New York APS


1	State	2019 Statute Number	2019 Statute Language
2	New York	N.Y. Elder Law § 201 Office for the aging; director.	1. There is hereby created within the executive department an office for the aging. 2. The head of such office shall be a director, who shall be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, and shall hold office during the pleasure of the governor. The director shall receive an annual salary to be fixed by the governor within the amount available therefor by appropriation. The director shall also be entitled to receive reimbursement for expenses actually and necessarily incurred by him or her in the performance of his or her duties. 3. The director may appoint such officers, employees, agents, consultants and special committees as he or she may deem necessary, prescribe their duties, fix their compensation and provide for reimbursement of their expenses within the amounts available therefor by appropriation. The director, with the advice of the advisory committee for the aging, may promulgate, adopt, amend or rescind rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this article. 4. In carrying out its powers and duties under this title, the office is organized and operated to have as a primary purpose informing and instructing the public, especially the elderly themselves, on subjects beneficial to the community which relate to the needs, abilities, resources, opportunities, rights, entitlements, and other issues affecting older people in New York state. 5. For the purposes of this chapter, "office" shall refer to the state office for the aging created pursuant to this section, and "director" shall refer to the director of the state office for the aging established by this section.
3		N.Y. Elder Law § 202. General powers and duties of office.	The office shall have the following powers and duties: 1. to advise and assist the governor in developing policies designed to help meet the needs of the aging and to encourage the full participation of the aging in society; 2. to coordinate state programs and activities relating to the aging; 3. to stimulate community interest in the problems of the aging; 4. to promote public awareness of resources available for the aging, and to refer the public to the appropriate departments and agencies of the state and federal governments for advice, assistance and available services in connection with particular problems; 5. to cooperate with and assist political subdivisions of the state in the development of local programs for the aging; 6. to consult and cooperate with universities, colleges and institutions in the state for the development of courses of study for persons engaged in public and private programs for the aging; 7. to make such studies of needs of the aging as the director may deem appropriate or as may be requested by the governor; 8. to foster and support studies, research and education relating to problems of and services for the aging; 9. to serve as a clearinghouse for information relating to the needs of the aging; 10. to sponsor conferences relating to problems of and services for the aging; 11. to enter into contracts, within the amount available by appropriation therefor, with individuals, organizations and institutions, in the exercise of any of its powers or the performance of any of its duties; 12. to make recommendations to the governor for the presentation of an annual award to a senior citizen for outstanding and unusual contribution to his or her community; 13. to conduct a program of education and information on age discrimination and the preparation and filing of complaints relating to persons sixty years of age or older; 14. to, in cooperation with the department of state: (a) prepare or cause to be prepared and made available to cities, towns and villages model zoning and planning guidelines that foster age-integrated communities including provisions to allow for accessory senior citizen units in areas zoned for single family residences and for mixed-use development accommodating senior citizen residential housing; and (b) make recommendations, in consultation with the division of housing and community renewal, to the governor and legislature for assisting mixed-use age-integrated housing development or redevelopment demonstration projects in urban, suburban and rural areas of the state. The director of the office for the aging and secretary of state shall establish an advisory committee for purposes of this subdivision. Such committee shall include, but not be limited to, top representatives of local government, senior citizen organizations, developers, senior service providers and planners; 15. to periodically, in consultation with the state director of veterans' services, review the programs operated by the office to ensure that the needs of the state's aging veteran population are being met and to develop improvements to programs to meet such needs; and 16. to the extent appropriations are available, and in consultation with the office of children and family services, conduct a public education campaign that emphasizes zero-tolerance for elder abuse. Such campaign shall include information about the signs and symptoms of elder abuse, identification of potential causes of elder abuse, resources available to assist in the prevention of elder abuse, where suspected elder abuse can be reported, contact information for programs offering services to victims of elder abuse such as counseling, and assistance with arranging personal care and shelter. Such campaign may include, but not be limited to: printed educational and informational materials; audio, video, electronic, other media; and public service announcements or advertisements.
4		N.Y. Elder Law § 203. Programs for the aging.	1. The office shall submit to the federal department of health, education and welfare a state plan for purposes of the federal older Americans act of 1965 and subsequent amendments thereto. The office shall be the single state agency for supervising the administration of such plan and shall be primarily responsible for coordination of state programs for the aging for purposes of such federal act. The office shall act for the state in any negotiations relative to the submission and approval of such plan and may make such arrangements, not inconsistent with law, as may be required by or pursuant to federal law to obtain and retain such approval and to secure for the state the benefits of the provisions of such federal act. 2. In addition to the powers and duties contained in section two hundred two of this title, the office is hereby authorized, to the extent appropriations are available therefor, to establish, operate and maintain, or to contract with counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts or public or private nonprofit corporations, associations, institutions, or agencies concerned with the aging, for the operation and maintenance of programs for the aging. Pursuant to the rules and regulations of the office, such programs may include, but need not be limited to, the following: (a) coordination and community planning; (b) information services; (c) counselling services; (d) home care and protection services; (e) operation of multi-service centers; and (f) retired senior volunteer programs. 3. The director, with the advice of the advisory committee for the aging, shall make appropriate rules and regulations governing the submission and approval of applications for the operation of programs for the aging pursuant to subdivision two of this section. If an application is disapproved, the applicant, upon request, shall be afforded a hearing before the director or his or her designee. 4. (a) As required by the office, each county, city, town, village, school district or public or private nonprofit corporation, association, institution or agency operating a program for the aging pursuant to subdivision two of this section shall submit to the office (1) a quarterly estimate of anticipated expenditures for operation and maintenance of such program, including rental of buildings, purchase of equipment, administrative expenses, miscellaneous personal expenses of older persons incurred in the provision of volunteer services, and approved expenditures for minor alterations or repairs, not less than thirty days before the first day of the months of April, July, October and January, and (2) a verified accounting of the financial operations of such program during the preceding calendar quarter, together with a claim for reimbursement as provided in this title, on or before the thirtieth day of April, July, October and January. The director may permit the submission of such accountings with respect to periods exceeding three months, but not exceeding one year. (b) After receipt of a satisfactory quarterly estimate and verified accounting pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the director shall certify to the comptroller, for payment by the state to each such county, city, town, village, school district or public or private nonprofit corporation, association, institution or agency, the expenditures thereof, approved by the office, as follows: (i) the amount of federal funds, if any, properly received for such expenditures; and (ii) up to fifty percentum of such expenditures, after first deducting therefrom any federal funds properly received with respect to such expenditures. 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section, but subject to and in the manner specified in this subdivision, the office, in its discretion, may entertain and approve applications for interim payments. (a) Such an application may be approved by the office, upon being satisfied that the requirement for filing a verified accounting of the financial operation of a program during the preceding calendar quarter before a claim for reimbursement based on the expenditures for such quarter may be made, is likely to cause a financial hardship to the applicant. (b) Such an application may be made at the time of filing the quarterly estimate of anticipated expenditures as specified in subdivision four of this section or at such other time as the office shall specify. (c) After receipt of a satisfactory quarterly estimate, the office may direct the director to certify to the comptroller for payment an interim payment in such amount as the office shall specify. (d) The amount of the interim payment which the office may authorize shall not exceed an amount equal to one-third of the amount which the applicant may reasonably be entitled to receive in accordance with the provisions of subdivision four of this section, for the three month period for which a satisfactory quarterly statement has been filed, based on such satisfactory quarterly estimate. The amount of an interim payment received by the applicant shall be subtracted from the amount payable to the applicant for such three-month period. 6. The director is hereby authorized, within amounts appropriated therefor, to make grants-in-aid to existing foster grandparent grantee agencies for the engagement of foster grandparents in qualified residential group homes for neglected and disadvantaged children, in private homes, day care centers, special education classes in public schools, or other public or private nonprofit institutions or agencies providing care for neglected and disadvantaged children who lack close personal relationships. Up to twenty percent of such grants-in-aid may be expended for the administrative purposes of such grantee agencies, with the approval of the office. Such grants shall be for a period of twelve months or less, shall not be used to match other state funds, shall not be used as a substitute for federal allocations, and shall be made in a manner which does not conflict with federal law, rule or regulation pursuant to title II of the United States domestic volunteer services act of nineteen hundred seventy-three, as amended. Grants may be used to match federal funds but must be used for expansion of existing federal programs, not as a substitute for presently required non-federal shares. Each grantee shall file reports at such time and containing such information as the office shall require. For the purpose of administering such grants-in-aid the office may make such agreements with other public agencies as are deemed necessary. 7. The director is hereby authorized, within amounts appropriated therefor, to make grants-in-aid to retired and senior volunteer programs for the engagement of individuals fifty-five years of age or over to serve as volunteers for the betterment of their community and themselves. Such volunteer activities may include but shall not be limited to assisting with the preparation of meals at nutrition sites; leading activities at child care centers; delivering meals to homebound elderly; providing telephone reassurance and/or friendly visits to the frail elderly; tutoring adults or children; assisting with services for the homeless and assisting school districts which request volunteers for the purpose of notifying a person in parental relation to any elementary school pupil when such pupil is deemed absent from required attendance at his or her designated school. The services of these volunteers will be performed in the community where such individuals reside or in nearby communities. Up to ten percent of such grants-in-aid may be expended for the administrative purposes of such programs, with the approval of the office. Such grants shall be for a period of twelve months or less, shall not be used to match other state funds, shall not be used as a substitute for federal allocations, and shall be made in a manner which does not conflict with federal law, rule or regulation pursuant to title II of the United States domestic volunteer services act of nineteen hundred seventy-three, as amended. Grants may be used to match federal funds, but not as a substitute for presently required non-federal shares. Each grantee shall file reports at such time and containing such information as the office shall require. For the purpose of administering such grants-in-aid the office may make such agreements with other public agencies as are deemed necessary. 8. The director, in consultation with the commissioner of health, shall establish a program to be known as the NY Connects: Choices for Long Term Care. The purpose of this initiative is to provide consistent, comprehensive, locally-based information and assistance on long term care services to consumers, caregivers and families to help them make educated choices. This program shall provide individuals, caregivers, and families with objective information and assistance about home, community-based and institutional long term care services. NY Connects will be available on a voluntary basis to consumers, caregivers and their families. There shall be an on-going education and outreach campaign to educate the public about long term care services available in their community and to assist consumers in preparing for their long term care needs. 9. The director of the office for the aging is hereby authorized, to the extent appropriations are available therefor, to establish, operate and maintain, under the control of the office for the aging or in conjunction with an association, institution, agency, or other public or private entity, or community program engaged in the care of animals, one or more senior pet companionship programs. The purpose and intent of a senior pet companionship program shall be to match seniors who have limited social contact with pets, including cats and dogs and other small animals, to improve the lives of such seniors by enhancing their emotional and mental well-being through such companionship. 10. The director is hereby authorized, to the extent appropriations are available therefor, to establish grants to a not-for-profit organization, through a request for proposal process, to provide training, outreach and education to agencies, individuals and other appropriate entities who provide services to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender senior populations. 11. (a) The director shall develop a list of programs and services offered by local area agencies on aging along with contact information for the local area agencies on aging and NYConnects organized by county. (b) The information developed pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall be made available on the office's website and provided to hospital discharge coordinators located in the state. 12.(a) The director is hereby authorized to implement private pay protocols for programs and services administered by the office. These protocols may be implemented by area agencies on aging at their option and such protocols shall not be applied to services for a participant when being paid for with federal funds or funds designated as federal match, or for individuals with an income below four hundred percent of the federal poverty level. All private payments received directly by an area agency on aging or indirectly by one of its contractors shall be used to supplement, not supplant, funds by state, federal, or county appropriations. Such private pay payments shall be set at a cost to the participant of not more than twenty percent above either the unit cost to the area agency on aging to provide the program or service directly, or the amount that the area agency on aging pays to its contractor to provide the program or service. Private pay payments received under this subdivision shall be used by the area agency on aging to first reduce any unmet need for programs and services, and then to support and enhance services or programs provided by the area agency on aging. No participant, regardless of income, shall be required to pay for any program or service that they are receiving at the time these protocols are implemented by the area agency on aging. This subdivision shall not prevent cost sharing for the programs and services established pursuant to section two hundred fourteen of this title for individuals below four hundred percent of the federal poverty level. Consistent with federal and state statute and regulations, when providing programs and services, area agencies on aging and their contractors shall continue to give priority for programs and services to individuals with the greatest economic or social needs. In the event that the capacity to provide programs and services is limited, such programs and services shall be provided to individuals with incomes below four hundred percent of the federal poverty level before such programs and services are provided to those participating in the private pay protocol pursuant to this subdivision. (b) Area agencies on aging participating in the private pay protocol shall annually report to the office the unmet need, if any, for all programs and services offered, the number of participants that privately paid for each program or service for that year, the rates participants were charged for each program or service provided, and how unmet need for programs or services offered by the area agency on aging were affected by revenue from the private pay protocol. Such annual report shall also be shared with the Temporary President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly no later than July first, two thousand twenty-one and shall be updated and reissued on an annual basis thereafter. NB Effective April 11, 2020
5		N.Y. Elder Law § 204. Records of available space.	1. The office shall have the responsibility to compile and maintain an inventory of space available for placing eligible aged citizens in facilities under the jurisdiction of the dormitory authority; the office shall also take whatever action necessary to locate those aged citizens of New York, who, according to standards to be promulgated by the office, are available for residence in facilities under the jurisdiction of the dormitory authority; the office shall initiate, assist, coordinate, supervise, and approve the plan of relocation of such aged citizens, in facilities under the jurisdiction of the dormitory authority, by any not-for-profit corporation or political subdivision of the state or the state, or in the absence of the foregoing entities, by the office itself; in addition, the office shall carry out the purposes of the public authorities law pertaining to the use of dormitory authority facilities for the aged. 2. In carrying out the duties and responsibilities under this title, the office shall periodically review existing aged residents' use of dormitory authority facilities, and to establish and enforce such rules and regulations as may be necessary to assure the office that the needs of aged residents, as determined by the office, are being met.
6		N.Y. Elder Law. § 205. Exclusion from mandatory retirement.	Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an employee of the office or an employee of a local public agency whose position is in whole or in part funded through the office, or the federal older Americans act of 1965 as amended,1 shall not be subject to any mandatory retirement provision based on the age of such employee.
