Title 9 Part 166

The purpose of this Subpart is to set forth regulations and procedures for the protection of youth from child abuse and maltreatment in division-operated residential facilities and programs.

The Division for Youth shall establish, subject to and consistent with any applicable collective bargaining agreement(s) and provisions of the Civil Service Law, a written procedure to review, evaluate and verify the backgrounds of and information supplied by all applicants for employment or voluntary work. This procedure shall include provisions for receiving, at a minimum, the following information from each applicant:

The Division for Youth shall develop, and maintain on a current basis, a plan for adequate supervision of staff and volunteers in each residential facility or program, taking into consideration the population served and the type, size and physical layout of the facility or program, to assure appropriate care of youth and the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment. The plan shall be submitted to the deputy director of program operations for review and approval. The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

The Office of Children and Family Services shall develop written procedures, available onsite at each residential facility or program, for the protection of program participants when there is reason to believe an incident has occurred which would render program participants abused or neglected as defined in section 488 of the Social Services Law. Such procedures shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

Immediate notification of suspected incidents of abuse, neglect or significant incidents shall be made to:

Immediately upon notification that a report has been made to the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register and/or local law enforcement officials, the director of the facility or his or her designee shall:

Upon notification that a report of abuse or neglect has been made to the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register, the director or his or her designee shall evaluate the situation and immediately take appropriate action to protect the health and safety of the program participants involved in the report and of any other program participants similarly situated in the facility or program. Additional action shall be taken whenever necessary to prevent future incidents of abuse and neglect. Any action taken should cause as little disruption as possible to the daily routines of the program participants. The following alternatives shall be considered in determining the course of action that will be taken with regard to a specific incident:

Upon receipt of notification of the need for preventive or remedial action associated with any report to the Vulnerable Persons’ Central Register, the director of the facility or program, in conjunction with the district supervisor, with consideration of any appropriate recommendations received from the Office of Children and Family Services or the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, shall:

Subject to the amounts appropriated therefor, child abuse prevention training shall be provided to all administrators, employees and volunteers on a regular basis, but at least annually. Priority shall be given to the training of administrators, employees and volunteers who have the potential for regular and substantial contact with the youth in residential care.

Subject to the amounts appropriated therefor, instruction shall be provided to all youth in techniques and procedures which will enable such youth to protect themselves from abuse and maltreatment.

All residential facilities operated by the Office of Children and Family Services for juvenile delinquents or juvenile offenders placed in the custody of the Commissioner of the Office of Children and Family Services shall be subject to and must comply with the requirements as set forth in 18 NYCRR Part 433 and any other applicable regulations including, but not limited to, 14 NYCRR Parts 703-704.

The purpose of this Subpart is to set forth regulations and procedures governing the availability of records of the Division for Youth, pursuant to the provisions of article 6 of the Public Officers Law, known as the Freedom of Information Law.

Records, reports and files of children who are or who have been under the care or supervision of the Division for Youth, other than those exceptions set forth in section 168.7 of this Subtitle, entitled “Confidentiality of Division for Youth records,” may not be disclosed in whole or in part to any person, agency or institution, other than the Division for Youth and the New York State Family Courts.

The Director of the Division for Youth designates the following person as the records access officer:

General Counsel

New York State Division for Youth

84 Holland Avenue

Albany, NY 12208

The director of personnel of the Division for Youth is hereby designated as the fiscal officer responsible for certifying the payroll of the Division for Youth for the purposes of this Part and in order to comply with section 88(1)(g) of the Public Officers Law.

Records shall be available for public inspection and copying in the following locations:

84 Holland Avenue

Albany, NY 12208

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building

163 West 125th Street

14th Floor

New York, NY 10027

Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records shall be produced between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. on all days when such locations are regularly open for business.

Payroll records may be inspected under the supervision of the aforesaid fiscal officer's office and only in the fiscal officer's office during regular working hours and regular working days or at such other place as may be convenient to the fiscal officer.

When the records access officer denies a request for a record in whole or in part, the denial:

Failure to respond to or to acknowledge a request within the time limitations set forth herein shall be deemed a denial of the request. When the records access officer has denied a request in whole or in part, the requestor may appeal such denial to the Director of the Division for Youth.

The appeal of a denial of access to records shall be in writing and shall include the following information:

The director or his designated representative shall forward to the Committee on Open Government a copy of the appeal immediately upon receipt. The Director of the Division for Youth or his designated representative will act upon the appeal within 10 business days of its receipt. The decision shall be in writing. Upon making a determination, a copy of the decision and the reasons set forth shall also be forwarded to the Committee on Open Government.

If any provision of this Subpart or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the other provisions of this Subpart or the application thereof to other persons and circumstances.

This Subpart is adopted pursuant to the Personal Privacy Protection Law (Public Officers Law, article 6-A).

