"Child" means "youth" as defined in this section.
"Commissioner" means the commissioner of ACS.
"Detention" means the temporary care and maintenance of youth held:
1. away from their homes pursuant to article three or seven of the
family court act; or
2. pending a hearing for an alleged violation of the conditions of
release from the New York state office of children and family services
or ACS facility or authorized agency; or
3. pending a hearing for an alleged violation of a condition of parole
as a juvenile offender; or
4. pending a return to a jurisdiction other than the one in which the
youth is held; or
5. pursuant to a securing order of a criminal court if the youth named
therein as principal is charged as a juvenile offender; or
6. pending a hearing on an extension of placement; or
7. pending transfer to a facility upon commitment or placement by a
court.
"Detention facility" means a facility, certified by the New York state
office of children and family services, for the care of youth detained
in accordance with the provisions of the family court act, regulations
of the New York state office of children and family services, and the
criminal procedure law.
"Entry order" means an order entered pursuant to subdivision two of
section ten hundred thirty-four of the family court act to enter
specific premises where there is probable cause to believe an abused or
neglected child may be found.
"Fiscal year" means the fiscal year for the city of New York.
"IRT investigation" means an instant response team investigation
conducted pursuant to the Administration for Children's Services and Law
Enforcement Instant Response Teams Protocol dated February 1998 or any
protocol hereafter promulgated that sets forth guidelines for the use of
interdisciplinary instant response teams.
"Limited secure placement facility" means a placement facility
characterized by physically restricting construction, hardware and
procedures which are less restrictive than the construction, hardware
and procedures of a secure placement facility.
"Mechanical restraint" means the use of a mechanical device to
restrict the movement or normal function of a portion of a child's body,
including but not limited to, handcuffs, leg cuffs, daisy chains or
waist restraint.
"Neglected child" means a child or youth who has been subjected to
neglect as defined in section four hundred eighty-eight of the New York
state social services law while in the custody of ACS.
"Non-secure detention or placement facility" means a detention or
placement facility characterized by the absence of physically
restricting construction, hardware and procedures.
"Physical injury or impairment" means any confirmed harm, hurt or
damage resulting in a significant worsening or diminution of a child's
physical condition.
"Physical restraint" means the use of bodily force to limit a child's
freedom of movement during a physical confrontation or to prevent a
confrontation.
"Placement" means the temporary care and maintenance of adjudicated
youth held away from their homes pursuant to article three of the family
court act.
"Placement facility" means a facility, certified by the New York state
office of children and family services, for the care of youth placed in
accordance with the provisions of the family court act and the
regulations of the New York state office of children and family
services.
"Room confinement" means the confinement of a child in a room,
including but not limited to the child's own room, when locked or when
the child is authoritatively told not to leave.
"Secure detention or placement facility" means a detention or
placement facility characterized by physically restricting construction,
hardware and procedures.
"Youth" means a person who resides in a juvenile detention or
placement facility in the custody of ACS.
"Zone" means one of no fewer than 13 divisions of ACS child protective
services headed by a deputy director who exercises oversight over the
work of child protective managers, supervisors and child protective
specialists in a specific geographic area, or the Office of Confidential
Investigations.
Section 21-902.