7		N.Y. Elder Law § 206. Informal caregiver training.	1. The director is hereby authorized and directed, to the extent appropriations are available therefor, to develop, establish and operate training and technical assistance programs, including caregiver resource centers, caregiver networks, and other support activities, for informal caregivers throughout the state for the purposes of assisting such caregivers and improving the quality of care provided to frail and disabled persons. The director shall also make available and encourage the utilization of such training programs in consultation with the commissioner of health, the commissioner of the office of children and family services, the commissioner of mental health, and the commissioner of mental retardation and developmental disabilities. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section: (a) “Informal caregiver” shall mean the family member or other natural person who normally provides the daily care or supervision of a frail or disabled person, or any family member or other natural person who contributes to and is involved in the caretaking responsibilities for such frail or disabled person. Such informal caregiver may, but need not, reside in the same household as the frail or disabled person. (b) “Frail or disabled person” shall mean any person who is unable to attend to his or her daily needs without the assistance or regular supervision of an informal caregiver due to mental or physical impairment. Such definition shall not exclude persons under eighteen years of age who suffer from mental or physical impairment. (c) “Program” shall mean the program of informal caregiver training and technical assistance established by this section. (d) “Caregiver resource center” shall mean a project funded pursuant to this section which provides services and activities which are responsive to the needs and contracts of informal caregivers in regard to their caregiving responsibilities. (e) “Caregiver networks” shall mean local coalitions which develop, coordinate, and implement action plans to identify and mobilize resources to address the unmet needs of frail and disabled persons and their caregivers. 3. (a) The duties of the director pursuant to this section shall include, but not be limited to: (1) developing and make available or approve a curriculum for informal caregiver training which considers and is easily adapted to an array of personal needs and disabilities, and which is sensitive to ethnic and community characteristics; (2) providing technical assistance and training to appropriate organizations and groups, including caregiver resource centers and caregiver networks, which, in turn, shall provide training and assistance to informal caregivers; and (3) providing grants to appropriate organizations and groups, including caregiver resource centers and caregiver networks, to develop and make available approved curricula for informal caregiver training as well as disseminate information regarding the curriculum. (4) develop guidelines for local area agencies on aging in order to provide the following: (i) information and assistance regarding gaining access to available services to assist informal caregivers; (ii) resource referrals for informal caregivers regarding decision-making on behalf of the individual receiving care; and (iii) counseling referrals for informal caregivers. (b) Training and technical assistance shall include, but not be limited to: (1) knowledge of major health problems and diseases, mental and physical disabilities, and the aging process; (2) practical skills required in providing personal care and support; (3) stress awareness and methods of dealing with stress caused by providing care; (4) financial management; and (5) identification and utilization of available resources, including benefits, entitlements, and other programs and assistance. 4. The director shall: (a) Promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. (b) On or before the first day of January every other year, submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, which shall include, but not be limited to: (1) a financial report of the program's operation; (2) a profile of persons or groups receiving training and technical assistance pursuant to this section; and (3) an analysis of the program's success in assisting informal caregivers and improving the quality of care provided by such persons.
8		N.Y. Elder Law § 208. Respite program.	1. The director is hereby authorized to establish and monitor respite projects for the purposes of encouraging the initiation and expansion of respite, evaluating the effectiveness of respite in deterring and/or delaying institutionalization, evaluating the demand for respite and of the cost of utilization of different service modes. 2. For the purposes of this section: (a) “Respite” shall mean the provision of infrequent and temporary substitute care or supervision of frail or disabled adults on behalf of and in the absence of the care-giver, for the purpose of providing relief from the stresses or responsibilities concomitant with providing care, so as to enable the care-giver to maintain a normal routine. Respite shall not exceed one hundred days in any calendar year for any individual. Respite may be provided by any service or combination of services supplied by individuals, a public agency, a public corporation or a private not-for-profit corporation or any proprietary provider. (b) “Care-giver” shall mean the family member or other natural person who normally provides the daily care or supervision of a frail or disabled adult. Such care-giver may, but need not, reside in the same household as the frail or disabled adult. (c) “Provider” shall mean any entity enumerated in paragraph (a) of this subdivision which is the supplier of services providing respite. (d) “Sponsor” shall mean the provider, public agency or community group approved by the director which establishes a contractual relationship with the office for the purposes of a project pursuant to this section, and which is responsible for the recruitment of providers, the coordination and arrangement of provider services in a manner which meets client needs, the general supervision of the local program, and the submission of such information or reports as may be required by the director. (e) “Frail or disabled adult” shall mean any adult who is unable to attend to his or her daily needs without the assistance or regular supervision of a care-giver due to mental or physical impairment and who is otherwise eligible for services on the basis of his or her level of impairment. Priority shall be given in all cases to frail or disabled adults sixty years of age or older. 3. (a) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law to the contrary, entities qualifying as providers or sponsors pursuant to the provisions of paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of subdivision two of this section are hereby authorized to conduct or participate in respite projects as approved and extended by the director. (b) The director shall publicize the existence of, and make available, application forms for such projects seeking the advice and counsel of the advisory committee for the aging established pursuant to section two hundred ten of this title. (c) Such application forms shall require the submission of such information as the director deems necessary for the evaluation of such proposed projects. This information shall include, but not be limited to: (1) the identity and qualifications of the sponsor; (2) the identity and qualifications of the provider or providers and a plan for the coordination of their services; (3) an assessment of the community need for respite services including documentation; (4) plans for the coordination and arrangement of provider services in a manner which meets client needs; (5) a fiscal plan, including specific provisions for the utilization of existing reimbursement and funding sources and the development of local financial support; (6) plans for publicizing the purpose of the project and the services to be provided, including the identities, services and charges of each participating provider; (7) indications of broad-based community support and participation; and (8) identification of the unserved or underserved population to be served. (d) The director shall review, require any necessary modifications, and upon such modification, approve a number of applications and, within the amounts appropriated therefor, award grants for the operation of respite projects. Such an approved application shall constitute a plan of service which may be rendered only in the manner and for the period for which such plan has been approved or from time to time extended by the director. The director shall ensure that each such plan of service is coordinated with the “designated agency” as defined in section two hundred fourteen of this title, the local social services district or districts, and the local public health agency or agencies in which the services are to be provided in order to help ensure that every effort will be made to utilize existing funding sources for eligible individuals and to avoid unnecessary duplication of services. (e) Within the amounts appropriated therefor, the director shall give first priority to the six existing respite projects established under the provisions of the respite demonstration program authorized pursuant to chapter seven hundred sixty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-one. (f) Further consideration shall be given to proposals that: (1) develop new or expand existing respite care projects/programs to provide care to one or more target populations that are currently unserved or underserved in the community; (2) provide for respite in a geographical area of the state that is currently without community-based respite care services; (3) provide services that are responsive to the individual's needs and circumstances in the targeted area; (4) show utilization of existing services, coordination of services with other agencies/resources; and utilization of various service components, such as personal emergency response systems, adult day services, and nutrition services, where appropriate. 4. (a) The director in consultation with the commissioner of the office of children and family services may apply for the appropriate waivers under federal law and regulation and may, subject to the approval of the director of the budget, waive any provision of the social services law or regulation of the office of children and family services as may be necessary to make funds which are available pursuant to the provisions of title XIX or XX of the federal social security act,1 the emergency assistance for families program or the emergency assistance for adults program available to eligible providers if the recipients of such services are otherwise eligible to receive benefits or services pursuant to the provisions of such programs. (b) In the event that waivers under federal law and regulation are not received, nothing contained in this section shall be construed to require the expenditure of funds by the state or any locality in an amount greater than if such waivers had been received. 5. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit, modify or otherwise affect the provision of care and services of a long-term home health care program pursuant to article thirty-six of the public health law. 6. For purposes of determining the eligibility for benefits pursuant to this chapter, when applicable, only the financial eligibility of the frail or disabled adult shall be taken into consideration. 7. In addition, the director, within appropriations provided, may establish a training program for respite workers. The six existing respite projects established pursuant to chapter seven hundred sixty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred eighty-one shall, insofar as they are able, assist in providing such a training program. The director may also enter into contracts with boards of cooperative educational services pursuant to sections nineteen hundred fifty and forty-six hundred two of the education law to provide courses in training for respite care workers. This training program shall be optional for existing programs. 8. Every two years beginning on January first, two thousand five, the director shall submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly which shall include, but not be limited to: (a) A financial report for each project; (b) A qualitative and quantitative profile of sponsors, providers, care-givers, and frail or disabled adults participating in the project; (c) A comparative assessment of the costs and effectiveness of each type of service or combinations of services provided; (d) An assessment of the nature and extent of the demand for services which provide respite and an evaluation of the success of such projects in meeting this demand; (e) Specific identification of any factors which significantly enhance or inhibit the successful provision of respite; (f) A review of the extent to which priority has been given to persons aged sixty and over; (g) The coordination of the projects with other agencies, facilities and institutions providing similar services as well as the utilization and networking with case management programs; (h) The ability of the projects to provide service at various economic levels; (i) The adherence of the program to its original or amended respite proposal; and (j) An assessment of the extent of the demand for the services the project provides.
9		N.Y. Elder Law § 209. Naturally occurring retirement community supportive service program.	1. As used in this section: (a) “Older adults” shall mean persons who are sixty years of age or older. (b) “Eligible applicant” shall mean a not-for-profit agency specializing in housing, health or other human services which serves or would serve the community within which a naturally occurring retirement community is located. (c) “Health indicators/performance improvement” shall mean a survey tool, database, and process that provides grantees with performance outcomes data. (d) “Eligible services” shall mean the following services provided by a classic or neighborhood NORC program, or in coordination with other entities, including, but not limited to: person centered planning, case assistance, care coordination, information and assistance, application and benefit assistance, health care management and assistance, volunteer services, health promotion and linkages to prevention services and screenings, linkages to in-home services, health indicators/performance improvement, housekeeping/chore, personal care, counseling, shopping and/or meal preparation assistance, escort, telephone reassurance, transportation, friendly visiting, support groups, personal emergency response systems (PERS), meals, recreation, bill paying assistance, education regarding the signs of elder abuse or exploitation and available resources for a senior who is a suspected victim of elder abuse or exploitation, chemical dependance1 counseling provided by credentialed alcoholism and substance abuse counselors as defined in paragraph three of subdivision (d) of section 19.07 of the mental hygiene law and referrals to appropriate chemical dependence counseling providers, and other services designed to address the needs of residents of classic and neighborhood NORCS by helping them extend their independence, improve their quality of life, and maximize their well-being. (e) “Naturally occurring retirement community”, “classic naturally occurring retirement community” or “classic NORC” shall mean an apartment building or housing complex which: (1) was not predominantly built for older adults; (2) does not restrict admissions solely to older adults; (3)(A) at least forty percent of the units have an occupant who is an older adult; and (B) in which at least two hundred fifty of the residents of an apartment building are older adults or five hundred residents of a housing complex are older adults; and (4) a majority of the older adults to be served are low or moderate income, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. (f) “Neighborhood naturally occurring retirement community” or “neighborhood NORC” shall mean a residential dwelling or group of residential dwellings in a geographically defined neighborhood or group of contiguous neighborhoods which: (1) was not predominantly developed for older adults; (2) does not predominantly restrict admission to older adults; (3)(A) in a non-rural area, has at least thirty percent of the residents who are older adults or the units have an occupant who is an older adult; (B) in a rural area, has at least twenty percent of the residents who are older adults or the units have an occupant who is an older adult; and (4) is made up of low-rise buildings six stories or less and/or single and multi-family homes, provided, however, that apartment buildings and housing complexes may be included in rural areas. (g) “Rural areas” shall mean counties within the state having a population of less than two hundred thousand persons including the municipalities, individuals, institutions, communities, programs, and such other entities or resources as are found therein; or, in counties with a population of two hundred thousand or more, towns with a population density of less than one hundred and fifty persons per square mile including the villages, individuals, institutions, communities, programs, and such other entities or resources as are found therein. (h) “Non-rural areas” shall mean any county, city, or town that has a population or population density greater than that which defines a rural area pursuant to this subdivision. 2. A naturally occurring retirement community supportive service program is established as a program to be administered by the director. 3. The director shall develop appropriate criteria for the selection of grantees of funds provided pursuant to this section. 4. The criteria for the award of grants shall be consistent with the provisions of this section and shall include, at a minimum: (a) the number, size, type and location of the projects to be served, including the number, size, type and location of residential dwellings or group of residential dwellings selected as candidates for inclusion in a neighborhood naturally occurring retirement community; provided, that the director shall make reasonable efforts to assure that geographic balance in the distribution of such projects is maintained, consistent with the needs to be addressed, funding available, applications for eligible applicants, ability to coordinate services, other requirements of this section, and other criteria developed by the director; (b) the appropriate number and concentration of older adult residents to be served by an individual project; provided, that such criteria need not specify, in the case of a project which includes several buildings, the number of older adults to be served in any individual building; (c) the demographic characteristics of the residents to be served; (d) a requirement that the applicant demonstrate community wide support from residents, neighborhood associations, community groups, nonprofit organizations and others; (e) in the case of neighborhood naturally occurring retirement communities, a requirement that the boundaries of the geographic area to be served are clear and coherent and create an identifiable program and supportive community; (f) the financial or in-kind support required to be provided to the project by the owners, managers and residents of the housing development or geographically defined area; provided, however, that such criteria need not address whether the funding is public or private, or the source of such support; (g) the scope and intensity of the services to be provided, and their appropriateness for the residents proposed to be served. The applicant shall have conducted a needs assessment on the basis of which such applicant shall establish the nature and extent of services to be provided; and further that such services shall provide a mix of appropriate services that provide active and meaningful participation for residents. The criteria shall not require that the applicant agency be the sole provider of such services, but shall require that the applicant at a minimum actively manage the provision of such services. Such services may be the same as services provided by the local municipality or other community-based organization provided that those services are not available to or do not entirely meet the needs of the residents of the classic or neighborhood naturally occurring retirement community; (h) the experience and financial stability of the applicant agency, who shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director their fiscal and managerial stability and programmatic success in serving residents; (i) the plan for active, meaningful participation for residents proposed to be served in project design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and governance; (j) an agreement by the applicant to participate in data collection and evaluation necessary to implement performance measures for health indicators/performance improvement and complete the report required by this section; (k) the policy and program roles of the applicant agency and any other agencies involved in the provision of services or the management of the project, including community-based organizations, the housing development governing body, or other owners or managers of the apartment buildings and housing complexes and the residents of such apartment buildings and housing complexes. The criteria shall require a clear delineation of such policy and program roles; (l) a requirement that each eligible agency document the need for the project and financial commitments to it from such sources as the director shall deem appropriate given the character and nature of the proposed project, and written evidence of support from the appropriate housing development governing body or other owners or managers of the apartment buildings and housing complexes in the case of classic naturally occurring retirement communities, or the geographically defined neighborhood in the case of neighborhood naturally occurring retirement communities. The purpose of such documentation shall be to demonstrate the need for the project, support for it in the areas to be served, and the financial and managerial ability to sustain the project; (m) a requirement that any aid provided pursuant to this section be matched by an amount equal to one quarter of the aid provided, consisting of monetary support, in-kind support, or some combination thereof from other sources, provided that such in-kind support be utilized only upon approval from the director and only to the extent matching funds are not available and that at least fifty percent of such required match be contributed by the housing development governing body or other owners or managers and residents of the apartment buildings and housing complexes, or geographically defined area, in which the project is proposed, or, upon approval by the director, sources in neighborhoods contiguous to the boundaries of the geographic areas served where services may also be provided pursuant to subdivision six of this section; (n) the circumstances under which the director may waive all or part of the requirement for provision of an equal amount of funding from other sources required pursuant to paragraph (m) of this subdivision, provided that such criteria shall include provision for waiver at the discretion of the director upon a finding by the director that the program will serve a low income or hardship community, and that such waiver is required to assure that such community receive a fair share of the funding available. The committee shall develop appropriate criteria for determining whether a community is a low income or hardship community; (o) the policy and program roles of the applicant agency and any other agencies involved in the provision of services or the management of the neighborhood naturally occurring retirement community, provided that the criteria shall require a clear delineation of such policy and program roles; and (p) a plan for coordination with the designated area agency on aging to leverage additional services for classic or neighborhood NORC participants. 4-a. The director shall develop a list of priority and optional services from the eligible services listed in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section which may be used in the selection of grantees pursuant to this section. 4-b. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, priority shall be given in any competitive bidding or request for proposals process conducted for the naturally occurring retirement community supportive services program to applicants that propose to serve a building, housing complex, or catchment area that is being served at the time of the competitive bidding or request for proposals process. 5. Within amounts specifically appropriated therefor and consistent with the criteria developed and required pursuant to this section the director shall approve grants to eligible applicants. Individual grants awarded for classic NORC programs shall be in amounts not to exceed three hundred thousand ($300,000) dollars and for neighborhood NORCs not less than sixty thousand ($60,000) dollars in any twelve month period. 6. The director may allow services provided by a naturally occurring retirement community supportive service program or by a neighborhood naturally occurring retirement community to also include services to residents who live in neighborhoods contiguous to the boundaries of the geographic area served by such programs if: (a) the persons served are older adults; (b) the services affect the health and welfare of such persons; and (c) the services are provided on a one-time basis in the year in which they are provided, and not in a manner which is said or intended to be continuous. The director may also consent to the provision of such services by such program if the program has received a grant which requires services to be provided beyond the geographic boundaries of the program. The director shall establish procedures under which a program may request the ability to provide such services. The provision of such services shall not affect the funding provided to the program by the department pursuant to this section. 7. The director shall promulgate rules and regulations as necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 8. On or before March first, two thousand nineteen, and every five years thereafter, the director shall report to the governor and the finance committee of the senate and the ways and means committee of the assembly concerning the effectiveness of the naturally occurring retirement community supportive services program in achieving the objectives set forth by this section, which include helping to address the needs of residents in such classic and neighborhood naturally occurring retirement communities, assuring access to a continuum of necessary services, increasing private, philanthropic and other public funding for programs, and preventing unnecessary hospital and nursing home stays. The report shall also include recommendations concerning continuation or modification of the program from the director. The director shall provide the required information and any other information deemed appropriate to the report in such form and detail as will be helpful to the legislature and the governor in determining to extend, eliminate or modify the program including, but not limited to, the following: (a) the number, size, type and location of the projects developed and funded, including the number, kinds and functions of staff in each program; (b) the age, sex, religion and other appropriate demographic information concerning the residents served; (c) the services provided to residents, reported in such manner as to allow comparison of services by demographic group and region; (d) a listing of the services provided by eligible applicants, including the number, kind and intensity of such services; and (e) a listing of partner organizations providing services, the number, kind and intensity of such services, and, to the extent practicable, the outcomes of such referrals.
