03-OCFS-LCM-21 November 13, 2003
Governor / New York State
Office of children & Family Services
52 Washington street
rensselaer, NY 12144 / John A. Johnson
Commissioner
Local Commissioners Memorandum
Transmittal: / 03-OCFS-LCM-21To: / Local District Commissioners, County Youth Bureaus, Local Probation Departments
Issuing
Division/Office: / Strategic Planning & Policy Development
Date: / November 13, 2003
Subject: / SFY 2003-2004 TANF Prevention of Non-Secure Detention Placements and PINS Age 16-17 Services
Contact Person(s): / See Page 5
Attachments: / SFY 2003-2004 TANF Prevention of Non-Secure Detention Placements and PINS Age 16-17 Services Preliminary Allocations
Attachment Available On – Line: / Yes
I. Purpose
The purpose of this memorandum is to advise social services districts (LDSS) of a new program authorized by Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2003 that sets aside $7,000,000 for the prevention of non-secure detention placements and to provide services to PINS age 16-17, and to provide LDSS with preliminary allocations of these funds.
II. Background
Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2003 authorizes $7,000,000 in Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Block Grant funds for new or expanded services, without State or local financial participation, including but not limited to the following:
§ Substance abuse and mental health counseling;
§ Diversion of youth at risk of placement in non-secure detention programs;
§ Reduction of the length of placement in non-secure detention programs; and/or
§ Provision of preventive and other supportive services to persons 16 and 17 years old who are alleged or determined to be in need of supervision.
In SFY 2002-2003, $4.6 million was allocated to districts for a narrower purpose – the provision of preventive and other supportive services to persons in need of supervision (PINS), aged 16 and 17. The new allocation can be used in a more expansive manner. It can be used to initiate program modifications and/or provide services to any youth to divert such youth from placement, or continued placement, in non-secure detention. There are no age restrictions in relation to this purpose, and the initiative(s) can apply to PINS or juvenile delinquents (JDs). Additionally, the law explicitly allows the money to be used to provide substance abuse and mental health counseling. Once there is a JD or PINS order of disposition, the funding can only be used for services to PINS, aged 16 and 17, unless the youth remains at risk, or continuation, of non-secure detention. These funds may not be used for Juvenile Justice purposes, such as secure or non-secure detention, although they may be used for services provided to prevent or shorten such placements.
III. Allocations
OCFS is directly allocating $4,600,000 to local social services districts. Each district will receive the amount it received last year. County-specific allocations are appended to this Memorandum as Attachment A. Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2003 requires allocations of these funds based on the submission of plans (this memorandum will subsequently refer to “plans” as “project descriptions”) by local social services districts. The allocations provided in this publication in Attachment A are intended as a guide to the cost of the project description. Final LDSS allocations will be developed following the receipt, review and approval of the project descriptions submitted for the $4,600,000, as well as any approved district application for a portion of the $2,225,000 reserved for “demonstrated effective programs” as described below.
Of the remaining $2.4 million, $175,000 will be used by OCFS for contracting with the Vera Institute to continue technical assistance to LDSS in implementing the increased PINS age and other similar activities. The remaining $2,225,000 will be available to districts that successfully apply for funding reserved for “demonstrated effective programs”. Demonstrated effective programs are operationally defined for this purpose as programs found to have achieved positive outcomes in serving troubled adolescents and their families. Rigorously evaluated evidence-based practices are, of course, encouraged. OCFS will also accept applications for other programs/practices, including mental health or substance abuse treatment programs, for which a local district provides compelling information about such program’s effectiveness. The $2,225,000 will be allocated to districts that apply, as described below in the “Project Description Submission” section.
IV. Project Description Submission
There are potentially two different sources of funding for which project descriptions should be submitted.
The first source of funds is your allocation for this year’s PINS age 16-17 and prevention of non-secure detention (Attachment A). Chapter 53 of the Laws of 2003 requires the submission of a plan (i.e., project description) for using these funds within 45 days of the date of this publication, January 20, 2004. The project description need not be lengthy or follow a particular format, but must include the following information:
§ The program modification(s) and/or services to be developed/provided. Notwithstanding the availability of a separate possible source of funding for demonstrated effective programs, you are encouraged to consider using evidence-based practices with these funds.
