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| Jurisdiction | New York |
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| Website | ocfs |
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) is an agency of the New York state government. [1] [2] The office has its headquarters in the Capital View Office Park in Rensselaer. [3] Along with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance it is part of the pro forma Department of Family Assistance.
OCFS has wide-ranging responsibilities for the provision of services to children, youth, families, and vulnerable adults. The agency is responsible for programs and services involving foster care, adoption, and adoption assistance; child protective services, including operating the Statewide Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment; preventive services for children and families; child care and referral programs; and protective programs for vulnerable adults. Additionally, OCFS is responsible for the state's juvenile justice programs, administering and managing residential facilities located across New York State for youth remanded to the agency's custody by family and criminal courts. The agency also supports and monitors detention, aftercare, and a range of community-based programs. OCFS also coordinates, in part, the state government response to the needs of Native Americans and their children on reservations and in communities.
Prevention and rehabilitation efforts are joint ventures with local and county government, supported by federal, state, county, and municipal funds, as well as private contributions. OCFS provides technical and financial assistance to agencies involved in community youth programs and monitors activities of voluntary child-care and detention agencies in New York State.
The agency divides its responsibilities into two main areas: program and support. The program divisions/offices include:
The support divisions/offices include:
OCFS has regional offices in Albany, Buffalo, New York City, Rochester, Syracuse, and Westchester and Long Island. The Regional Offices help districts and agencies keep children safe, achieve permanency, and improve the quality of life for children and families. Regional offices provide "oversight" to local districts and voluntary agencies. The responsibility to provide oversight is defined as (1) assuring compliance with OCFS regulations, (2) reinforcing good practice standards, and (3) improving district/agency capacity to achieve positive outcomes for children and families.
The agency's Bureau of Training maintains the Parker Training Academy. Located on the academy grounds is a Dutch barn added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. [4]
The state Council on Children and Families was created by Governor Carey in 1977, and administratively merged with OCFS in 2003. [5] [6] The council does not have direct responsibility for the operation of programs or the provision of services, but instead orients its priorities toward the development of comprehensive and coordinated systems of care that respond to the wide needs of children and families.
In 1867 a Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities was created to visit and examine into the affairs of all charitable institutions. [7] [8] In 1875 the Children's Law removed children from poorhouses. [9] [10] In 1894 a constitutional convention enacted a provision requiring the Legislature to establish a State Board of Charities to visit and inspect all institutions. [11] [12] [8] In 1909 the Poor Law was consolidated in chapter 42, and the State Charities Law in chapter 55, of the Consolidated Laws of New York. [13] [14] The Public Welfare Law superseded the Poor Law in 1929. [15] [16] In 1931 they were renamed as the Department of Social Welfare and the State Board of Social Welfare. [17] [8]
The Constitutional Convention of 1938 emphasized the state's and its subdivisions' duty to aid, care, and support the needy, including children. [8] In 1940 the State Charities Law and the Public Welfare Law were combined into the Social Welfare Law. [18] [19] [8] [20] The Social Welfare Law mandated that public welfare districts, including New York City, were responsible for the welfare of children in need, either directly or through authorized agencies. [8] In 1967 it was renamed as the Department of Social Services. [21] OCFS was authorized by the Welfare Reform Act of 1997. [22] [23] [24]
OCFS was officially created on January 5, 1998, by merging the programs of the former state Division for Youth, the developmental and preventive children and family programs administered by the former state Department of Social Services, and the Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped. [25] In 2012, the Protection of People with Special Needs Act (PPSNA) established the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs to create uniform safeguards for people with special needs served in residential facilities and day programs by provider agencies that are operated, licensed, or certified by a multitude of state agencies, including OCFS. [26] [27]
Secure facilities: [28]
Limited secure facilities: [28]
Non-secure facility: [28]
Former Facilities (now permanently closed):
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York is the intermediate appellate court in New York State. The state is geographically divided into four judicial departments of the Appellate Division. The full title of each is, using the "Fourth Department" as an example, the "Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department".
The New York State Tenement House Act of 1901 banned the construction of dark, poorly ventilated tenement buildings in the U.S. state of New York. Among other sanctions, the law required that new buildings must be built with outward-facing windows in every room, an open courtyard, proper ventilation systems, indoor toilets, and fire safeguards. One of the reforms of the Progressive Era, it was one of the first laws of its kind in the U.S.
The Criminal Court of the City of New York is a court of the State Unified Court System in New York City that handles misdemeanors and lesser offenses, and also conducts arraignments and preliminary hearings in felony cases.