10		N.Y. Elder Law § 214. Community services for the elderly.	1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings: (a) “Designated agency” shall mean an agency which is designated by the chief executive officer of the county if there be one, or otherwise the governing board of such county, or the chief executive officer of the city of New York, or the governing board of an Indian tribal council; which is either a unit of county government or the city of New York or an Indian tribal organization or a private non-profit agency, and which is the area agency on aging created pursuant to the federal older Americans act of 1965.1 (b) “Elderly person” shall mean a person sixty years of age or older. (c) “County” shall mean a county, as defined in section three of the county law, except that the city of New York shall be considered one county. (d) “Base year expenditures” and “base year services” shall mean the level of expenditures and services in the year prior to the first year for which a county plan is submitted or in such county's two thousand five fiscal year, whichever is greater. (e) “Community services” shall mean services for elderly persons which are provided by a public or governmental agency or non-profit agency, and which are provided in the home of an elderly person or in community settings such as senior citizens centers, housing projects, or agency offices. Such services shall not include any services provided pursuant to the public health law other than home care services. (f) “Community service projects” shall mean community services financed pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this section. (g) “County plan” shall mean a plan for community services prepared by a county pursuant to this section. (h) “Non-profit agency” shall mean a corporation organized or existing pursuant to the not-for-profit corporation law. (i) “Program year” shall mean the period from April first through March thirty-first of the following calendar year. (j) “First program year” for a county shall mean the initial year for which the county has received approval for its county plan. 2. County plans for improving the availability of community services to the elderly. (a) Counties with a designated agency are required to submit a county plan for a two-, three-, or four-year period determined by the director, with an annual update containing a budget request for the forthcoming program year and such other information as shall be required by the director, for improving the delivery of community services for elderly persons in the format prescribed by the director. The plan for the city of New York shall specifically address the needs of each county within such city. Such plan shall be a comprehensive description of the manner in which the county intends to address the needs of elderly persons living in the county through improved coordination of existing community services and by the development of any new or expanded community service projects which will improve the delivery of services to the elderly. Such plan shall contain: (1) a statement of goals and objectives for addressing the needs of elderly persons in the county, an assessment of the needs of elderly persons residing in the county, a description of public and private resources that currently provide community services to elderly persons within the county, a description of intended actions to consolidate and coordinate existing community services administered by county government, a description of the intended actions to coordinate congregate services programs for the elderly operated within the county pursuant to section two hundred seventeen of this title with other community services for the elderly, a description of the means to coordinate other community services for elderly persons in the county with those administered by county government, and a statement of the priorities for the provision of community services during the program period covered by such plan; (2) an identification of community service projects to be developed to improve the delivery of services, a budget request for approval for the forthcoming year which individually identifies each community service project to be funded pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision four of this section, letters of comment from the appropriate local agencies on the relationship and expected impact of the proposed community service projects, assurances that community service projects will provide services to those most in need, an indication of fee schedules by which elderly persons participating in community service projects may contribute to the costs of such projects, and an indication of how the effectiveness of such community service projects will be evaluated; (3) an identification of planning, coordination, and administrative activities necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of the plan, together with a budget request for such activities for approval for the forthcoming year to be funded pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision four of this section, and assurances by the county that it will comply with the requirements of state and federal law; and (4) such other components as may be required pursuant to regulations promulgated by the director. (b) Such county plan for community services or annual update shall be prepared by the designated agency and approved by the chief executive officer of the county, if there be one, or otherwise the governing board of the county, or the chief executive of the city of New York and submitted to the director no later than ninety days prior to the beginning of the program period covered by such plan or annual update. Prior to a submission of a county plan or annual update to the director for approval, the designated agency shall conduct such public hearings as may be required by regulations of the director, provided that there shall be at least one such hearing, and one in each county contained within the city of New York. (c) The director shall review such county plan and may approve or disapprove such plan, or any part, program, or project within such plan, and shall propose such modifications and conditions as are deemed appropriate and necessary. Compliance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall be the basis for approval of a county plan. The director shall establish by regulation the dates for notifying the designated agency of approval or disapproval of a county plan. In the event the director shall disapprove the proposed county plan, the county submitting such application shall be afforded an opportunity for an adjudicatory hearing, as prescribed by article three of the state administrative procedure act. (d) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, nothing contained in this section shall give the director or a designated agency any administrative, fiscal, supervisory, or other authority whatsoever over any plans, programs or expenditures authorized pursuant to titles eighteen, nineteen and twenty of the federal social security act,2 or over any unit of state or local government. (e) Counties with a designated agency may submit to the director a letter of intent, in the form and by the date prescribed by the director with the approval of the director of the budget, evidencing the commitment of the county to develop a county home care plan for functionally impaired elderly. (f) Within the amounts appropriated therefor, counties submitting an approved letter of intent pursuant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision shall be eligible for reimbursement of one hundred percent of the approved expenditures for preparing a county home care plan for functionally impaired elderly. Such a grant-in-aid shall be available to a county only once and shall be limited to one-half the amount available to such county pursuant to subparagraph one of paragraph (a) of subdivision four of this section; provided however that in either of the two years immediately following its first submission of a home care plan for functionally impaired elderly, a county which does not receive state aid during such year for expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to paragraph (j) of subdivision four of this section, may apply for reimbursement of one hundred percent of the approved expenditures for revising such home care plan, limited to one-quarter the amount available to such county pursuant to subparagraph one of paragraph (a) of subdivision four of this section. (g) County home care plans for functionally impaired elderly prepared pursuant to this subdivision shall include a comprehensive description of all aspects of home care, non-institutional respite, case management, and ancillary services available to elderly persons in the county; a description of intended actions to coordinate such home care, non-institutional respite, case management, and ancillary services to functionally impaired elderly persons in their county provided under this section with other services to elderly persons; a proposal for expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services for functionally impaired elderly persons with unmet needs to support such persons' continued residence in their homes; and such other components as may be required pursuant to regulations promulgated by the director, including how the proposed expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services will be delivered to unserved or underserved populations. (h) Such county home care plan for functionally impaired elderly shall be prepared by the designated agency after consultation with the social services district and the local public health agency, and shall be approved by the chief executive officer of the county, if there be one, or otherwise the governing board of the county, or the chief executive of the city of New York, and submitted to the director for approval by such date as may be specified by regulation. The director shall not approve such county home care plan for functionally impaired elderly unless it complies with the standards and regulations issued pursuant to this section. 3. Community service projects. (a) The director may authorize a county which has an approved county plan pursuant to this section to provide one or more community service projects included in such approved plan which are designed to make community services and entitlement programs more available and accessible to older persons through the improved coordination and delivery of services for the elderly. As necessary to meet project goals and objectives, such projects may provide new services not previously provided within the county, expand services provided during the base year, and establish new mechanisms to coordinate all existing and new services. (b) Counties having an approved plan which includes one or more community service projects shall be eligible for state aid, as provided in subdivision four of this section, for the provision of such projects identified in such plan. (c) Each community service project included in a county plan shall clearly specify the intended goals and objectives of such project, shall describe the elderly population the project intends to serve, shall specify a timetable not to exceed three years to achieve and evaluate such goals and objectives, and shall specify proposed methods to evaluate the effectiveness of such project. (d) The director, with the advice of the advisory committee for the aging, shall promulgate regulations and issue guidelines for evaluating the effectiveness and achievements of such community service projects, shall require periodic evaluations of each project, and shall make available such evaluations to appropriate agencies, the governor and the legislature. (e) No project funded pursuant to this section shall continue beyond three years, unless approved by the director after the director is satisfied that the project effectively improves the delivery of services to the elderly based upon periodic evaluations of the project. 4. State aid. (a) County plans for improving the availability of community services to the elderly: (1) within the amounts appropriated therefor, counties with an approved county plan shall be eligible for reimbursement of one hundred percent of the annual approved expenditures for the preparation and revision of such county plan, evaluation of projects contained within such county plan, execution of interagency agreements necessary to carry out the plan, actions to consolidate, combine or collocate services within the county, and such other costs of the designated agency necessary to implement such county plan, provided that the total annual amount payable to a county pursuant to this subparagraph shall not exceed the sum of one dollar for each elderly person residing in the county, or seventy-five thousand dollars, whichever is less, and further provided that for the city of New York such amount shall not exceed one dollar for each elderly person residing in the city or three hundred seventy-five thousand dollars, whichever is less. Notwithstanding the foregoing limitations, counties with a population of less than twenty thousand elderly persons shall be eligible for reimbursement of one hundred percent of such annual approved expenditures provided that the total annual amount of such reimbursement per county shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars. (2) within the amounts appropriated therefor, a county may receive a grant-in-aid of up to twenty-five per centum of the total annual amount that such county is eligible to receive pursuant to subparagraph one of this paragraph for the cost of preparing an initial county plan in accordance with this section. Such a grant-in-aid shall be available to a county only once and shall be in addition to the reimbursement received by the county pursuant to subparagraph one of this paragraph for the first program year. A request for such a grant-in-aid shall be accompanied by a letter of intent in the form prescribed by the director evidencing the commitment of the county to develop a county plan for community services and shall be submitted to the director at least six months prior to the beginning of the first program year. (b) Community service projects: (1) within the amounts appropriated therefor, counties having an approved county plan shall be eligible for reimbursement by the state for expenditures for approved community service projects pursuant to this section. Such state reimbursement shall not exceed thirty-three thousand six hundred dollars or four dollars twenty cents for each elderly person residing in the county, whichever is greater. The annual state reimbursement eligibility shall be at a rate of seventy-five percent of the total annual expenditures for such approved programs. (2) the director shall provide by regulation that certain non-county moneys and in-kind equivalents may be used to comprise the county share of such total annual approved expenditures, provided that such county share shall not include cost-sharing received from elderly persons receiving expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to paragraph (k) of this subdivision or moneys received from the federal government for services for the elderly allocated to the states or local governments according to population or other such non-competitive basis. (3) the director shall provide by regulation the requirements for any participant contributions and fee schedules used for community service projects and the manner for the accounting and use of any such revenue. (c) Reimbursement pursuant to this section shall not be available for expenditures for base year services otherwise provided without cost, or to replace base year expenditures made by the county or any other service provider irrespective of the source of funds for such services. (d) Reimbursement shall not be available to community services projects funded pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision or to expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services funded pursuant to paragraph (j) of this subdivision for services provided to elderly persons who are eligible for or are receiving services to meet their needs pursuant to titles eighteen, nineteen or twenty of the federal social security act or any other governmental programs or for services provided to residents in adult residential care facilities which had previously been provided by the facility or which are required by law to be provided by such facility. (e) For the purpose of determining the amount of state reimbursement for which a county is eligible pursuant to this section, the last preceding federal census or other census data approved by the comptroller shall be used. Funds appropriated by the state for the purpose of reimbursement for community services pursuant to this section shall be apportioned among the counties pursuant to the formula set forth in paragraph (b) of this subdivision by the director. Funds appropriated by the state for the purpose of reimbursement for expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to this section shall be apportioned among the counties by the director pursuant to the formula set forth in paragraph (j) of this subdivision. (f) The comptroller may withhold the payment of state aid to any county in the event that such county alters or discontinues the operations approved by the director pursuant to this section or otherwise fails to comply with the regulations or requirements of the director. (g) Counties shall submit claims for reimbursement after the end of each month or each quarter as required by and in accordance with procedures prescribed by the director. Reimbursement shall be available for approved expenditures incurred in accordance with an approved county plan for community services. (h) Reimbursement pursuant to subparagraph one of paragraph (b) or paragraph (j) of this subdivision shall not be available for expenditures for community or expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services to elderly persons in the city of New York unless expenditures for such services are apportioned for services in each of the counties contained within such city in a manner which the director has determined by regulation substantially reflects the proportion that the number of elderly persons in that county bears to the total number of elderly persons in the city as a whole. In determining whether reimbursement shall be available under paragraph (g) of this subdivision, the director shall ensure that expenditures were apportioned in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph. (i) The director, within the amounts appropriated therefor and with the approval of the director of the budget, may authorize a county which has an approved home care plan for functionally impaired elderly to provide expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to such plan. Such services shall be limited to those services necessary to meet otherwise unmet needs and which support such elderly persons' continued residence in their homes. Needs will be determined pursuant to a standardized evaluation of functional impairment, available resources and such other relevant factors specified pursuant to regulations promulgated by the director. No expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, or ancillary services shall be provided to any individual pursuant to this section unless such expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, or ancillary services are accompanied by ongoing case management services in accordance with regulations promulgated by the director. (j) Within the amounts appropriated therefor, counties authorized to provide expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subdivision shall be eligible for reimbursement by the state of up to seventy-five percent of allowable expenditures for approved services pursuant to this section up to the level authorized by the director. The director shall not authorize a level of state reimbursement pursuant to this paragraph which exceeds the sum of ninety-one thousand two hundred fifty dollars or seven dollars thirty cents for each elderly person residing in the county, whichever is greater, and shall proportionately reduce such sum for each county in any years for which appropriations are not sufficient to fully fund approved expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services for functionally impaired elderly in all counties with approved home care plans; provided however that in state fiscal years beginning on or after the first day of April, two thousand five, the director, with the approval of the director of the budget, may authorize state reimbursement in excess of these levels to the extent appropriations are available therefor. (k) The director, with the approval of the director of the budget, shall provide by regulation the extent of cost-sharing to be required of elderly persons receiving expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to this section, which shall reflect such recipients' means to pay for such services and which will not affect their ability to remain in their homes; provided however that the director shall not authorize or direct the withholding of state aid pursuant to paragraph (f) of this subdivision prior to the first day of April, two thousand five, based on any county's failure or inability to comply with regulations promulgated pursuant to this paragraph. The full amount of cost-sharing actually received by any county from elderly persons receiving expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services shall be used by such county to expand either such county's program of community services or such county's program of expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to this section. (l) Reimbursement pursuant to paragraph (j) of this subdivision shall not be available for expenditures for base year services otherwise provided without cost, or to replace base year expenditures made by the county or any other service provider irrespective of the source of funds, or to replace community services expenditures pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision. (m) Counties shall submit claims for reimbursement for expanded in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services to functionally impaired elderly as required by and in accordance with procedures prescribed by the director. Reimbursement shall be available for approved expenditures incurred in accordance with an approved county home care plan for functionally impaired elderly to the extent the director has authorized state aid for such services pursuant to paragraph (i) of this subdivision. (n) The director shall provide by regulation that certain non-county moneys and in-kind equivalents may be used in part to compose the county share of total allowable expenditures pursuant to paragraph (j) of this subdivision, provided that such county share shall not include cost-sharing received from elderly persons receiving expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to paragraph (k) of this subdivision or moneys received from the federal government for services for the elderly allocated to the states or local governments according to population or other such non-competitive basis. 5. Contracts for services. (a) For the purposes of this section, counties are authorized to contract with public agencies, municipalities, non-profit agencies, or such other entities as the director may authorize. Contracts for nursing services, home health aide services, nutritional services (other than the delivery of meals), physical, speech, and occupational therapy, and medical social services provided pursuant to this section shall only be with certified home health agencies as defined in article thirty-six of the public health law. (b) Community services provided pursuant to this section shall not be provided directly by the designated agency unless approval is granted by the director. Such approval may not be given by the director unless the designated agency directly provided the service prior to approval of the annual county plan by the director, or unless it can be shown that the direct provision of a community service by the designated agency is necessary due to the absence of an existing suitable provider to assure an adequate supply of such service, or to ensure the quality of the service provided. (c) Pursuant to an agreement, two or more counties may join together for the purposes of this section. Such agreements shall make provision for the proportionate cost to be borne by each county, the employment of personnel, the receipt and disbursement of funds, and any other matters deemed necessary by the director. Claims for reimbursement pursuant to subdivision four of this section shall be paid to each county and shall be limited to the amount to which each county would be entitled pursuant to such subdivision. 6. Implementation of home care plans. Within the amounts appropriated therefor, counties authorized to provide expanded non-medical in-home services, non-institutional respite services, case management services, and ancillary services pursuant to paragraph (i) of subdivision four of this section shall be eligible for reimbursement by the state of one hundred percent of allowable expenditures for implementing the approved county home care plan for functionally impaired elderly, limited to a sum equivalent to the amount available to such county pursuant to subparagraph one of paragraph (a) of subdivision four of this section. 7. For the purposes of obtaining state aid within the amounts appropriated therefor under this section, a designated agency of an Indian tribal organization shall qualify as though it were a designated agency for a county.