§ 21-902. Quarterly Reports Regarding Child Welfare System. Beginning
no later than July 31, 2006 and no later than the last day of the month
following each calendar quarter thereafter, ACS will furnish to the
speaker of the city council a report regarding New York City's child
welfare system that includes, at a minimum, the following information:
1. Child protective services. The following information regarding
child protective services shall be included in the quarterly report,
disaggregated by zone:
a. number of case workers employed and number of vacancies in case
work staff at the end of the reporting period;
b. experience of case workers, broken down by years of experience in
New York City's child welfare system as follows: 1-3 years of
experience; 3-5 years of experience; 5-7 years of experience; 7-9 years
of experience; 9 or more years of experience;
c. average caseload of case workers;
d. number of case workers with a caseload of more than 15 cases;
e. number of level one supervisors;
f. experience of level one supervisors, broken down by years of
experience in New York City's child welfare system as follows: number
with 1-5 years of experience; 5-10 years of experience; 10-15 years of
experience; 15-20 years of experience; 20 or more years of experience;
g. number of level two supervisors;
h. experience of level two supervisors, broken down by years of
experience in New York City's child welfare system as follows: number
with 1-5 years of experience; 5-10 years of experience; 10-15 years of
experience; 15-20 years of experience; 20 or more years of experience;
i. number of child protective managers;
j. experience of child protective managers, broken down by years of
experience in New York City's child welfare system as follows: number
with 1-5 years of experience; 5-10 years of experience; 10-15 years of
experience; 15-20 years of experience; 20 or more years of experience;
k. number of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect referred to
the zone for investigation, disaggregated by the type of case;
l. number of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect referred to
the zone for investigation that were indicated during the reporting
period, disaggregated by the type of case and whether the case was
referred to preventive services, court mandated services, foster care
placement or closed;
m. number of unfounded cases, disaggregated by whether or not the case
was referred to preventive services;
n. number of investigations that resulted in closure without referral
to preventive services, disaggregated by the type of case and whether
the case was indicated or unfounded and the reason for closure;
o. number of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect referred to
the zone that involved a family with respect to which ACS had received
at least one prior report of suspected abuse or neglect within the past
24 months, disaggregated by the type of case;
p. number of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect referred to
the zone that involved a family that had at least one child previously
in the foster care system, disaggregated by the type of case;
q. number of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect referred to
protective services for which protective services conducted a 72-hour
case conference, disaggregated by the type of case;
r. number of reports of suspected child abuse or neglect referred to
protective services for which an elevated risk conference was held,
disaggregated by the type of case;
s. number of IRT investigations commenced; and
t. number of entry orders sought and number of entry orders obtained.
2. Family Reunification. The following information regarding family
reunification shall be provided in the quarterly report:
a. number of families reunited from foster care during the reporting
period, disaggregated by zone and by length of stay in foster care in
six month intervals;
b. of all families reunited during the reporting period, the number of
families receiving aftercare services, disaggregated by zone and by the
type of services being received; and
c. number of children who entered foster care during the reporting
period who had been in the custody of the child welfare system within
the thirty-six months immediately preceding the reporting period,
disaggregated by zone.
3. ACS may use preliminary data to prepare the report required by this
chapter to be delivered no later than July 31, 2006 and may include an
acknowledgement that any preliminary data used in the report is
non-final and subject to change.
Section 21-903.
§ 21-903. Annual Reports. Within 45 days after the end of each
calendar year, ACS will publish and make available on its website an
annual report compiling information provided in all quarterly reports
required by this chapter for the prior calendar year.
Section 21-904
* § 21-904 Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Plan within the
Administration for Children's Services. a. ACS shall designate an
individual or individuals responsible for creating and implementing a
new comprehensive plan to provide services to children in contact with
ACS who may be deemed eligible for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status
("SIJS") or other immigration benefits. Such plan shall, at a minimum,
systemize how ACS, with assistance from foster care agencies, (i)
identifies the country of birth, to the extent practicable, of children
in contact with ACS; (ii) identifies all children within ACS, as early
as possible, who may qualify for SIJS or other immigration benefits;
(iii) tracks such children, to the extent practicable and consistent
with client confidentiality requirements, until the completion of their
SIJS or other immigration relief; (iv) assists such children, as soon as
they are identified, in obtaining the immigration services they need,
including birth certificates if they do not possess them; and (v)
provides mandatory training programs on immigration benefits, including
SIJS, for appropriate ACS and contract agency case workers and staff.