The Civil Court of the City of New York is a civil court of the New York State Unified Court System in New York City that decides lawsuits involving claims for damages up to $25,000 and includes a small claims part for cases involving amounts up to $10,000 as well as a housing part for landlord-tenant matters, and also handles other civil matters referred by the New York Supreme Court. The court has divisions by county (borough), but it is a single citywide court.
The Mitchell–Lama Housing Program is a non-subsidy governmental housing guarantee in the state of New York. It was sponsored by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell and Assemblyman Alfred A. Lama and signed into law in 1955.
The New York State Housing Finance Agency (HFA) is a New York State public-benefit corporation created in 1960 to increase the supply of rental housing for low-income people by issuing bonds and providing low-interest mortgage loans to regulated housing companies.
The State of New York Mortgage Agency is a New York State public-benefit corporation created in 1970 by the state government of New York to provide affordable homeownership to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers. It offers affordably priced fixed-rate mortgages through several mortgage programs for eligible homebuyers. Each program offers competitive interest rates, low down payments, down payment assistance and no prepayment penalties. SONYMA offers its programs through a network of participating lenders throughout New York state who contract with the agency to offer SONYMA's programs to their customers. The mortgage loans are purchased from the lenders by SONYMA, which funds the purchases by issuing tax-exempt bonds. In 2017, it had operating expenses of $62.57 million, an outstanding debt of $2.533 billion, and a staff level of 275 people.
The Willard Asylum for the Chronic Insane is a former state hospital in Willard, New York, United States, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The New York State Department of Labor is the department of the New York state government that enforces labor law and administers unemployment benefits.
Gladys Carrión is an Adjunct Research Scholar with Columbia University's Justice Lab. She was the Commissioner of the New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) until 2017 and a nationally recognized advocate for improving child well-being.
The New York State Department of Health is the department of the New York state government responsible for public health. Its regulations are compiled in title 10 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
The Judicial Conference of the State of New York is an institution of the New York State Unified Court System responsible for surveying current practice in the administration of the state's courts, compiling statistics, and suggesting legislation and regulations. Its members include the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and judges from the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division.
The Department of Mental Hygiene (DMH) is an agency of the New York state government composed of three autonomous offices:
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) is an agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for providing services to assist children and families and to oversee county offices handling those services. This includes child protective services, adoption and foster care services, and juvenile justice services. It also manages the licensing and regulation of facilities involved in the foster care and day care systems, performs background investigations of child care providers, and investigates incidents of potential child abuse or neglect. It administers the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program, the child care subsidy program, child support enforcement and paternity establishment services, and programs related to the federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) income support program.
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) is a division of the New York state government responsible for overseeing programs that provide financial assistance, housing support, and other services to individuals and families in need. It administers initiatives such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Along with the New York State Office of Children and Family Services it is part of the pro forma Department of Family Assistance.
The New York Civil Practice Law and Rules (CPLR) is chapter 8 of the Consolidated Laws of New York and governs legal procedure in the Unified Court System such as jurisdiction, venue, and pleadings, as well certain areas of substantive law such as the statute of limitations and joint and several liability. The CPLR has approximately 700 individual sections and rules which are divided into 70 articles. A committee of the New York State Bar Association, the Committee on Civil Practice Law and Rules, monitors the law and periodically proposes amendments.
The Family Court of the State of New York is a specialized court of the New York State Unified Court System located in each county of the state. The New York City Family Court is the name given to the state Family Court within New York City.
The New York City Administration for Children's Services (ACS) is a New York City government agency that prosecutes parents, caregivers, and juveniles in child protective service and delinquency proceedings in New York City. ACS has been the subject of numerous civil rights lawsuits involving the wrongful removals and deaths of children as well as constitutional violations of both parents and children.
The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) is an agency of the New York state government responsible for administering housing and community development programs to promote affordable housing, community revitalization, and economic growth. Its primary functions include supervising rent regulations through the State Office of Rent Administration (ORA), administering affordable housing programs, providing financial assistance for housing development and rehabilitation, supporting community development initiatives, ensuring compliance with fair housing laws, and managing the Weatherization Assistance Program. DHCR has been criticized by tenant rights groups for its failure to monitor their own programs and massive delays in investigating cases of the illegal deregulation due to an extensive backlog.
The New York State Board for Medicine is a New York State Education Department board responsible for licensing, monitoring, and disciplining physicians and physician assistants to uphold medical standards and protect public health.
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