11		N.Y. Elder Law § 215. Social model adult day services programs.	1. Definitions. As used in this section: (a) “Advisory committee for the aging” shall mean the advisory committee for the aging established pursuant to section two hundred ten of this title. (b) “Social adult day services” shall mean a program providing a variety of long term care services to a group of individuals, possessing functional impairments, whether due to physical or cognitive impairments, in a congregate setting and pursuant to an individualized plan of care. (c) “Designated agency” shall mean any agency which is either a unit of county government, the city of New York, or the governing body or council of an Indian tribal reservation, or a private not-for-profit agency organized or existing pursuant to the not-for-profit corporation law, which has been designated as an area agency on aging by the state office for the aging pursuant to the federal older Americans act of 1965, as amended.1 (d) “Functionally impaired” shall mean a person who needs the assistance of another person in at least one of the following activities of daily living: toileting, mobility, transferring, or eating; or who needs supervision due to cognitive and/or psycho-social impairment. (e) “Social adult day care” shall mean a program providing a variety of comprehensive services to functionally impaired elderly persons as defined in regulations established by the director. 2. Duties of the director. (a) The director is authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations, establishing standards and requirements with regard to the operation of all social adult day care programs receiving funding pursuant to this article. Such standards and requirements shall include, but not be limited to: (1) services to be provided; (2) admission criteria; (3) participant cost-sharing; (4) assessment and enrollment; (5) staffing; (6) monitoring and evaluation of programs; and (7) any other standards or requirements which the director determines to be appropriate. (b) Rules and regulations promulgated by the director pursuant to this subdivision shall also direct how social adult day care will be included in the planning currently required of designated agencies. (c) The director shall develop materials for employees and volunteers of programs providing social adult day services or social adult day care on the signs and symptoms of elder abuse. Such materials shall include, but not be limited to, ways to discuss suspected elder abuse with seniors where abuse is suspected and resources to which seniors may be referred for counseling, shelter, or other assistance. 3. Funding for social adult day care programs. (a) Beginning with amounts appropriated in the two thousand five fiscal year, the director shall, within amounts appropriated therefor, make grants available on a competitive basis to not-for-profit or local government operated social adult day care programs for functionally impaired elderly persons, with consideration of regional needs and a broad array of models. Such grants shall equal seventy-five percent of allowable expenditures for approved services pursuant to this section; provided however that the director may accept certain in-kind equivalents to comprise the required twenty-five percent match; and provided further, in the case of providers which can demonstrate financial need, the director may make grants of up to one hundred percent of allowable expenditures pursuant to this section. (b) Beginning with the first year that the annual increase in amounts appropriated for the purposes of this section shall equal at least five million dollars, for that increase and all increases thereafter, the director shall distribute such increases to designated agencies for the provision of social adult day care programs for functionally impaired elderly persons based on a formula developed by the office which shall consider at least the following: the number of elderly persons in the area; and the number of functionally impaired elderly persons in the area as determined by the office. Base funding established under paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall continue to be distributed as provided in paragraph (a) of this subdivision. Within the amounts appropriated therefor, designated agencies authorized to provide social adult day care under this section shall be eligible for reimbursement from the state for seventy-five percent of allowable expenditures for approved social adult day care services pursuant to this section up to a level authorized by the director; provided however, that certain in-kind equivalents may comprise the twenty-five percent match. (c) The office may use up to three percent of the total of any funding appropriated pursuant to this section for administration. (d) The designated agency may use up to three percent of the total of any funds provided to the designated agency pursuant to this section for administration. 4. Funding eligibility. Funding pursuant to this section shall not be available to social adult day care programs for services provided to elderly persons who are eligible for or receiving comparable services to those defined in this section pursuant to title eighteen, nineteen or twenty of the federal social security act,2 or any other government program. In addition, funding pursuant to this section shall not supplant any existing public or private funding for social adult day care programs. 5. Report of director. The director, after consultation with his or her advisory committee, affected state agencies, any affected municipal agencies and persons involved in providing social adult day care services, shall make a report, on or before December thirty-first, two thousand five, to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair of the senate standing committee on aging and the chair of the assembly standing committee on aging on the projected costs and benefits of establishing uniform standards and requirements with regard to operation of social adult day care services in the state. The report shall include the director's findings, recommendations and estimate of the fiscal implications of regulating social adult day care services in the state.
12		N.Y. Elder Law § 215-b. Enriched social adult day services. Repeal Date: 03/31/2020	[Expires and deemed repealed March 31, 2020, pursuant to L.2008, c. 58, pt. A, § 32.] 1. Legislative intent. Social adult day services programs are resources that can help communities maintain the independence of functionally impaired adults. The level of services needed by some functionally impaired adults exceeds the level of assistance currently available through social model adult day services programs but is not at the level of support provided in an adult day health care program. Social adult day services programs cannot enroll new participants whose needs exceed the services that can be provided in the current social adult day services programs. Additionally, these programs must discharge current participants when their needs cannot be met. Therefore, an enriched social adult day services project shall be established as a demonstration project for the purposes of maintaining functionally impaired adults in the community by deterring or delaying institutionalization. 2. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (a) “Eligible participant” shall mean individuals who are functionally impaired, as defined in section two hundred fifteen of this title, and in need of services that exceed the level of assistance currently available through social adult day services programs but not at the level of support provided by adult day health care programs. (b) “Eligible entity” shall mean any not-for-profit or government entity, including the governing body or council of an Indian tribal reservation, who currently provides all of the services required for social adult day services programs pursuant to section two hundred fifteen of this title; including total assistance with toileting, mobility, transferring, and eating where appropriate; and has an existing contract with the state office for the aging. (c) “Enriched services” shall include the dispensing of medications by a registered nurse; health education; counseling; case management; restorative therapies lasting less than six months and maintenance therapies. Restorative and maintenance therapies shall be provided by an appropriately licensed health care provider. (d) “Optional services” shall mean other non-medical services approved by the director designed to improve the quality of life of eligible participants by extending their independence, avoiding unnecessary hospital and nursing home stays, and sustaining their informal supports. 3. Duties of the director. (a) The director, in conjunction with the commissioner of health, shall develop an application process whereby eligible entities may apply for approval to offer enriched services, optional services, or both. Such application shall include, but not be limited to: (1) an estimate of the number of eligible participants to whom the eligible entity could effectively provide the services for which they are applying to offer pursuant to this section; and (2) a plan under which the eligible entity would safely offer the services for which they are applying pursuant to this section, either directly or through a contract with a licensed health care practitioner or licensed home care provider as defined in section thirty-six hundred five of the public health law. (b) In considering applications made pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the director, in conjunction with the commissioner of health, may consider: (1) eligible entities that can effectively serve eligible participants residing in rural, urban, or suburban settings; (2) eligible entities that effectively serve culturally diverse populations; (3) eligible entities that demonstrate innovative use of technology, coordination, partnerships, transportation or other services to enable eligible participants to be effectively served; and (4) any other criteria determined to be appropriate. 4. Evaluation. On or before January thirtieth, two thousand seventeen, the director shall provide the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary president of the senate, and the chairpersons of the assembly and senate aging and health committees with a written evaluation of the program. The evaluation shall examine the effectiveness of the project in forestalling institutional placement, the costs of providing enriched services in a day care setting, participant satisfaction and program quality, and identification of the program design elements necessary for successful replication. 5. Grants. (a) The director may, within amounts appropriated therefor, make grants, available on a competitive basis, to eligible entities under this section. Such grants shall be for one hundred percent of the allowable expenditures for approved services and expenses under this section. (b) In making grants, the director, in conjunction with the commissioner of health, may consider the criteria established under subdivision three of this section. (c) Funds made available under this subdivision shall supplement and not supplant any federal, state, or local funds expended by any entity, including a unit of general purpose local government or not-for-profit, to provide services under this section. Funds under this subdivision cannot pay for individuals who are eligible under title nineteen of the federal social security act.
13		N.Y. Elder Law § 215-a. Senior vision services program.	1. Definitions. As used in this section: (a) “Senior vision services” shall mean the provision of non-vocational services to elderly persons who have a functional visual impairment. These services may include, but not be limited to, client assessment, information and referral, client and family counseling, referrals for opthalmological, optometric or other health care services, technical assistance and training for human services personnel to serve persons who are blind or visually impaired, and low vision screening. (b) “Functional visual impairment” shall mean an impairment of sight that substantially interferes with an elderly person's ability to perform specific daily living skills and tasks. Persons who are not regarded as legally blind, pursuant to this section, but who experience such an impairment of sight, shall be deemed eligible for senior vision services pursuant to this section. (c) “Elderly” shall mean an individual over sixty years of age. (d) “Director” shall mean the director of the office for the aging. 2. The director, in consultation with the New York state commission for the blind, is hereby authorized and directed, subject to the availability of appropriations, to establish a program of senior vision services grants to assist in the provision of vision services to elderly persons with functional visual impairments. 3. The director, in consultation with the New York state commission for the blind, shall award senior vision services grants to not-for-profit corporations which demonstrate: (a) the ability to provide senior vision services; (b) a commitment to provide such services to visually impaired persons or specialized training in providing such services to persons who are blind or visually impaired; and (c) other such factors as may be determined by the director in consultation with the state commission for the blind. 4. Grant awards shall take into consideration the lack of non-traditional and non-vocational services for elderly persons in need of senior vision services and the ability of such senior vision services grants to establish or to expand existing blind or visually impaired services currently provided or available in the county or region served by the not-for-profit corporation or through another source. 5. The director shall ensure that in awarding the grants pursuant to this section that due consideration is given to the geographic and existing service demands for senior vision services within a county or region of the state. 6. The director shall promulgate any rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. Additionally, the director shall submit a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly, prior to, but in no event later than, December thirty-first, in the year following enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, which shall include, but not be limited to: (a) financial reports of the grant project operations established pursuant to this section; (b) an analysis of the grant project's ability to provide such senior vision services to elderly persons with functional visual impairments; (c) recommendations on the continuation of such grants and the need for program expansion, if appropriate; (d) a profile of the grant recipient; and (e) other information deemed necessary by the director.