b. Reporting. 1. Six months from the effective date of this local law,
ACS shall submit the plan to the city council. 2. The plan shall include
detailed descriptions of (i) how ACS will accomplish a(i)-(v) above;
(ii) the structure and operation of the ACS offices that will have
responsibility for identifying, tracking and ensuring the referral of
youths for SIJS or other immigration benefits; (iii) the number and type
of positions within ACS that will have responsibility for identifying,
tracking and ensuring the referral of youths for SIJS or other
immigration benefits, including whether each such position is full or
part time and temporary or permanent; (iv) program standards for
contract agencies regarding SIJS identification and coordination of
immigration services; (v) ACS's mechanisms and indicators for monitoring
its own and contract agencies' compliance with and achievements under
the plan; and (vi) ACS's method(s) for collecting data and evaluating
outcomes for immigrant youth that it has made contact with under the new
plan. 3. No later than one year after completion and submission of the
plan, ACS shall prepare and submit to the city council a report (i)
regarding its ability to identify, track and coordinate immigration
services for youths with whom it has had contact; (ii) containing
indicators sufficient to show the agency's progress towards achieving
the goals of the plan; and (iii) containing such programs, procedures,
memoranda, or training materials as concern the implementation and goals
of the plan. Subsequent reports shall be submitted annually on the first
of April thereafter.
* NB Repealed January 1, 2015
Section 21-905.
§ 21-905. Demographic Data.
a. Admissions to Detention Facilities.
1. By September 30 of each year, ACS shall post a report on its
website regarding the total number of admissions in the previous fiscal
year to the following facilities:
i. secure detention facilities; and
ii. non-secure detention facilities.
2. The data provided pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision a of
this section shall be disaggregated by the following factors:
i. age;
ii. gender;
iii. race;
iv. zip code of residence, except that for a number between one and
five admissions from one zip code, the number shall be replaced with a
symbol;
v. for youth remanded to a detention facility by a court, the most
serious charged offense on the court petition, complaint or indictment
at the time ACS assumed custody; and
vi. for youth brought to detention by police, whether the top arrest
charge was a misdemeanor or a felony at the time ACS assumed custody.
b. Demographic Data for Detention Facilities.
1. By September 30 of each year, ACS shall post a report on its
website regarding the average daily population in the previous fiscal
year in the following facilities:
i. secure detention facilities; and
ii. non-secure detention facilities.
2. By September 30 of each year, ACS shall post a report on its
website regarding the number of youth admitted to a detention facility
during the previous fiscal year who spent time either in non-secure
detention only, secure detention only, or both non-secure and secure
detention, disaggregated by the following factors:
i. age;
ii. gender;
iii. race;
iv. zip code of residence, except that for a number between one and
five admissions from one zip code, the number shall be replaced with a
symbol;
v. for youth remanded to a detention facility by a court, the most
serious charged offense on the court petition, complaint or indictment
at the time ACS assumed custody; and
vi. for youth brought to detention by police, whether the top arrest
charge was a misdemeanor or a felony at the time ACS assumed custody.
c. Admissions to Placement Facilities.
1. By September 30 of each year, ACS shall post a report on its
website regarding the total number of admissions in the previous fiscal
year to the following facilities:
i. non-secure placement facilities; and
ii. limited-secure placement facilities.
2. The data provided pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision c of
this section shall be disaggregated by the following factors:
i. age;
ii. gender;
iii. race;
iv. zip code of residence, except that for a number between one and
five admissions from one zip code, the number shall be replaced with a
symbol;
v. youth who were detained at a detention facility immediately prior
to being ordered to a placement facility by a court pursuant to the
family court act;
vi. youth who were not detained at a detention facility immediately
prior to being ordered to a placement facility by a court pursuant to
the family court act;
vii. youth who were transferred to an ACS placement facility from the
custody of the New York state office of children and family services in
accordance with subdivision six of section four hundred and four of the
New York state social services law; and
viii. for youth ordered to a placement facility by a court, the most
serious offense adjudicated against such youth by the court.
d. Demographic Data for Placement Facilities.
1. By September 30 of each year, ACS shall post a report on its
website regarding the average daily population in the previous fiscal
year in the following facilities:
i. non-secure placement facilities; and
ii. limited-secure placements facilities.
