STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1530 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to services for victims of domestic violence; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 459-a of the social 2 services law, subdivision 4 as added by chapter 838 of the laws of 1987, 3 the opening paragraph of subdivision 4 and subdivision 5 as amended by 4 chapter 169 of the laws of 1994, are amended to read as follows: 5 4. "A domestic violence organization" means an organization that 6 provides emergency shelter and/or services and care to victims of domes- 7 tic violence and their minor children, and shall include, but not be 8 limited to: 9 (a) "Residential program for victims of domestic violence" [means any] 10 which shall include residential care program certified by the department 11 and operated by a not-for-profit organization in accordance with the 12 regulations of the department for the purpose of providing emergency 13 shelter, services and care to victims of domestic violence. Residential 14 programs for victims of domestic violence shall include, but shall not 15 be limited to: 16 [(a)] (i) "Domestic violence shelters", which shall include any resi- 17 dential care facility organized for the exclusive purpose of providing 18 emergency shelter, services and care to victims of domestic violence and 19 their minor children, if any; 20 [(b)] (ii) "Domestic violence programs" which shall include any facil- 21 ity which otherwise meets or would meet the requirements of this para- 22 graph [(a) of this subdivision], except that victims of domestic 23 violence and their minor children, if any, constitute at least seventy 24 percent of the clientele of such program; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04671-01-5
A. 1530 2 1 [(c)] (iii) "Safe home networks" which shall include any organized 2 network of private homes offering emergency shelter and services to 3 victims of domestic violence and their minor children, if any. Such 4 network shall be coordinated by a not-for-profit organization. 5 [5.] (b) "Non-residential program for victims of domestic violence" 6 [means] which shall include any program operated by a not-for-profit 7 organization, for the purpose of providing non-residential services to 8 victims of domestic violence, including, but not limited to, information 9 and referral services, advocacy, counseling, and community education and 10 outreach activities and providing or arranging for hotline services. 11 Victims of domestic violence and their children, if any, shall consti- 12 tute at least seventy percent of the clientele of such programs. 13 § 2. The opening paragraph of section 459-b of the social services 14 law, as amended by chapter 7 of the laws of 2016, is amended to read as 15 follows: 16 [Residential services for victims of domestic violence. In accordance 17 with section one hundred thirty-one-u of this chapter and the regu- 18 lations of the office of children and family services, a social services 19 district shall offer and provide necessary and available emergency shel- 20 ter and services for up to ninety days at a residential program for 21 victims of domestic violence to a victim of domestic violence who was 22 residing in the social services district at the time of the alleged 23 domestic violence whether or not such victim is eligible for public 24 assistance. Two forty-five day extensions of necessary and available 25 emergency shelter may be granted beyond the maximum length of stay at a 26 residential program for victims of domestic violence for residents who 27 continue to be in need of emergency services and temporary shelter.] The 28 care and treatment of service animals, therapy dogs and companion 29 animals in residential programs for victims of domestic violence. If the 30 victim of domestic violence has a service animal as such term is defined 31 in section one hundred twenty-three-b of the agriculture and markets 32 law, or therapy dog as such term is defined in section one hundred eight 33 of the agriculture and markets law, respectively, such service animal or 34 therapy dog shall be allowed to accompany the victim at the residential 35 program authorized pursuant to this section, so long as such accompani- 36 ment would not create an undue burden as defined by section two hundred 37 ninety-six of the executive law. 38 § 3. Section 459-c of the social services law is REPEALED. 39 § 4. Section 459-d of the social services law, as renumbered by chap- 40 ter 169 of the laws of 1994, is renumbered section 459-c, and subdivi- 41 sions 11 and 12, as added by chapter 838 of the laws of 1987, are 42 amended to read as follows: 43 11. [a schedule showing the approved daily rates of reimbursement 44 payable to residential programs for victims of domestic violence pursu- 45 ant to section one hundred thirty-one-u of this chapter; and 46 12.] all such other matters as may be necessary to inform the governor 47 and the legislature regarding the implementation and effectiveness of 48 programs covered by this article. 49 § 5. Section 459-e of the social services law is renumbered section 50 459-d. 51 § 6. Section 459-f of the social services law is REPEALED. 52 § 7. Sections 459-g and 459-h of the social services law, section 53 459-h as renumbered by chapter 428 of the laws of 2009, are renumbered 54 sections 459-e and 459-f. 55 § 8. Section 131-u of the social services law, as amended by chapter 56 169 of the laws of 1994, the section heading and opening paragraph of
A. 1530 3 1 subdivision 1 as amended by section 1 and subdivision 2 as amended by 2 section 3 of part J of chapter 56 of the laws of 2019, is amended to 3 read as follows: 4 § 131-u. Domestic violence services. 1. Notwithstanding any inconsist- 5 ent provision of law, [a social services district] the department shall, 6 in accordance with the provisions of this section and regulations of the 7 department, [offer and provide emergency shelter and services at a resi- 8 dential program] ensure that residential and non-residential services 9 and care are sufficiently available and accessible in every county of 10 the state for victims of domestic violence, as defined in article six-A 11 of this chapter[, to the extent that such shelter and services are 12 necessary and available to a victim of domestic violence, as defined in 13 article six-A of this chapter, and in need of emergency shelter and 14 services, who was residing in the social services district at the time 15 of the alleged domestic violence] and their minor children. 16 2. [The department shall annually establish, subject to the approval 17 of the director of the budget, a daily rate of reimbursement for each 18 residential program for victims of domestic violence, as defined in 19 article six-A of this chapter, certified by the department which 20 provides emergency shelter and services to persons eligible for such 21 emergency shelter and services pursuant to this section. A social 22 services district financially responsible for a victim of domestic 23 violence shall reimburse a residential program for victims of domestic 24 violence for the costs of emergency shelter and services provided to 25 such victim at the daily reimbursement rate established by the depart- 26 ment reduced by any other reimbursement available for such costs] 27 Subject to the approval of the director of the budget, the commissioner 28 is hereby authorized to enter into contracts with domestic violence 29 organizations, as defined in section four hundred fifty-nine-a of this 30 chapter, to provide state financial assistance to support the provisions 31 of domestic violence residential and non-residential services and care 32 for victims of domestic violence and their minor children. 33 3. The state financial assistance shall be in the form of grants. 34 4. The commissioner shall require that, in order to receive funds 35 pursuant to this article, domestic violence organizations, as defined in 36 article six-A of this chapter, shall submit an operating plan. Such plan 37 shall include: 38 (a) the manner in which the operating expenses of the program shall be 39 met; 40 (b) the services that will be provided to victims of domestic 41 violence; and 42 (c) evidence demonstrating that services will be offered in a manner 43 that complies with existing local, state and federal laws and regu- 44 lations. 45 5. Each contract entered into for the provision of services for 46 victims of domestic violence and their children, pursuant to this arti- 47 cle, shall be subject to the approval of the director of the budget and 48 shall provide for payment to the not-for-profit domestic violence organ- 49 ization pursuant to a payment schedule. The full amount of the contract 50 or contracts, or any appropriate portion thereof, as determined by the 51 commissioner and subject to the approval of the director of the budget, 52 shall be available for payment at any time on or after the effective 53 date of such contract. 54 § 9. This act shall take effect immediately.