14		N.Y. Elder Law § 217. Congregate services initiative for the elderly.	1. Definitions. As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings: (a) "Designated agency" shall mean an agency which is designated by the chief executive officer of the county if there be one, or otherwise the governing board of such county, or the chief executive officer of the city of New York, or the governing board of an Indian tribal council; which is either a unit of county government or the city of New York or an Indian tribal organization or a private non-profit agency, and which is the area agency on aging created pursuant to the federal older Americans act of 1965. (b) "Elderly person" shall mean a person sixty years of age or older. (c) "County" shall mean a county, as defined in section three of the county law, except that the city of New York shall be considered one county. (d) "Congregate services" shall mean services for elderly persons which are provided by a public or a government agency or non-profit agency which are provided in community settings at which elderly people come together for services and activities that respond to their diverse needs and interests, enhance their dignity, support their independence, and encourage their involvement in and with the community and which seek to prevent the well elderly from requiring more intensive services such as those provided under expanded non-medical in-home services and non-institution respite service. Such services include but are not limited to: (1) Information and referral; (2) Transportation; (3) Nutrition-related services that deal with hunger among the elderly; (4) Socialization/companionship; (5) Educational and cultural opportunities; (6) Counseling; (7) Support services for families/caregivers; (8) Volunteer opportunities; (9) Employment services information; (10) Health promotion and disease prevention services; (11) Financial literacy education; and (12) Elder abuse education and outreach. (e) "Non-profit agency" shall mean a corporation organized or existing pursuant to the not-for-profit corporation law. 2. Notwithstanding any provision of this section, nothing contained herein shall give the director or a designated agency any administrative, fiscal, supervisory, or other authority whatsoever over any plans, programs or expenditures authorized pursuant to titles eighteen, nineteen and twenty of the federal social security act, or over any unit of state or local government. 3. Funding. (a)The director shall, within the amounts appropriated therefor, make funds available to designated agencies for the provision of congregate services for elderly persons. (b) The director shall distribute such funds based on a formula developed by the office which shall take into account the geographic distribution of elderly persons within the state and any other factors deemed appropriate by the director. 4. (a) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, the designated agency shall subcontract with public agencies, not-for-profit agencies, or other entities to provide congregate services. (b) The designated agency may directly operate, with the approval of the director, congregate services. (c) The designated agency may use up to five percent of the total of any funds provided to the designated agency pursuant to this section for administration. 5. Designated agencies qualifying for funds under this section must include in the current county plan, required under section two hundred fourteen of this title, a description of the planning, coordination, administrative and local funding priorities and activities necessary to achieve the goals and objectives of this section. 6. Within the amounts appropriated therefor, counties authorized to provide congregate services pursuant to this section shall be eligible for reimbursement by the state of up to seventy-five percent of allowable expenditures for approved services pursuant to this section. 7. The comptroller may withhold the payment of state aid to any county in the event that such county alters or discontinues the operations approved by the director pursuant to this section or otherwise fails to comply with the regulations or requirements of the director. 8. Contracts for services. (a) For the purposes of this section, counties are authorized to contract with public agencies, municipalities, non-profit agencies, or such other entities as the director may authorize. (b) Congregate services provided pursuant to this section shall not be provided directly by the designated agency unless approval is granted by the director. Such approval may not be given by the director unless the designated agency directly provided the service prior to approval of the annual county plan by the director, or unless it can be shown that the direct provision of a congregate service by the designated agency is necessary due to the absence of an existing suitable provider to assure an adequate supply of such service, or to ensure the quality of the service provided. (c) Pursuant to an agreement, two or more counties may join together for the purposes of this section. Such agreements shall make provision for the proportionate cost to be borne by each county, the employment of personnel, the receipt and disbursement of funds, and any other matters deemed necessary by the director. 9. For the purposes of obtaining state aid within the amounts appropriated therefor under this section, a designated agency of an Indian tribal organization shall qualify as though it were a designated agency for a county. 10. On or before February first, two thousand five the office shall submit a report to the chairs of the assembly ways and means committee, the senate finance committee, and the director of the division of the budget which evaluates and makes recommendations on the congregate services initiative program. The report should include but not be limited to the following information: (a) A description of grant recipients and amount of funds received through area offices on aging for the congregate services initiative. The description of grant recipients should include: the types of services offered at each site, the number of individuals served, and, to the extent practicable, a profile of the individuals served. The office should include a specific recommendation on whether a minimal set of services should be required of each program or if flexible service requirements should be maintained. (b) A description of the benefits of the program, including any survey information obtainable from participants in the program, family members, or caregivers for whom the program may serve as respite. The description of benefits should also address the extent to which availability of the program helps to avoid unnecessary institutionalization of participants. (c) A description of oversight and planning mechanisms built into the program and an assessment of the extent to which reconfiguration of the recreation program to the congregate services initiative has improved the delivery and/or oversight of services. (d) A description of how providers of congregate services initiative services have coordinated with other agencies, providers, or counties, who offer similar services. (e) A description of any known factors which have either contributed to successful service delivery or have hindered the congregate services initiative program. (f) An assessment of the need for and/or demand for congregate initiative services and the extent to which the congregate services initiative or any other available services, are currently addressing those needs. (g) Any other information the office for the aging deems relevant. 11. The executive department is authorized to collect any information necessary from grant recipients or area offices on aging necessary to complete this report. 12. With regard to direct grants to community based non-profit organizations for the provision of congregate services to persons sixty years of age or older to promote their health, independence and involvement in the community, congregate services shall be provided at community settings where eligible persons come together for services and activities and shall include, but are not limited to: information and referral; transportation; nutrition-related services; socialization; educational and cultural opportunities; counseling; support services for caregivers and families; volunteer opportunities; employment services information; and health promotion and disease prevention services.
15		N.Y. Elder Law § 218. Long-term care ombudsman.	1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (a) “Administrative action” shall mean any action or decision by an owner, employee, or agent of a long-term care facility, or by a government agency, which affects the provision of service to residents of or applicants for admission to long-term care facilities. (b) “Immediate family” pertaining to conflicts of interest, shall mean a member of the household or a relative with whom there is a close personal or significant financial relationship. (c) “Local ombudsman entity” shall mean any entity designated to operate a local long-term care ombudsman program. (d) [Eff. until Dec. 31, 2019, pursuant to L.2015, c. 462, § 5. See, also, subd. (d) below.] “Long-term care facilities” shall mean residential health care facilities as defined in subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law; adult care facilities as defined in subdivision twenty-one of section two of the social services law, including those adult homes and enriched housing programs licensed as assisted living residences, pursuant to article forty-six-B of the public health law; or any facilities which hold themselves out or advertise themselves as providing assisted living services and which are required to be licensed or certified under the social services law or the public health law. Within the amounts appropriated therefor, “long-term care facilities” shall also mean managed long-term care plans and approved managed long-term care or operating demonstrations as defined in section forty-four hundred three-f of the public health law and the term “resident”, “residents”, “patient” and “patients” shall also include enrollees of such plans. (d) [Eff. Dec. 31, 2019, pursuant to L.2015, c. 462, § 5. See, also, subd. (d) above.] “Long-term care facilities” shall mean residential health care facilities as defined in subdivision three of section twenty-eight hundred one of the public health law, adult care facilities as defined in subdivision twenty-one of section two of the social services law, and assisted living residences, as defined in article forty-six-B of the public health law, or any facilities which hold themselves out or advertise themselves as providing assisted living services and which are required to be licensed or certified under the social services law or the public health law. (e) “Long-term care ombudsman” or “ombudsman” shall mean a person who: (1) is an employee or volunteer of the state office for the aging or of a designated local ombudsman entity and represents the state long-term care ombudsman program; (2) has been verified as having successfully completing a certification training program developed by the state ombudsman; and (3) has a current designation as a long-term care ombudsman by the state long-term care ombudsman. (f) “Resident representative” shall mean either of the following: (1) an individual chosen by the resident to act on behalf of the resident in order to support the resident in decision-making; access medical, social, or other personal information of the resident; manage financial matters; or receive notifications; (2) a person authorized by state or federal law (including but not limited to agents under power of attorney, representative payees, and other fiduciaries) to act on behalf of the resident in order to support the resident in decision-making; access medical, social, or other personal information of the resident; manage financial matters; or receive notifications; (3) a legal representative, as used in section 712 of the older Americans act of 1965, as amended; or (4) the court-appointed guardian or conservator of the resident. (5) Nothing in this section is intended to expand the scope of authority of any resident representative beyond that authority specifically authorized by the resident, state or federal law, or a court of competent jurisdiction. (g) “State long-term care ombudsman” or “state ombudsman” shall mean the individual who heads the office of the state long-term care ombudsman and is responsible to personally, or through representatives of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, fulfill the functions, responsibilities and duties of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman. (h) “Willful interference” shall mean actions or inactions taken by an individual in an attempt to intentionally prevent, interfere with, or attempt to impede an ombudsman from performing any of the functions or responsibilities of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman. 2. Office of the state long-term care ombudsman established. (a) There is hereby established within the state office for the aging an office of the state long-term care ombudsman which shall be headed by the state long-term care ombudsman, who shall carry out, directly and/or through local ombudsman entities, the duties set forth in this section. (b) The office of the state long-term care ombudsman is a distinct entity, separately identifiable, and located within the state office for the aging. (c) The state office for the aging shall provide the long-term care ombudsman program with legal counsel that is adequate, available, has competencies relevant to the legal needs of the program, and is without conflict of interest as determined by the state office for the aging in consultation with the state long-term care ombudsman. (d) The state office for the aging shall not establish personnel policies or practices which prohibit the ombudsman from performing the functions and responsibilities of the ombudsman, as set forth in this section. (e) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the state office for the aging from requiring that the state ombudsman, or other employees of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, adhere to the personnel policies and procedures of the state office for the aging. 3. State long-term care ombudsman. (a) The director of the state office for the aging shall appoint a full-time state long-term care ombudsman to administer and supervise the office of the state long-term care ombudsman. (b) The state ombudsman shall be selected from among individuals with expertise and experience in long-term care and advocacy, long-term services and supports or other direct services for older persons or individuals with disabilities, consumer-oriented public policy advocacy, leadership and program management skills, negotiation and problem resolution skills, and with other qualifications determined by the director of the state office for the aging to be appropriate for the position. (c) Any actual and potential conflicts of interest shall be identified and addressed in accordance with subdivision ten of this section. (d) The state ombudsman, personally or through authorized representatives shall: (1) identify, investigate and resolve complaints that are made by, or on behalf of, long-term care residents in this state and that relate to actions, inactions or decisions that may adversely affect the health, safety and welfare or rights of such residents; the state ombudsman may refer to the appropriate investigatory agency information obtained during the investigation of a complaint which suggests the possible occurrence of physical abuse, mistreatment or neglect or Medicaid fraud, in accordance with the older Americans act of 1965, as amended and the regulations promulgated thereunder as well as rules and regulations promulgated by the state office for the aging; provided, however, that upon consent of the resident, the ombudsman or state ombudsman shall immediately make such referral. Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the state ombudsman to impose a resolution unacceptable to either party involved in a complaint or to assume powers delegated to the commissioner of health or the department of health pursuant to article twenty-eight of the public health law or to the commissioner of the office of children and family services or the office of children and family services pursuant to the social services law; nor does it authorize the state ombudsman to investigate final administrative determinations made pursuant to law by such commissioners if such decisions become the subject of complaints to the state ombudsman; (2) provide services to assist residents in protecting their health, safety, welfare and rights, including but not limited to representing the interests of residents before governmental agencies and seeking appropriate administrative, legal and other remedies to protect their welfare, safety, health and rights; (3) [Amended L.2004, c. 95, language juxtaposed per L.2004, c. 642, § 11.] inform the residents about means of obtaining services provided by the long-term care ombudsman program and other public agencies; (4) analyze, comment on, and monitor the development and implementation of federal, state and local laws, regulations, policies and actions that pertain to the health, safety, welfare, and rights of the residents of long-term care facilities and services in the state; (5) ensure that residents have regular and timely access to the services provided through the long-term care ombudsman program and that residents and complainants receive timely responses to requests for information and complaints; (6) recommend changes in federal, state and local laws, regulations, policies, and actions pertaining to the health, safety, welfare, and rights of residents; (7) develop a certification training program and continuing education for ombudsmen which at a minimum shall specify the minimum hours of training, the annual number of hours of in-service training, and the content of the training, including, but not limited to, training relating to federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies with respect to long-term care facilities in the state, investigative and resolution techniques, and such other training-related matters as the state ombudsman determines to be appropriate; (8) provide administrative and technical assistance to long-term care ombudsmen and local ombudsman entities; (9) make determinations and establish positions of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, without necessarily representing the determinations or positions of the state office for the aging; (10) recommend to the director of the state office for the aging policies and procedures for the state long-term care ombudsman program; (11) coordinate with and promote the development of citizen organizations consistent with the interests of residents; (12) promote, provide technical support for the development of, and provide ongoing support as requested by resident and family councils to protect the well-being and rights of residents; (13) provide leadership to statewide systems advocacy efforts of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman on behalf of long-term care facility residents, including coordination of systems advocacy efforts carried out by representatives of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman; (14) in accordance with applicable state contracting procedures, coordinate with the state office for the aging in the review and approval of plans or contracts governing local ombudsman entity operations; (15) carry out such other activities as the director of the state office for the aging determines to be appropriate pursuant to the federal older Americans act of 19651 and other applicable federal and state laws and related regulations as may, from time to time, be amended; and (16) in accordance with the regulations promulgated under this section provide the director of the state office for the aging with notice prior to performing the activities identified in paragraphs four, six and nine of this subdivision. Such notice shall not give the director of the state office for the aging or any other state official the right to pre-approve the position or communications of the state ombudsman. (e) The state ombudsman, with the approval of the director of the state office for the aging, may appoint one or more assistant state long-term care ombudsmen to assist the state ombudsman in the performance of his or her duties under this section. Such assistant state ombudsmen must be verified as having completed a certification training program developed by the state ombudsman within six (6) months of their appointment as assistant state ombudsmen. (f)(1) The state ombudsman shall only appoint as ombudsmen individuals who have been verified as completing the certification training program developed by the state ombudsman. In addition, the state long-term care ombudsman may refuse, suspend, or remove such appointments of ombudsmen. (2) The state ombudsman shall develop a grievance process to offer an opportunity for reconsideration of any decision to refuse, suspend, or remove appointment of any ombudsman. Notwithstanding the grievance process, the state ombudsman shall make the final determination to designate or to refuse, suspend, or remove appointment of an ombudsman. (g) Any actual and potential conflicts of interest shall be identified and addressed in accordance with subdivision ten of this section. (h) [Expires and deemed repealed Dec. 31, 2019, pursuant to L.2015, c. 462, § 5.] Within the amounts appropriated therefor, the state long-term care ombudsman program shall include services specifically designed to serve persons enrolled in managed long-term care plans or approved managed long-term care or operating demonstrations authorized under section forty-four hundred three-f of the public health law, and shall also review and respond to complaints relating to marketing practices by such plans and demonstrations. 4. Local long-term care ombudsman program. (a) The state ombudsman, in accordance with applicable state contracting procedures, may designate an entity to operate a local long-term care ombudsman program for one or more counties, and shall monitor the performance of such entity. If the state office for the aging is aware or becomes aware of any evidence that the designation of an entity to operate a long-term care ombudsman program by the state long-term care ombudsman would result in legal concerns or liability for the state office for the aging or office of the state long-term care ombudsman, the state ombudsman will comply with the state office for the aging's determination that such designation should not be made. (b) The designated entity shall be an area agency on aging, a public agency or a private not-for-profit corporation which is free from any conflict of interest that cannot be remedied. Any actual and potential conflicts of interest shall be identified and addressed in accordance with subdivision ten of this section. (c)(1) Each local long-term care ombudsman program shall be directed by a qualified individual who is employed and paid by the local entity and who shall have the duties and responsibilities as provided in regulations, consistent with the provisions of this section and of Title VII of the federal older Americans act of 1965, as amended. In addition, upon designation, the entity is responsible for providing for adequate and qualified staff, which may include trained volunteers to perform the functions of the local long-term care ombudsman program. (2) No local program staff, including the supervisor and any volunteers, shall perform or carry out the activities on behalf of the state long-term care ombudsman program unless such staff has been verified as completing the training program developed by the state ombudsman and has been approved by the state ombudsman as qualified to carry out the activities on behalf of the local program. (d) When the state ombudsman determines that a local long-term care ombudsman program does not meet the standards set forth in this section and in any related regulations, the state ombudsman, in coordination with the state office for the aging, may refuse, suspend, or remove the designation of the local ombudsmen entity. Prior to taking such action, the state ombudsman shall send to the affected local program a notice of the state ombudsman's intentions to refuse, suspend, or remove the designation; provided, however, if the state office for the aging is aware or becomes aware of evidence that the designation or continued designation of an entity to operate a long-term care ombudsman program would result in legal concerns or liability for the state office for the aging or the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, the state ombudsman will comply with the state office for the aging's determination that such designation should not be made or that such designation be refused, suspended, or removed. (e) The state ombudsman shall develop a grievance process to offer an opportunity for reconsideration of any decision to refuse, suspend, or remove the designation of a local ombudsman entity. Notwithstanding the grievance process, the state ombudsman shall make the final determination to designate or to refuse, suspend, or remove the designation of a local ombudsman entity; provided, however, if the state office for the aging is aware or becomes aware of any evidence that the designation of an entity to operate a long-term care ombudsman program by the state long-term care ombudsman or that the failure of the state ombudsman to refuse, suspend, or remove the designation of a local ombudsman entity would result in legal concerns or liability for the state office for the aging or the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, the state ombudsman will comply with the state office for the aging's determination that such designation should not be made or that such designation be refused, suspended, or removed. 