New York State Office of Children and Family Services

OCFS sets policy and standards for New York's foster care system, administered locally by social services districts (LDSSs: counties and NYC) and voluntary authorized agencies (VAs).^[4] OCFS licenses, inspects, and supervises residential facilities caring for dependent, neglected, abused, maltreated, abandoned, or delinquent children, and issues the operating certificates such facilities require.^[5][6] Placements must be in the least restrictive, most home-like setting appropriate to the child, and children under 10 may not ordinarily be placed in group homes or group residences without OCFS approval.^[7][8] A central component of the system is permanency planning, under which districts and agencies are required to make and document diligent efforts toward achieving a permanent placement outcome for children from the temporary status of foster care.^[9][10]

Under the federal child and family services review (CFSR) system, stable placement and stability in their living situations are part of the first permanency outcome.^[11][12] The continuity of family relationships and connections is the other permanency outcome; frequent, high-quality family time helps maintain relationships, improve adjustment, and support lasting reunification.^[11][12]

OCFS implements these requirements through administrative directives (ADMs), Family Assessment and Service Plan (FASP) procedures, and the CONNECTIONS case-management system. The agency also establishes statewide requirements for caseworker contacts, visitation planning, permanency hearings coordination, and transition planning for older youth.

OCFS administrative guidance, binding and quasi-binding, include:^[13]

• Administrative directives (ADMs) – mandatory implementation
• Informational letters (INFs) – interpretation and guidance
• Local commissioners memoranda (LCM) – administrative direction to local districts

The agency divides its responsibilities into two main areas: program and support. The program divisions/offices include:

• Division of Child Welfare and Community Services
• Division of Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth
• Division of Youth Development and Partnerships for Success
• Office of Juvenile Justice Oversight and Improvement
• Division of Child Care Services
• Commission for the Blind

The support divisions/offices include:

• Division of Administration
• Division of Legal Affairs
• Office of Communications
• Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Development
• Office of Special Investigations
• Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Development
• Office of the Ombudsman

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.^[14]

The state Council on Children and Families develops comprehensive and coordinated systems of care that respond to the wide needs of children and families.

There also exist three citizen review panels each with thirteen members, for Western New York, Eastern New York, and New York City respectively, to examine the policies, procedures, and practices of the state's child welfare system and the extent to which it effectively discharges its child protection responsibilities in accordance with its state Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) plan.^[15]

Summarize Timeline Fact Check

In 1867 a Board of State Commissioners of Public Charities was created to visit and examine into the affairs of all charitable institutions.^[16][17] In 1875 the Children's Law removed children from poorhouses.^[18][19] In 1894 a constitutional convention enacted a provision requiring the Legislature to establish a State Board of Charities to visit and inspect all institutions.^[20][21][17] 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.^[22][23] The Public Welfare Law superseded the Poor Law in 1929.^[24][25] In 1931 they were renamed as the Department of Social Welfare and the State Board of Social Welfare.^[26][17]

The Constitutional Convention of 1938 emphasized the state's and its subdivisions' duty to aid, care, and support the needy, including children.^[17] In 1940 the State Charities Law and the Public Welfare Law were combined into the Social Welfare Law.^{[27][28][17][29]} 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.^[17] In 1945, the New York State Youth Commission was created to study and make recommendations, and in 1955, the Temporary State Commission on Youth and Delinquency was created to review public policy, and in 1956 as a result of its work the State Youth Commission was reestablished as a permanent Executive Department agency.^{[30][31][32][33]} In 1960, the Division for Youth was created to supersede the commission and was authorized to establish and operate centers for the rehabilitation of delinquents.^[34][33] In 1967 the department was renamed as the Department of Social Services.^[35] In 1971, state and social services district youth detention centers were transferred from the department to the division.^[36][37][33]

OCFS was authorized by the Welfare Reform Act of 1997.^[38][39][40] 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.^[41] In 1999 the state enacted enabling legislation for the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA).^[42][43] The state Council on Children and Families was created by Governor Carey in 1977, and administratively merged with OCFS in 2003.^[44][45] In 2005, the state established a new permanency hearing framework for foster care children, providing for ongoing court oversight and more timely permanency planning.^[46][47] Under Commissioner Gladys Carrión, OCFS worked to depopulate youth detention facilities and shift towards community-based alternatives.^[48] In 2012, the state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs was established to create uniform safeguards to protect people with special needs against abuse, neglect, and other conduct that would jeopardize their health, safety, and welfare.^[49][50]

Secure facilities:^[51]

• Brookwood Secure Center for Youth
• Goshen Secure Center
• MacCormick Secure Center

Limited secure facilities:^[51]

• Finger Lakes Residential Center
• Highland Residential Center
• Industry Residential Center
• Taberg Residential Center for Girls
• Harriet Tubman Residential Center

Non-secure facility:^[51]

• Brentwood Girls Secure Center

Former Facilities (now permanently closed):

• Sgt. Henry Johnson Youth Leadership Academy (Kortright, Delaware County)
• Lansing Residential Center
• Red Hook Residential Center (Red Hook, Dutchess County)
• Columbia Girls Secure Center
• Tryon School for Boys
• Tryon School for Girls

• New York City Administration for Children's Services
• New York Family Court
• US Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• US Administration for Children and Families
• Child Care and Development Block Grant