2. By September 30 of each year, ACS shall report on its website the
number of youth admitted to a placement facility during the previous
fiscal year who spent time either in non-secure placement only, limited
secure placement only, or both non-secure and limited secure placement,
disaggregated by the following factors:
i. age;
ii. gender;
iii. race;
iv. zip code of residence, except that for a number between one and
five admissions from one zip code, the number shall be replaced with a
symbol; and
v. for youth ordered to a placement facility by a court, the most
serious offense adjudicated against such youth by the court.
e. Data on Transfers.
1. By September 30 of each year, ACS shall post a report on its
website regarding the total number of youth who have been transferred
during the previous fiscal year from:
i. a non-secure detention facility to a secure detention facility;
ii. a secure detention facility to a non-secure detention facility;
iii. a non-secure placement facility to a limited secure placement
facility;
iv. a non-secure placement facility to a secure placement facility;
v. a limited secure placement facility to a non-secure placement
facility;
vi. a limited secure placement facility to a secure placement
facility;
vii. a secure placement facility to a limited secure placement
facility; and
viii. a secure placement facility to a non-secure placement facility.
2. The data provided pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision e of
this section shall be disaggregated by the following factors:
i. age;
ii. gender; and
iii. race.
f. Interim Reports.
1. On or before September 30, 2013, ACS shall post a report on its
website regarding the total population in non-secure placement
facilities as of the last day of every month during the previous fiscal
year.
2. No more than one year after ACS begins operating limited secure
placement facilities, ACS shall post a report on its website regarding:
i. the total number of admissions to such facilities in the first nine
months of their operation, disaggregated by the following factors:
(a) age;
(b) gender;
(c) race; and
(d) youth who were transferred to an ACS placement facility from the
custody of the New York state office of children and family services in
accordance with subdivision six of section four hundred and four of the
New York state social services law;
ii. the total population in such facilities as of the last day of
every month during the first nine months of their operation; and
iii. the number of youth admitted to such facilities during the first
nine months of their operation who, during that period, spent time
either in non-secure placement only, limited secure placement only, or
both non-secure and limited secure placement, disaggregated by the
following factors:
(a) age;
(b) gender;
(c) race;
(d) zip code of residence except that for a number between one and
five admissions from one zip code, the number shall be replaced with a
symbol; and
(e) for youth ordered to a placement facility by a court, the most
serious offense adjudicated against such youth by the court.
Section 21-906.
§ 21-906. Incident Reports.
a. Quarterly Incident Reports.
1. Within sixty days after the end of each quarter of the fiscal year,
ACS shall post a report on its website, based on data from the previous
quarter, that shall contain the number of the following incidents:
i. use of physical restraint by staff on children;
ii. physical injuries or impairment to children as a result of the use
of physical restraint;
iii. use of mechanical restraint by staff on children;
iv. physical injuries or impairment to children as a result of the use
of mechanical restraint;
v. fights and altercations between children;
vi. physical injuries or impairment to children as a result of fights
with other children;
vii. physical injuries or impairment to children resulting from any
other means not previously mentioned;
viii. biased-based incidents as reported by a child; and
ix. the number of room confinements and the length of stay for each
confinement.
2. The data provided pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision a of
this section shall be disaggregated by the following factors:
i. each secure detention facility;
ii. non-secure detention facilities;
iii. non-secure placement facilities; and
iv. limited secure placement facilities.
b. Annual incident reports.
1. Within sixty days after the end of each fiscal year, ACS shall post
a report on its website containing the following data:
i. the number of allegations made during the fiscal year that a child
in a detention or placement facility was a neglected or abused child;
and
ii. the number of findings made during the fiscal year by the New York
state office of children and family services substantiating allegations
that a child in a detention or placement facility was a neglected or
abused child, including findings that substantiated allegations made
prior to the fiscal year.
2. The data provided pursuant to paragraph one of subdivision b of
this section shall be disaggregated by the following factors:
i. each secure detention facility;
ii. non-secure detention facilities;
iii. non-secure placement facilities; and
iv. limited secure placement facilities.
To the extent possible under law, Friends of Devin Balkind for Public Advocate has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to New York City Administrative Code. This work is published from: United States.
Special thanks to Benjarmin Kallos and Thom Neale who made this content publicly available as a bulk download.