5. Review of complaint. Upon receipt of a complaint, the ombudsman or state ombudsman shall determine whether there are reasonable grounds for an investigation. Such investigation shall be conducted in a manner prescribed in regulations. The ombudsman or state ombudsman may immediately refer to the appropriate investigatory agency information obtained during the investigation of a complaint which suggests the possible occurrence of physical abuse, mistreatment or neglect or Medicaid fraud, in accordance with and subject to any limitations identified in the older Americans act of 1965, as amended and the regulations promulgated thereunder as well as rules and regulations promulgated by the state office for the aging; provided, however, that upon consent of the resident, the ombudsman or state ombudsman shall immediately make such referral. 6. Record access. (a) An ombudsman and state ombudsman shall have access to: (1) medical, social and other records relating to a resident, if: (A) the resident or resident representative communicates informed consent to the access and the consent is given in writing or through the use of auxiliary aids and services, provided that a guardian appointed pursuant to article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act or article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law who has the authority pursuant to court order to give such consent shall supersede any other resident representatives; (B) the resident or resident representative communicates informed consent orally, visually, or through the use of auxiliary aids and services, and such consent is documented contemporaneously by an ombudsman in accordance with procedures established by the state ombudsman, provided that a guardian appointed pursuant to article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act or article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law who has the authority pursuant to court order to give such consent shall supersede any other resident representatives; and (C) access is necessary in order to investigate a complaint, the resident representative refuses to consent to the access, an ombudsman has reasonable cause to believe that the resident representative is not acting in the best interests of the resident, and the ombudsman obtains the approval of the state ombudsman; (2) administrative records, policies, and documents, to which the residents have or the general public has access, of long-term care facilities; (3) all licensing and certification records maintained by the state with respect to long-term care facilities and copies thereof upon request; and (4) a list of resident names and room numbers. (b) No ombudsman or state ombudsman shall disclose files, records, or information about a complaint, including identifying information of any resident or complainant unless: (1) the complainant or resident or his or her resident representative communicates informed consent to the ombudsman in writing, provided that a guardian appointed pursuant to article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act or article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law who has the authority pursuant to court order to give such consent shall supersede any other resident representatives. (2) the complainant or resident or his or her resident representative communicates informed consent orally or visually, including through the use of auxiliary aids and services, and such consent is documented contemporaneously by an ombudsman or state ombudsman in accordance with the procedures of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, provided that a guardian appointed pursuant to article seventeen-A of the surrogate's court procedure act or article eighty-one of the mental hygiene law who has the authority pursuant to court order to give such consent shall supersede any other resident representatives; (3) the disclosure is required pursuant to a court order; or (4) the resident is unable to communicate informed consent and does not have a resident representative, or the state long-term care ombudsman determines that the resident representative has taken an action, inaction or made a decision that may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare, or rights of the resident. In such cases, disclosures may be made in accordance with criteria to be developed by the state ombudsman. (c) all files, records, and other information of the long-term care ombudsman program, including information maintained by local ombudsman entities pertaining to the cases and activities of the program are the property of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman. Such files, records, and information may be disclosed only at the discretion of the state ombudsman or designee of the state ombudsman for such purpose and in accordance with the criteria developed by the state ombudsman. (d) No ombudsman or state ombudsman shall disclose to any person outside of the long-term care ombudsman program any information obtained from a resident's record without the approval of the state ombudsman or his or her designee, in accordance with procedures for disclosure established by the state ombudsman. (e) No ombudsman or state ombudsman who directly or indirectly obtains access to a resident's medical or personal records pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred three-c of the public health law shall disclose to such resident or to any other person outside of the long-term care ombudsman program the content of any such records to which such resident or other person had not previously had the right of access, provided that this restriction shall not prevent such ombudsman from advising such resident of the status or progress of an investigation or complaint process initiated at the request of such resident or from referring such complaint, together with the relevant records, to appropriate investigatory agencies. Any person who intentionally violates the provisions of this subdivision shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to limit or abridge any right of access to records, including financial records, otherwise available to ombudsmen, residents, or any other person. (f) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any individual, when acting in his or her official capacity as an ombudsman, shall be exempt from the mandatory reporting of abuse, neglect, exploitation, or maltreatment. However, an ombudsman may report abuse, neglect, exploitation, or maltreatment in accordance with the older Americans act of 1965, as amended and the regulations promulgated thereunder as well as rules and regulations promulgated by the state office for the aging; provided, however, that upon consent of the resident, the ombudsman or state ombudsman shall immediately make such referral. (g) Nothing in this section shall prohibit the disclosure by an ombudsman, state ombudsman, or local ombudsman entity of non-identifying aggregate data for monitoring or reporting purposes to the state office for the aging or agency in which a local ombudsman entity is organizationally located. (h) Any information accessed pursuant to this subdivision by a long-term care ombudsman or local ombudsman entity shall only be used for the purposes of the long-term care ombudsman program. Any use of such information other than for the purposes of the long-term care ombudsman program or purposes authorized under this section may constitute grounds for the designation of such ombudsman or local ombudsman entity to be removed. 7. Access to long-term care facilities. An ombudsman or state ombudsman shall have authority to enter all long-term care facilities at any time during a facility's regular business hours or regular visiting hours, and at any other time when access may be required by the circumstances to be investigated and shall have access to all residents and/or the resident representative to perform all functions and duties enumerated herein. 8. Noninterference. No long-term care facility shall: (a) refuse to permit an ombudsman or state ombudsman entry into such facility or, interfere with, or refuse to cooperate with an ombudsman or state ombudsman carrying out their mandated duties and responsibilities set forth in this section and any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto; (b) retaliate against an ombudsman or state ombudsman for carrying out his or her mandated duties and responsibilities set forth in this section and any regulations promulgated pursuant thereto; (c) refuse to permit residents or staff to communicate freely and privately with an ombudsman; or (d) retaliate or discriminate against any resident, resident representative, complainant, or staff member for filing a complaint with, providing information to, or otherwise cooperating with any ombudsman or state ombudsman. Any resident who has reason to believe that he or she may have been discriminated or retaliated against in violation of subdivision eight of this section may file a complaint with the commissioner of health pursuant to subdivision ten of section twenty-eight hundred one-d of the public health law. 9. Failure to cooperate. Any such facility that violates the provisions of subdivision eight of this section shall be subject to the appropriate sanctions pursuant to section twenty-eight hundred three-c of the public health law, and accompanying regulations, if such facility is a residential healthcare facility or section four hundred sixty-d of the social services law, and accompanying regulations, if such facility is an adult care facility. 10. Conflict of interest. The state office for the aging and the state ombudsman shall consider both the organizational and individual conflicts of interest that may impact the effectiveness and credibility of the work of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman. In so doing, both the state office for the aging and the state ombudsman shall be responsible to identify actual and potential conflicts and, where a conflict has been identified, to remove or remedy such conflict as set forth in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this subdivision. (a) Identifying conflicts of interest. In identifying conflicts of interest, the state office for the aging and the state ombudsman shall consider the organizational conflicts that may impact the effectiveness and credibility of the work of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman. Organizational conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to, placement of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, or requiring that a state ombudsman or long-term care ombudsman perform conflicting activities, in an organization that: (1) is responsible for licensing, surveying, or certifying long-term care facilities; (2) is responsible for licensing, surveying, or certifying long-term care services; (3) is an association (or an affiliate of such an association) of long-term care facilities, or of any other residential facilities for older individuals or individuals with disabilities; (4) has any ownership or investment interest (represented by equity, debt, or other financial relationship) in, or receives grants or donations from, a long-term care facility; (5) has governing board members with any ownership, investment, or employment interest in long-term care facilities; (6) provides long-term care to residents of long-term care facilities, including the provision of personnel for long-term care facilities or the operation of programs which control access to or services for long-term care facilities; (7) provides long-term care services, including programs carried out under a Medicaid waiver approved under section 1115 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1315) or under subsection (b) or (c) of section 1915 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396n), subsection (i), (j), or (k) of section 1915 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396n); (8) provides long-term care case management; (9) provides long-term care coordination or case management for residents of long-term care facilities; (10) sets reimbursement rates for long-term care facilities; (11) sets reimbursement rates for long-term care services; (12) provides adult protective services; (13) is responsible for eligibility determinations regarding Medicaid or other public benefits for residents of long-term care facilities; (14) conducts preadmission screening for long-term care facility placements; (15) makes decisions regarding admission or discharge of individuals to or from long-term care facilities; or (16) provides guardianship, conservatorship, or other fiduciary or surrogate decision-making services for residents of long-term care facilities. (b) Removing or remedying organizational conflicts. The state office for the aging and the state ombudsman shall identify and take steps to remove or remedy conflicts of interest between the office of the state long-term care ombudsman and the state office for the aging or other agency carrying out the state long-term care ombudsman program. (1) The state ombudsman shall identify organizational conflicts of interest in the state long-term care ombudsman program and describe steps taken to remove or remedy conflicts within the annual report submitted to the assistant secretary through the national ombudsman reporting system. (2) Where the office of the state long-term care ombudsman is located within or otherwise organizationally attached to the state office for the aging, the office for the aging shall: (A) take reasonable steps to avoid internal conflicts of interest; (B) establish a process for review and identification of internal conflicts; (C) take steps to remove or remedy conflicts; (D) ensure that no individual, or member of the immediate family of an individual, involved in the designating, appointing, otherwise selecting or terminating the state ombudsman is subject to a conflict of interest; and (E) assure that the state ombudsman has disclosed such conflicts and described steps taken to remove or remedy conflicts within the annual report submitted to the assistant secretary through the national ombudsman reporting system. (3) Where the state office for the aging is unable to adequately remove or remedy a conflict, it shall carry out the state long-term care ombudsman program by contract or other arrangement with a public agency or nonprofit private organization. The state office for the aging may not enter into a contract or other arrangement to carry out the state long-term care ombudsman program if the other entity, and may not operate the office of the state long-term care ombudsman directly if it: (A) is responsible for licensing, surveying, or certifying long-term care facilities; (B) is an association (or an affiliate of such an association) of long-term care facilities, or of any other residential facilities for older individuals or individuals with disabilities; or (C) has any ownership, operational, or investment interest (represented by equity, debt, or other financial relationship) in a long-term care facility. (4) Where the state office for the aging carries out the state long-term care ombudsman program by contract or other arrangement with a public agency or nonprofit private organization, the state office for the aging shall: (A) prior to contracting or making another arrangement, take reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest in such agency or organization which is to carry out the state long-term care ombudsman program and to avoid conflicts of interest in the state office for the aging oversight of the contract or arrangement; (B) establish a process for periodic review and identification of conflicts; (C) establish criteria for approval of steps taken by the agency or organization to remedy or remove conflicts; (D) require that such agency or organization have a process in place to: (i) take reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest, and (ii) disclose identified conflicts and steps taken to remove or remedy conflicts to the state office for the aging for review and approval. (5) Where an agency or organization carrying out the state long-term care ombudsman program by contract or other arrangement develops a conflict and is unable to adequately remove or remedy a conflict, the state office for the aging shall either operate the state long-term care ombudsman program directly or by contract or other arrangement with another public agency or nonprofit private organization. The state office for the aging shall not enter into such contract or other arrangement with an agency or organization which is responsible for licensing or certifying long-term care facilities in the state or is an association (or affiliate of such an association) of long-term care facilities. (6) Where local ombudsman entities provide ombudsman services, the state ombudsman shall: (A) prior to designating or renewing designation, take reasonable steps to avoid conflicts of interest in any agency which may host a local ombudsman entity, (B) establish a process for periodic review and identification of conflicts of interest with the local ombudsman entity in any agencies hosting a local ombudsman entity, (C) require that such agencies disclose identified conflicts of interest with the local ombudsman entity and steps taken to remove or remedy conflicts within such agency to the state ombudsman, (D) establish criteria for approval of steps taken to remedy or remove conflicts in such agencies, and (E) establish a process for review of and criteria for approval of plans to remove or remedy conflicts with the local ombudsman entity in such agencies. (7) Failure of an agency hosting a local ombudsman entity to disclose a conflict to the office of the state long-term care ombudsman or inability to adequately remove or remedy a conflict shall constitute grounds for refusal, suspension, or removal of designation of the local ombudsman entity by the state ombudsman. (c) Identifying individual conflicts of interest. (1) In identifying conflicts of interest, the state office for the aging and the state ombudsman shall consider individual conflicts that may impact the effectiveness and credibility of the work of the office of the state long-term care ombudsman or local long-term care ombudsman program. (2) Individual conflicts of interest for the state ombudsman, long-term care ombudsmen, and members of their immediate family include, but are not limited to: (A) direct involvement in the licensing or certification of a long-term care facility or of a provider of a long-term care service; (B) ownership, operational, or investment interest (represented by equity, debt, or other financial relationship) in an existing or proposed long-term care facility or a long-term care service; (C) employment of an individual by, or participation in the management of, a long-term care facility in the service area or by the owner or operator of any long-term care facility in the service area; (D) receipt of, or right to receive, directly or indirectly, remuneration (in cash or in kind) under a compensation arrangement with an owner or operator of a long-term care facility; (E) accepting gifts or gratuities of significant value from a long-term care facility or its management, a resident or a resident representative of a long-term care facility in which the state ombudsman or long-term care ombudsman provide services (except where there is a personal relationship with a resident or resident representative which is separate from the individual's role as state ombudsman or long-term care ombudsman); (F) accepting money or any other consideration from anyone other than the office of the state long-term care ombudsman, or an entity approved by the state ombudsman, for the performance of an act in the regular course of the duties of the state ombudsman or long-term care ombudsman without state ombudsman approval; (G) serving as guardian, conservator, or in another fiduciary or surrogate decision-making capacity for a resident of a long-term care facility in which the state ombudsman or long-term care ombudsman provides services; and (H) serving residents of a facility in which an immediate family member resides. (d) Removing or remedying individual conflicts. (1) The state office for the aging or state ombudsman shall develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure that no state ombudsman or long-term care ombudsman are required or permitted to hold positions or perform duties that would constitute a conflict of interest as set forth in paragraph (c) of this subdivision. This rule does not prohibit the state office for the aging or state ombudsman from having policies or procedures that exceed these requirements. (2) When considering the employment, appointment, or designation of an individual as the state ombudsman or as a long-term care ombudsman, the state office for the aging or other employing or appointing entity shall: (A) take reasonable steps to avoid employing, appointing, or designating an individual who has an unremedied conflict of interest or who has a member of the immediate family with an unremedied conflict of interest; (B) take reasonable steps to avoid assigning an individual to perform duties which would constitute an unremedied conflict of interest; (C) establish a process for periodic review and identification of conflicts of state ombudsman and long-term care ombudsmen; and (D) take steps to remove or remedy conflicts. (3) In no circumstance shall the entity which appoints, employs, or designates the state ombudsman appoint, employ, or designate an individual as the state ombudsman who: (A) has direct involvement in the licensing or certification of a long-term care facility; (B) has an ownership or investment interest (represented by equity, debt, or other financial relationship) in a long-term care facility. Divestment within a reasonable period may be considered an adequate remedy to this conflict; (C) has been employed by or participating in the management of a long-term care facility within the previous twelve months; or (D) receives, or has the right to receive, directly or indirectly, remuneration (in cash or in kind) under a compensation arrangement with an owner or operator of a long-term care facility. (4) In no circumstance shall the state office for the aging or an agency hosting a local ombudsman entity appoint, employ, or designate an individual, nor shall the state ombudsman designate an individual, as a long-term care ombudsman who: (A) has direct involvement in the licensing or certification of a long-term care facility; (B) has an ownership or investment interest (represented by equity, debt, or other financial relationship) in a long-term care facility. Divestment within a reasonable period may be considered an adequate remedy to this conflict; (C) receives, directly or indirectly, remuneration (in cash or in kind) under a compensation arrangement with an owner or operator of a long-term care facility; or (D) is employed by, or participating in the management of, a long-term care facility. (i) An agency which appoints or employs long-term care ombudsmen shall make efforts to avoid appointing, employing, or designating an individual as a long-term care ombudsman who has been employed by or participating in the management of a long-term care facility within the previous twelve months. (ii) Where such individual is appointed, employed, or designated, the agency shall take steps to remedy the conflict. 11. Civil immunity. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, ombudsmen designated under this section shall be included within the definition of employee as set forth in section seventeen of the public officers law and shall be defended and indemnified in accordance with the provisions of article two of such law. 12. Grievance process. In addition to the provisions listed in this section, the state ombudsman shall recommend policies and procedures for the receipt and review of grievances regarding determinations or actions of the state ombudsman or ombudsmen to the director of the state office for the aging. 13. Regulations. The director of the state office for the aging, in consultation with the state ombudsman, is authorized to promulgate regulations to implement the provisions of this section. 14. Annual report. On or before March thirty-first, two thousand five, and annually thereafter, the state ombudsman shall submit to the governor, commissioner of the federal administration on aging, speaker of the assembly, temporary president of the senate, director of the state office for the aging, commissioner of the department of health, and the commissioner of children and family services a report and make such report available to the public: (a) describing the activities carried out by the office of the state long-term care ombudsman during the prior calendar year; (b) containing and analyzing data relating to complaints and conditions in long-term care facilities and to residents for the purpose of identifying and resolving significant problems; (c) evaluating the problems experienced by, and the complaints made by or on behalf of, residents; (d) containing recommendations for appropriate state legislation, rules and regulations and other action to improve the quality of the care and life of the residents, protecting the health, safety and welfare and rights of the residents and resolving resident complaints and identified problems or barriers; (e) containing an analysis of the success of the long-term care ombudsman program, including success in providing services to residents; (f) describing barriers that prevent the optimal operation of the ombudsman program; (g) describing any organizational conflicts of interest in the ombudsman program that have been identified and the steps taken to remove or remedy such conflicts; and (h) any other matters as the state ombudsman, in consultation with the director of the state office for the aging, determines to be appropriate.