§ The anticipated target population(s).
§ The anticipated benefit, including the projected achievement of specific outcomes, to the target population(s) as a result of any program modification(s) and services provided. As was the case last year, the outcomes must include an adolescent pregnancy prevention component.
§ The expenditures made after June 30, 2003, which you may have planned to charge to the SFY 2002-2003. All expenditures made after June 30, 2003 must be charged to your SFY 2003-2004 allocation.
The second potential source of funds is the $2,225,000 reserved for demonstrated effective programs. If a district would like to apply for a portion of these funds, it may do so by submitting an addendum to the project description for the other funds. As a guidepost, we recommend that relatively large populated counties, with the exception of New York City, apply for a maximum of about $100,000; medium-sized counties about $60,000; and smaller counties about $40,000. Please note that these maximums are estimates, since they will depend on the number of districts applying. The addendum must address the following:
§ The program that you wish to fund.
§ The program’s intended purpose, which must include an adolescent pregnancy prevention component.
§ Documentation of the program’s effectiveness, in your own community and/or another community(ies). If you are proposing to use one of the programs proven effective in the series of “Blueprints for Violence Prevention” (i.e., multi-systemic therapy, functional family therapy, etc.), you need not provide any documentation concerning effectiveness.
§ The need for the program.
§ The population to be served.
§ The anticipated outcome(s) of the program and a brief description of how progress toward outcome achievement will be measured and monitored locally.
§ The community’s readiness to initiate and carry out the program by June 30, 2004.
§ The addendum must contain the signatures of the County Executive (or Chair of the County Board), Commissioner of Social Services, Youth Bureau Director, and Director/Commissioner of Probation.
The program description, including any addendum, must be sent to the Director of OCFS’s Division of Development and Prevention Services Regional Office by January 20, 2004. Failure to do so may result in redistribution of the preliminary allocations designated for your district in Attachment A to those districts that have submitted their plans.
V. Eligibility Requirements
The basis for being able to use this allocation without regard to the family’s income, thereby eliminating the need to determine the family’s financial eligibility, is that these services are to be related to pregnancy prevention (pursuant to TANF Purpose 3 -- reduction of out-of-wedlock pregnancy). Pregnancy prevention may be bolstered in a variety of ways, all of which may be components of these in-home services and intervention strategies. For example, pregnancy prevention can be supported by keeping youth in school, increasing educational achievement, obtaining or maintaining employment, expanding independent living skills, counseling and building self-esteem. Likewise, the funds reserved for Vera’s technical assistance to counties will support the selected counties’ provision of pregnancy prevention services, consistent with TANF Purpose 3.
Youth and family members served by this allocation must be citizens or qualified aliens. In cases involving U.S. citizens, an attestation of citizenship is sufficient. However, for cases involving qualified aliens, documentation of that status must be secured. Districts may refer to the OCFS Eligibility Manual for Child Welfare Services, Appendix B, "Immigration Status List" for definitions of qualified aliens and acceptable documentation.
VI. Claiming Instructions
TANF funding provided for the prevention of non-secure detention placements and to provide services to PINS age 16-17 is subject to TANF reporting rules for program costs. Expenditures may be for purchase of services (program costs) or for eligible administrative activities, beginning July 1, 2003 and ending June 30, 2004.
All administrative costs incurred by LDSS should be coded to the F-17 function and carried through to the LDSS-3274 form entitled "Schedule D-17 Distribution of Allocated Costs to Other Reimbursable Programs." Administrative expenditures should be reported on the Schedule D-17 in the column labeled "Non-Secure Detention Prevention" on the appropriate lines.