When used in this Subpart:

Director of Human Resources Management

New York State Division for Youth

84 Holland Avenue

Albany, NY 12208

The personal privacy protection officer is responsible for ensuring that the agency complies with the provisions of the Personal Privacy Protection Law and the regulations set out herein.

All requests for access to, or correction or amendment of records shall be in writing and shall describe the record with reasonable specificity. Requests shall be accepted during the regular business hours of the division (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday, excluding holidays) at the offices of the division at 84 Holland Avenue, Albany, NY 12208. All requests shall be referred to the personal privacy protection officer. No request shall be complete until verified as follows:

Within 15 business days of the receipt of an advisory opinion issued by the committee, the general counsel to the division shall respond in writing to the committee stating:

The personal privacy protection officer shall annually prepare a report for submission to the committee on or before September 1st which shall summarize for the preceding year the number of requests for access to, or correction or amendment of, records which were granted and denied in whole or in part.

The purpose of these rules is to ensure equitable treatment of persons employed in positions the principal duty of which is the teaching or instruction of patients or inmates, or the direct supervision of such teaching or instruction, and to provide uniformity in matters of attendance and leave for such persons, insofar as practicable and consistent with the efficient conduct of the division's business, who are employed on the basis of an annual school calendar year adopted by the division which shall be consistent with the school calendar year of public school teachers in New York State.

The basic workweek for annual salaried employees of State departments, agencies and institutions, other than those employed on a part-time basis only and other than employees excluded from the application of overtime compensation under the rules of the Director of the Budget adopted pursuant to section 134 of the Civil Service Law, shall be 40 hours; provided, however, that where a shorter workweek would not interfere with the proper performance of government functions an appointing authority may establish a basic workweek of not less than 37½ hours and five days for any employees under its appointive jurisdiction as may be designated by it with the approval of the Division of the Budget; provided, however, that this section shall not be construed to increase the workweek of any employee for whom a workweek of less than 40 hours was prescribed by law, rule or administrative regulation as of January 2, 1957.

All employees are required to maintain a daily record of absences and time and leave credits earned and used in accordance with these rules. A daily record of attendance shall be maintained during the period covered by the school calendar and for any periods during which an employee may receive compensation which is in addition to his regular salary.

Overtime shall not be earned for time worked in excess of the basic workweek during the 10-month period an employee is paid his regular salary. An employee who is required to work in his position or in any other position allocated to a salary grade in section 130 of the Civil Service Law for the two-month period during which his regular salary is not paid shall receive additional compensation for such service.

Except as provided by these rules and except as provided by the division's annual calendar for the school year, employees shall not be entitled to any leave of absence with pay during the school year; provided, however, that the division may grant time off with pay for religious observance, teacher conferences and other appropriate professional meetings, and for extraordinary or emergency absences. Employees may be required to make up such time off by appropriate adjustments in their daily or weekly work schedules.

The division may, in its discretion, grant sick leave at half pay for personal illness to a permanent employee having not less than a year of service after all of his sick leave credits have been used; provided, however, that the cumulative total of all sick leave at half pay granted to any employee after January 2, 1957 shall not exceed one pay period for each complete six months of his State service.

On proof of the necessity of jury service or appearance as a witness pursuant to subpoena or other order of a court or body, an employee shall be granted a leave of absence with pay with no charge against leave credits; provided, however, that this subdivision shall not apply to any absence by an employee occasioned by such an appearance if he is a party.

Employees shall be allowed leave with pay to take New York State Civil Service examinations at the appropriate center provided that due notice is given by the employee to the division.

If an employee who is not ill himself is required to remain absent because of quarantine and presents a written statement of the attending physician or local health officer proving the necessity of such absence, he shall be granted leave with pay for the period of his required absence, without charge against accumulated sick leave credits. Prior to return to duty, such employee may be required to submit a written statement from the local health officer having jurisdiction that his return to duty will not jeopardize the health of other employees.

The division shall grant any leave of absence, with pay, required by law.

Upon certification by the State Director of Civil Defense of the necessity for the participation in State or local civil defense drills of an employee enrolled as a civil defense volunteer and required to perform civil defense duties pursuant to the State Defense Emergency Act, the division may allow such employee to absent himself from his position, without loss of pay or charge against leave credits, for such time as is necessary for participation in such drills, but not exceeding cumulatively five workdays per calendar year.

Where a leave of absence without pay has been granted for a period which aggregates two years, or more if extended pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, a further leave of absence without pay shall not be granted unless the employee returns to his position and serves continuously therein for six months, immediately preceding the subsequent leave of absence.

These rules may be suspended in whole or in part, in an emergency, for the duration of same and to the extent made necessary by the nature of the emergency, on approval by the State Civil Service Commission of a written request by the division.

These rules may not be amended except on approval by the State Civil Service Commission of a written request by the division.