16		N.Y. Elder Law § 219 Elderly abuse education and outreach program.	1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the terms “designated agency” and “elderly person” shall have the same meaning as ascribed to them in section two hundred fourteen of this title. 2. The director, within the amounts appropriated therefor, shall, in conjunction with the office of children and family services, establish an elderly abuse education and outreach program for the purpose of providing education and outreach to the general public, including elderly persons and their families and caregivers, to identify and prevent elderly abuse, neglect and exploitation. 3. (a) As part of the program, the director may award grants to qualified designated agencies to establish local elderly abuse education and outreach programs. Grants may also be awarded to expand or enhance existing programs. (b) In making such grants, the director shall consider: (1) the need within the jurisdiction of the designated agency for such education and outreach; (2) the manner in which the designated agency proposes to provide such education and outreach; (3) the capacity of the designated agency to coordinate its services with health, human service and law enforcement and public agencies which provide services or assistance to the elderly, including the local department of social services adult protective services unit; and (4) any other criteria determined by the director to be appropriate. 4. (a) The office may use up to five percent of the total funds appropriated pursuant to this section for administration. (b) A designated agency which has been awarded a grant pursuant to subdivision three of this section may use up to five percent of the total of any funds provided to a designated agency pursuant to this section for administration.
17		N.Y. Elder Law § 220. Resident advisor program.	1. Within amounts appropriated therefor, the office may establish or administer as necessary a resident advisor program in locales across the state and in such a manner that insures a wide geographic representation. 2. The director of the office is directed to work in cooperation with appropriate state and federal agencies to facilitate the successful operation of local resident advisor program sites. 3. In administering the resident advisor program, the director is directed to provide program sites with technical assistance to housing and supportive service providers; training of an ongoing nature for program sponsors; marketing materials and technical assistance aimed at obtaining resident acceptance to resident advisors; and assistance in developing necessary linkages between state, federal and local partners.
18		N.Y. Elder Law § 222. Senior citizen energy packaging pilot program.	1. (a) The legislature finds and declares that a significant percentage of the state's senior citizens live at or below the poverty level. In many cases, energy costs reach or exceed thirty percent of household income. These factors make energy conservation efforts on behalf of low income elderly crucial. The legislature further finds that energy conservation programs have been under-utilized by such citizens because of such factors as reduced mobility, social and physical isolation, and the complexity of the maze of services available. (b) The legislature therefore declares that a pilot program to assist such citizens to conserve energy should be implemented by the office in conjunction with county offices for the aging. The legislature further declares that such a program will further the energy conservation objectives of the state and should be partially supported by petroleum overcharge restitution funds. 2. Within the amounts appropriated therefor, the office shall establish guidelines for and administer a senior citizen energy packaging pilot program to be carried out by county offices for the aging in the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Broome, Erie, and Tompkins and such other counties as funds may allow. Wherever possible, such program shall be coordinated with appropriate existing programs of public utilities, the state energy office, and the department of state. 3. These appropriations shall be used specifically for the training of personnel within county offices for the aging to insure their thorough familiarity with state and federal energy conservation programs and benefits and their ability to facilitate receipt of such benefits by the client population. These appropriations shall also be used to provide salaries, appropriate benefits and expenses of such personnel in carrying out the purposes of the pilot program. Depending on the size of the client population to be served, no more than five of such personnel shall be trained and utilized in any county. 4. The client population shall consist of those senior citizens living at or below the poverty level. Whenever possible, priority shall be given to serving first those in greatest need of assistance, including but not limited to, home energy assistance program recipients.
19		N.Y. Elder Law § 223. Economically sustainable transportation demonstration program.	1. Definitions. As used in this section: (a) “Economically sustainable transportation provider” shall mean a non-profit provider of transportation services that submits to the director and obtains approval of a plan demonstrating that the provider is capable of providing economically sustainable transportation services. (b) “Economically sustainable transportation services” shall mean demand-responsive transportation services that are provided: (1) by automobile; (2) to qualified individuals; (3) twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; and (4) by volunteer or paid drivers. (c) “Qualified individual” shall mean an individual who is: (1) an older individual, as defined in section 102 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3002); or (2) an individual who is blind, within the meaning of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 701 et seq.), an individual who has significant visual impairment described in section 751 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 796j), or an individual who is eligible for benefits under title II or XVI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 401 et seq., 1381 et seq.) on the basis of blindness. (d) “Qualified transportation account” shall mean an account established for a qualified individual for the purpose of acquiring transportation services from an economically sustainable transportation provider. (e) “Director” shall mean the director of the New York state office for the aging. (f) “Eligible entity” shall mean a private non-profit organization with experience in establishing and replicating the independent transportation network to provide economically sustainable transportation services for qualified individuals. 2. The director shall establish the economically sustainable transportation demonstration program for the purpose of enabling seniors to remain independent and mobile in their community. The program would provide an on demand transit service for seniors that would use automobiles driven by volunteer and paid drivers to transport seniors to where they need and want to go. After a period of five years, the program would no longer be eligible for state funding and would be completely self-sustaining, relying on consumer fares and voluntary community support to remain operational. 3. Before carrying out the economically sustainable transportation demonstration program, the director shall enter into a contract or a cooperative agreement with an eligible entity to provide recommendations and support to the director regarding the administration of such a program. (a) The eligible entity that enters into a contract or agreement under subdivision three of this section shall: (1) Provide initial and ongoing technical assistance and support to the director for the administration of the sustainable transportation demonstration program. (2) Provide initial and ongoing technical assistance to economically sustainable transportation providers. (3) Provide recommendation to the director about the establishment of, and requirements concerning locations where the economically sustainable transportation services will be provided in the state. (4) Provide recommendations to the director for the creation and use of qualified transportation accounts for the transportation services, including the provisions that such an account: (i) may be funded with credits or funds equal to the value of a vehicle traded to an economically sustainable transportation provider by, or on behalf of, a qualified individual, or by other means; (ii) shall be used only to provide transportation services to the qualified individual; (iii) shall have a designated beneficiary; and (iv) shall be transferable to an individual other than the qualified individual. (5) Provide recommendations to the director regarding participation in any federal grant program for an economically sustainable transportation program. 4. After receiving the recommendations and support described in subdivision three of this section, the director shall develop a request for proposal to carry out the economically sustainable demonstration program. 5. Copyrights and trademarks. Nothing in this section shall affect the rights of the eligible entity under the copyright or trademark laws of the United States. Nothing in this section shall require the disclosure of information to which Federal law relating to trade secrets (including section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code) applies. In entering into a contract or cooperative agreement under this section, the director shall not establish any conditions that affect such rights or require such disclosure. 6. Within amounts appropriated, the director shall make grants available to qualified economically sustainable transportation providers of no less than fifty-five thousand dollars per grantee in the first year of the operation of the program. Such providers shall be eligible to receive funding under this section annually for up to five years. After such time, providers must be able to provide economically sustainable transportation services without receiving further public financial assistance for operating or capital expenses. 7. To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, an economically sustainable transportation provider shall commit to raising matching funds from non-state sources equal to fifty percent of the state grant. Up to ten percent of the provider match may be provided in-kind. 8. The office may use up to twelve percent of the total of any funding appropriated pursuant to this section for administration.
20		N.Y. Exec. Law § 214-c Elder abuse awareness.	The superintendent, in cooperation with the state office for the aging and the office of children and family services, shall, for all members of the division of state police: (1) develop, maintain and disseminate educational material relating to abuse of adults, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, active neglect, passive neglect, self neglect, and financial exploitation, as such terms are defined in section four hundred seventy-three of the social services law, and (2) establish and implement written procedures and policies in the event a member of the division of state police encounters such abuse, including the provision of information and referral.
21		N.Y. Exec. Law § 844-b New York state committee for the coordination of police services to elderly persons.	1. Establishment of the committee. There is hereby established within the division the “New York state committee for the coordination of police services to elderly persons”, hereinafter the “committee”. 2. Membership of committee. (a) The committee shall consist of a representative of the commissioner, representative of the superintendent of the New York state police, two representatives of the New York state sheriffs association, two representatives of the New York state association of chiefs of police, two representatives of the New York state district attorneys' association, a representative of the attorney general, a representative of the director of the office of victim services, a representative of the director of the state office for the aging, a representative of the commissioner of social services, a representative of the commissioner of the New York city police department, a representative of the New York state crime prevention coalition and two elderly representatives one to be appointed by the temporary president of the senate and the other by the speaker of the assembly. The commissioner shall make appointments to the committee in accordance with nominations submitted by the relevant agencies or organizations. Each member of the committee shall be appointed by the commissioner to serve a two year term. Any member appointed by the commissioner may be reappointed for additional terms. Any vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment and vacancies created otherwise than by expiration of term shall be filled for the remainder of that unexpired term. (b) In the performance of its functions, the committee shall, to the extent possible, solicit the participation and involvement of retired law enforcement personnel. (c) The representative of the commissioner and the superintendent of the state police shall serve as co-chairpersons of the committee. (d) Membership of the committee shall not constitute the holding of a public office, and members of the committee shall not be required to take and file oaths of office before serving on the committee. (e) The members of the committee shall receive no compensation for their services as members. (f) No member of the committee shall be disqualified from holding any public office or employment, nor shall any member forfeit any employment or office by reason of his or her membership on the committee. (g) The committee shall meet as often as deemed necessary, but in no event less than two times per year. 3. Duties and responsibilities. The committee shall advise the division, the state police, county sheriffs and other local law enforcement agencies, and senior advocates chosen in consultation with the state office for the aging, in the study and evaluation of effective responses, including “Triad Programs,” to the problems of crime against elderly persons. The committee may also consult with experts, service providers and representative organizations engaged in the protection of the elderly and may recommend the development of programs, including “Triad Programs”, in the state of New York to assist the elderly to avoid criminal victimization through the coordinated efforts of state and local law enforcement agencies and organizations which provide services for the elderly. The committee may also recommend policies and programs to assist law enforcement agencies to implement such programs, including training and prevention standards and technical assistance. Such recommendations may include the following: (a) the establishment of statewide and central clearinghouse for information and education materials; (b) the development of innovative community police programs for the elderly; (c) providing assistance to the municipal police training council in the development and delivery of training to law enforcement professionals involved in the “Triad Programs” including, but not limited to, the subjects of: (i) crimes against the elderly and the protection of elderly persons; (ii) police sensitivity to the needs of elderly persons as victims and witnesses; (iii) social and human services; (d) providing assistance to state and local law enforcement officials and to not-for-profit corporations, organizations with respect to effective policies and responses to crimes against elderly persons; (e) promoting and facilitating cooperation among state agencies and local units of government; (f) effective advocacy of services to protect elderly persons and elderly victims of crime; (g) evaluating the relationship between crimes against elderly persons and other problems confronting elderly persons, and making recommendations for effective policy response; (h) the collection of statistical data and research; and (i) rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. 3-a. Reports. On or before March first, nineteen hundred ninety-eight and annually thereafter the committee shall report to the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair of the assembly committee on aging and the chair of the senate committee on aging, on the incidence of reports of abuse of elderly persons. Such report shall consist of information from reports forwarded to the committee by local law enforcement agencies pursuant to section 140.10 of the criminal procedure law including number of reported incidents, ages of victims and alleged offenders, circumstances of the incident whether arrests were made and the sentence, if any, of the offenders. Such report shall also recommend policies and programs to aid law enforcement agencies, the courts and the New York state office of victim services in efforts to assist elder victims of domestic violence. The report shall also include recommendations designed to assist law enforcement agencies in implementing “Triad Programs”. 4. Definition. As used in this section, the term “Triad Program” shall mean the triad cooperative model developed by the American Association of retired Persons, the National Sheriffs' Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police which calls for the participation of the sheriff, at least one police chief, and a representative of at least one senior citizens' organization within a county and may include participation by general service coalitions of law enforcement, victim service, and senior citizen advocate organizations. If there is not both a sheriff and a police chief in a county or if the sheriff or a police chief do not participate, a Triad may include in the place of the sheriff or police chief another key law enforcement official in the county such as a district attorney.