These expenditures will support an LDSS-3922 (Revision date 12/01), "Reimbursement Claim for Special Projects," with "NON-SEC PREV" indicated in the project name box. Costs should be reported in either the Non-Administration or the Administration columns depending on the nature of expenditures. Contracts or Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with private or public entities can be constructed to provide non-secure detention prevention services using funds from this allocation. It is possible to pay the contractor or public entity based on the terms of service contained in the contract or MOU without the necessity of entering the served clients into WMS. An acceptable method of cost allocation and other sources of funding will be necessary if the contract includes services for other purposes or populations. If LDSS staff working on this program is less than full-time, they must complete time studies to allocate their costs between the F-17 function and other function(s). Social services districts must be careful not to duplicate other client-specific funding with these funds. Expenditures made by June 30, 2004, must be claimed by August 15, 2004.
The costs of this program are reimbursed at 100 percent Federal share up to the limit of the allocation. Costs in excess of the allocation are eligible for State reimbursement at the rate of 65 percent of costs after any additional Federal reimbursement is received. Costs in excess of the allocation would be reported as Preventive Services costs on either the LDSS-1372 "Schedule G Title XX Services for Recipients" and/or the LDSS-2347-B "Schedule D-2. Allocation for Claiming General Services Expenditures." When payments from these funds are made, districts receive a claims listing, showing claims, allocations and payments made. A-87 costs, from the Schedule D-2, are only funded from Federal and local funds. There is no available State funding for A-87 costs.
Because the local districts are using TANF funding for program costs for these programs, it is necessary to attach an LDSS-4722, "Local District Report on TANF and TANF MOE Programs," to the LDSS-3922. An LDSS-3922 with program costs must be accompanied by the LDSS-4722 in order to be processed.
Districts with awards for "demonstrated effective programs" must submit separate claim and reporting forms (LDSS-3922 and LDSS-4722) with "DEMO EFF PROG" indicated in the project name box. Pending further notification, expenditures made by June 30, 2004, must be claimed by August 15, 2004.
Instructions for claiming purchase of services (POS) expenditures can be found in the Fiscal Reference Manual, Volume 2, Chapter 3. Instructions for completing the Schedule D-17 can be found in Fiscal Reference Manual, Volume 3 (Volume 4 for New York City), Chapter 18.
The local district must sign the LDSS-3922 certification and submit the LDSS-3922 claim to:
Bureau of Financial Services
Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
40 North Pearl Street, Claims Unit, 14th Floor, Section A
Albany, New York 12243
VII. Contact Information
Any fiscal questions regarding the SFY 2003-2004 TANF-EAF Prevention of Non-Secure Detention Placements should be directed to:
Deborah Hanor, Director, Bureau of Budget Management (518) 474-1361.
Questions pertaining to child welfare should be directed to the appropriate Regional Office, Division of Development and Prevention Services:
BRO - Linda Brown (716) 847-3145
USER ID:
RRO - Linda Kurtz (716) 238-8201
USER ID:
SRO - Jack Klump (315) 423-1200
USER ID:
ARO - Bill McLaughlin (518) 486-7078
USER ID:
NYCRO - Fred Levitan (212) 383-1788
USER ID:
YRO - Pat Sheehy (914) 377-2080
USER ID:
Questions pertaining to youth development should be directed to the appropriate regional youth development coordinators:
BRO - Christine Garmon-Salaam, (716) 852-7514,
User ID:
RRO - Charles Root, ((607) 721-8169,
User ID:
SRO - Denise Dyer, (315) 423-5432,
User ID:
ARO - Steve Conti
User ID:
YRO - Joe Marano, (516) 568-2961,
User ID:
NYCRO - Madre Spicer, (212) 383-4703,
User ID:
Questions pertaining to claiming may be directed to the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Bureau of Financial Services:
Marian Borenstein, Region VI - New York City, 212-383-1735,
User ID:
Michael Borenstein, Region V, 631-854-9704,
User ID:
Patricia Humphrey, Regions I-IV - Upstate Office, 1-800-343-8859, extension 8-3073, or 518-408-3703,
User ID:
Issued By:
Susan A. Costello s/s
______
Name: Susan A. Costello
Title: Deputy Commissioner
Division/Office: Administration
ATTACHMENT A
SFY 2003-2004 TANF FUNDING FOR NON-SECURE DETENTION PREVENTION AND PINS PREVENTION FOR SIXTEEN AND SEVENTEEN YEAR OLDS
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