ESTABLISHING THE ROLE OF AN ANCHOR COUNTY; APPROVING A MEMORANDUM OF
UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES
AND THE COUNTY OF ALLEGANY THROUGH THE ALLEGANY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL
SERVICES; APPROVING AN AMENDMENT OF AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE COUNTY OF ALLEGANY
AND MULTIPLE AGENCIES FOR FOSTER CARE SERVICES FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Offered by: Human Services and Ways & Means
Committees
WHEREAS, in order to successfully implement the Raise the Age (RTA) legislation
enacted by Part WWW of Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017, it is necessary to have
sufficient residential foster care beds and associated after-care services
established to provide appropriate services to juvenile delinquents who are
placed into foster care by a Family Court as a result of the RTA laws for
committing an act on or after the youth’s 16th birthday, and
WHEREAS, the New
York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) issued a request for
applications and has selected voluntary agencies to support the establishment
of such beds and associated after-care services to serve RTA youth placed from
local departments of social services including the Allegany County Department
of Social Services, and
WHEREAS, the
selected agencies are required to operate the resulting RTA foster care
facilities in accordance with a prescribed enhanced services model; OCFS and
the New York State Division of the Budget have agreed to support start-up
funding for minor construction, equipment purchases, and personnel hiring and
training, and to provide a certain level of initial funding regardless of the
facilities’ utilization rates, and
WHEREAS, under the
applicable State statutory provisions, local departments of social services,
instead of OCFS, contract with and reimburse voluntary agencies for foster care
services, and
WHEREAS, State
Finance Law (SFL) section 50-m authorizes 100 percent state reimbursement to
eligible counties for the incremental costs associated with the RTA laws, and
WHEREAS, the
voluntary agencies’ start-up and initial operating costs associated with the
establishment and maintenance of sufficient RTA foster care beds and associated
after care costs will not be covered through the ordinary reimbursement
mechanisms whereby the applicable local department of social services pays the
Maximum State Aid Rate (MSAR) for occupied beds, thereby necessitating a
special reimbursement mechanism through the use of specific local departments
of social services acting as Anchor Counties to pass through the State funding
to cover such costs, and
WHEREAS, the
Allegany County Department of Social Services has agreed to act as a designated
Anchor County for the purposes of assisting the state in making such payments
to the voluntary agencies, Hillside Family of Agencies/Snell Farms and Villa of
Hope, and
WHEREAS, Resolution
No. 127-18 approved agreements between the County of Allegany and multiple agencies,
including Hillside Family Agencies/Snell Farms and Villa of Hope, for foster
care services for a period of July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2019, and
WHEREAS, the
agreement language approved by Resolution No. 127-18 was subsequently amended
by OCFS to include the role of Allegany County Department of Social Services as
an Anchor County for the purposes of assisting the state in making such
payments to the voluntary agencies, Hillside Family of Agencies/Snell Farms and
Villa of Hope, and
WHEREAS, a
Memorandum of Understanding is necessary to establish the roles of OCFS and the
Allegany County Department of Social Services as a designated Anchor County for
the purpose of establishing and maintaining such RTA foster care beds and
associated after-care services, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED:
1. That the Memorandum of Understanding
between the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and the
County of Allegany for Allegany County Department of Social Services to be an
Anchor County for the purchase of foster care services is hereby approved.
2. That the Chairman of this Board is
authorized to execute the Memorandum of Understanding upon the review and
approval of such agreement by the County Attorney.
3. That the amendment to the agreements
authorized by Resolution No. 127-18 to include the role of Allegany County
Department of Social Services as an Anchor County for the purposes of assisting
the state in making such payments to the voluntary agencies, Hillside Family of
Agencies/Snell Farms and Villa of Hope, is hereby approved.
4. That the Commissioner of Social
Services is authorized to execute the modifications to the agreements
previously authorized by Resolution No. 127-18 upon the review and approval of such
agreement by the County Attorney.