22		N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349-c Additional civil penalties for consumer fraud against elderly persons.	1. Definition. As used in this section elderly person means a person who is sixty-five years of age or older. 2. Supplemental civil penalty. (a) In addition to any liability for damages or a civil penalty imposed pursuant to sections three hundred forty-nine, three hundred fifty-c and three hundred fifty-d of this chapter, regarding deceptive practices and false advertising, and subdivision twelve of section sixty-three of the executive law, regarding proceedings by the attorney general for equitable relief against fraudulent or illegal consumer fraud, a person or entity who engages in any conduct prohibited by said provisions of law, and whose conduct is perpetrated against one or more elderly persons, may be liable for an additional civil penalty not to exceed ten thousand dollars, if the factors in paragraph (b) of this subdivision are present. (b) In determining whether to impose a supplemental civil penalty pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, and the amount of any such penalty, the court shall consider, in addition to other appropriate factors, the extent to which the following factors are present: (1) Whether the defendant knew that the defendant's conduct was directed to one or more elderly persons or whether the defendant's conduct was in willful disregard of the rights of an elderly person; (2) Whether the defendant's conduct caused an elderly person or persons to suffer severe loss or encumbrance of a primary residence, principal employment or source of income, substantial loss of property set aside for retirement or for personal and family care and maintenance, substantial loss of payments received under a pension or retirement plan or a government benefits program; or assets essential to the health or welfare of the elderly person or whether one or more elderly persons were substantially more vulnerable to the defendant's conduct because of age, poor health, infirmity, impaired understanding, restricted mobility, or disability, and actually suffered physical, emotional, or economic damage resulting from the defendant's conduct. 3. There is hereby established in the state treasury a special fund to be known as the elderly victim fund, which shall consist of and into which shall be paid all moneys derived from supplemental civil penalties imposed pursuant to this section. The moneys in such fund shall be administered by the department of law and shall be expended solely for the investigation of and prosecution of consumer frauds against elderly persons. The moneys in the fund shall be paid out on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the attorney general. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any balance in the said fund on March thirty-first of any fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund of the state. 4. Restitution to be given priority. Restitution ordered pursuant to the provisions of law listed in subdivision two of this section shall be given priority over the imposition of civil penalties designated by the court under this section.
23		N.Y. Penal Law § 260.31 Vulnerable elderly persons; definitions.	For the purpose of sections 260.32 and 260.34 of this article, the following definitions shall apply: 1. “Caregiver” means a person who (i) assumes responsibility for the care of a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person pursuant to a court order; or (ii) receives monetary or other valuable consideration for providing care for a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person. 2. “Sexual contact” means any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of a person for the purpose of gratifying sexual desire of either party. It includes the touching of the actor by the victim, as well as the touching of the victim by the actor, whether directly or through clothing, as well as the emission of ejaculate by the actor upon any part of the victim, clothed or unclothed. 3. “Vulnerable elderly person” means a person sixty years of age or older who is suffering from a disease or infirmity associated with advanced age and manifested by demonstrable physical, mental or emotional dysfunction to the extent that the person is incapable of adequately providing for his or her own health or personal care. 4. “Incompetent or physically disabled person” means an individual who is unable to care for himself or herself because of physical disability, mental disease or defect.
24		Endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person in the second degree.	A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person in the second degree when, being a caregiver for a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person: 1. With intent to cause physical injury to such person, he or she causes such injury to such person; or 2. He or she recklessly causes physical injury to such person; or 3. With criminal negligence, he or she causes physical injury to such person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument; or 4. He or she subjects such person to sexual contact without the latter's consent. Lack of consent under this subdivision results from forcible compulsion or incapacity to consent, as those terms are defined in article one hundred thirty of this chapter, or any other circumstances in which the vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person does not expressly or impliedly acquiesce in the caregiver's conduct. In any prosecution under this subdivision in which the victim's alleged lack of consent results solely from incapacity to consent because of the victim's mental disability or mental incapacity, the provisions of section 130.16 of this chapter shall apply. In addition, in any prosecution under this subdivision in which the victim's lack of consent is based solely upon his or her incapacity to consent because he or she was mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant, at the time he or she engaged in the conduct constituting the offense, did not know of the facts or conditions responsible for such incapacity to consent. Endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person or an incompetent or physically disabled person in the second degree is a class E felony.
25		N.Y. Penal Law § 260.34 Endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree. (Effective 5/22/10)	A person is guilty of endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree when, being a caregiver for a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person: 1. With intent to cause physical injury to such person, he or she causes serious physical injury to such person; or 2. He or she recklessly causes serious physical injury to such person. Endangering the welfare of a vulnerable elderly person, or an incompetent or physically disabled person in the first degree is a class D felony.
26		N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 473 Adult Protective services; Protective services.	1. In addition to services provided by social services officials pursuant to other provisions of this chapter, such officials shall provide protective services in accordance with federal and state regulations to or for individuals without regard to income who, because of mental or physical impairments, are unable to manage their own resources, carry out the activities of daily living, or protect themselves from physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, active, passive or self neglect, financial exploitation or other hazardous situations without assistance from others and have no one available who is willing and able to assist them responsibly. Such services shall include: (a) receiving and investigating reports of seriously impaired individuals who may be in need of protection; (b) arranging for medical and psychiatric services to evaluate and whenever possible to safeguard and improve the circumstances of those with serious impairments; (c) arranging, when necessary, for commitment, guardianship, or other protective placement of such individuals either directly or through referral to another appropriate agency, provided, however, that where possible, the least restrictive of these measures shall be employed before more restrictive controls are imposed; (d) providing services to assist such individuals to move from situations which are, or are likely to become, hazardous to their health and well-being; (e) cooperating and planning with the courts as necessary on behalf of individuals with serious mental impairments; and (f) other protective services for adults included in the regulations of the department. 2. (a) In that the effective delivery of protective services for adults requires a network of professional consultants and services providers, local social services districts shall plan with other public, private and voluntary agencies including but not limited to health, mental health, aging, legal and law enforcement agencies, for the purpose of assuring maximum local understanding, coordination and cooperative action in the provision of appropriate services. (b) Each social services district shall prepare, with the approval of the chief executive officer, or the legislative body in those counties without a chief executive officer, after consultation with appropriate public, private and voluntary agencies, a district-wide plan for the provision of adult protective services which shall be a component of the district's multi-year consolidated services plan as required in section thirty-four-a of this chapter. This plan shall describe the local implementation of this section including the organization, staffing, mode of operations and financing of the adult protective services as well as the provisions made for purchase of services, inter-agency relations, inter-agency agreements, service referral mechanisms, and locus of responsibility for cases with multi-agency services needs. Commencing the year following preparation of a multi-year consolidated services plan, each local district shall prepare annual implementation reports including information related to its adult protective services plan as required in section thirty-four-a of the social services law. (c) Each social services district shall submit the adult protective services plan to the department as a component of its multi-year consolidated services plan and subsequent thereto as a component of its annual implementation reports and the department shall review and approve the proposed plan and reports in accordance with the procedures set forth in section thirty-four-a of this chapter. 3. Any social services official or his designee authorized or required to determine the need for and/or provide or arrange for the provision of protective services to adults in accordance with the provision of this section, shall have immunity from any civil liability that might otherwise result by reason of providing such services, provided such official or his designee was acting in the discharge of his duties and within the scope of his employment, and that such liability did not result from the willfull act or gross negligence of such official or his designee. 4. For the purpose of developing improved methods for the delivery of protective services for adults, the department with the approval of the director of the budget, shall authorize a maximum of five demonstration projects in selected social services districts. Such projects may serve a social services district, part of a district or more than one district. These demonstration projects shall seek to determine the most effective methods of providing the financial management component of protective services for adults. These methods shall include but not be limited to: having a social services district directly provide financial management services; having a social services district contract with another public and/or private agency for the provision of such services; utilizing relatives and/or friends to provide such services under the direction of a social services district or another public and/or private agency and establishing a separate public office to provide financial management services for indigent persons. The duration of these projects shall not exceed eighteen months. Furthermore, local social services districts shall not be responsible for any part of the cost of these demonstration projects which would not have otherwise accrued in the provision of protective services for adults. The total amount of state funds available for such financial management services demonstration projects, exclusive of any federal funds shall not exceed three hundred thousand dollars. The commissioner shall require that a final independent evaluation by a not-for-profit corporation be made of the demonstration projects approved and conducted hereunder, and shall provide copies of such report to the governor and the legislature. 5. Whenever a social services official, or his or her designee authorized or required to determine the need for, or to provide or arrange for the provision of protective services to adults in accordance with the provisions of this title has a reason to believe that a criminal offense has been committed, as defined in the penal law, against a person for whom the need for such services is being determined or to whom such services are being provided or arranged, the social services official or his or her designee must report this information to the appropriate police or sheriff's department and the district attorney's office when such office has requested such information be reported by a social services official or his or her designee. 6. Definitions. When used in this title unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the context or subject matter requires a different interpretation: (a) "Physical abuse" means the non-accidental use of force that results in bodily injury, pain or impairment, including but not limited to, being slapped, burned, cut, bruised or improperly physically restrained. (b) "Sexual abuse" means non-consensual sexual contact of any kind, including but not limited to, forcing sexual contact or forcing sex with a third party. (c) "Emotional abuse" means willful infliction of mental or emotional anguish by threat, humiliation, intimidation or other abusive conduct, including but not limited to, frightening or isolating an adult. (d) "Active neglect" means willful failure by the caregiver to fulfill the care-taking functions and responsibilities assumed by the caregiver, including but not limited to, abandonment, willful deprivation of food, water, heat, clean clothing and bedding, eyeglasses or dentures, or health related services. (e) "Passive neglect" means non-willful failure of a caregiver to fulfill care-taking functions and responsibilities assumed by the caregiver, including but not limited to, abandonment or denial of food or health related services because of inadequate caregiver knowledge, infirmity, or disputing the value of prescribed services. (f) "Self neglect" means an adult's inability, due to physical and/or mental impairments to perform tasks essential to caring for oneself, including but not limited to, providing essential food, clothing, shelter and medical care; obtaining goods and services necessary to maintain physical health, mental health, emotional well-being and general safety; or managing financial affairs. (g) "Financial exploitation" means improper use of an adult's funds, property or resources by another individual, including but not limited to, fraud, false pretenses, embezzlement, conspiracy, forgery, falsifying records, coerced property transfers or denial of access to assets. 7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the purposes of this article an Indian tribe that has entered into an agreement with the office of children and family services pursuant to section thirty-nine of this chapter, which includes the provision of adult services by such Indian tribe, shall have the duties, responsibilities and powers of a social services district or a social services official for the purpose of providing adult protective services.
27		N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 473-a Adult Protective Services; Short-term involuntary protective services orders.	1. Definitions. When used in this section unless otherwise expressly stated or unless the context or subject matter requires a different interpretation: (a) "endangered adult" means a person, age eighteen or over who is: (i) in a situation or condition which poses an imminent risk of death or imminent risk of serious physical harm to him or her, and (ii) lacking capacity to comprehend the nature and consequences of remaining in that situation or condition, provided that: a. refusal by the adult to accept protective services shall not in itself be sufficient evidence of such lack of capacity; and b. mental illness shall not in itself be sufficient evidence of such lack of capacity. (b) "short-term involuntary protective services" means those services set forth in section four hundred seventy-three of this article which are provided involuntarily pursuant to the procedures established by this title. (c) "petitioner" means a social services official initiating a proceeding pursuant to this title. (d) "respondent" means an allegedly endangered adult. 2. Jurisdiction. The supreme court and the county court shall each have jurisdiction over the special proceeding commenced pursuant to the provisions of this title. 3. Venue. A petition for the provision of short-term involuntary protective services shall be made to: (a) a term of the supreme court: (i) held in the county in which the allegedly endangered adult resides or is found; or (ii) held in a county, within the same judicial district, adjacent to the county in which the allegedly endangered adult resides or is found; or (b) the county court: (i) in the county in which the allegedly endangered adult resides or is found; or (ii) in a county adjacent to the county in which the allegedly endangered adult resides or is found. 4. Petition. (a) A special proceeding to obtain an order authorizing the provision of short-term involuntary protective services may only be initiated by a social services official. (b) The petition shall state, insofar as the facts can be ascertained with reasonable diligence: (i) the name, age and physical description of the allegedly endangered adult; and (ii) the address or other location where the allegedly endangered adult can be found. (c) The petition shall state facts showing: (i) that the adult who is the subject of this petition is an endangered adult as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section; (ii) the specific short-term involuntary protective services petitioned for, how such services would remedy the situation or condition which poses an imminent risk of death or imminent risk of serious physical harm to the allegedly endangered adult, and why such services are not overbroad as to extent or duration; (iii) that the short-term involuntary protective services being applied for are necessitated by the situation or condition described in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section; (iv) that other voluntary protective services have been tried and have failed to remedy the situation, and that a future, voluntary, less restrictive alternative would not be appropriate or would not be available; (v) if a change in the allegedly endangered adult's physical location is being applied for, that remedy of the dangerous situation or condition described in paragraph (a) of subdivision one of this section is not appropriate in existing physical surroundings of the allegedly endangered adult; (vi) any inconsistency known to petitioner between the proposed short-term involuntary protective services and the allegedly endangered adult's religious belief; (vii) that if it reasonably appears that the allegedly endangered adult does not understand the English language, that reasonable efforts have been made to communicate with the allegedly endangered adult in a language he or she understands; (viii) that no prior application has been made for the relief requested or for any similar relief, or if prior application has been made, the determination thereof, and the new facts, if any, that were not previously shown which warrant a renewal of the application. (d) The petition shall be verified. Any allegations which are not based upon personal knowledge shall be supported by affidavits provided by a person or persons having such knowledge. Such affidavits shall be attached to the petition. 5. Commencement of proceedings. (a) A special proceeding to obtain an order authorizing the provision of short-term involuntary protective services shall be commenced by an order to show cause, the petition and supporting affidavits, if any. (b) The order to show cause shall set forth: (i) in bold type, on its face, the following: WARNING IF YOU DO NOT APPEAR IN COURT YOUR LIFE AND LIBERTY MAY BE SERIOUSLY AFFECTED. FOR FREE INFORMATION CONCERNING YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS CALL OR VISIT (ii) the protective services to be provided if the petition is granted; (iii) the date, place and time of the hearing to determine whether the petition is to be granted; (iv) that the respondent is entitled to counsel at all stages of the proceeding, that upon granting the order to show cause, the court shall assign counsel to assist the respondent, and that respondent is free at any time to discharge the counsel assigned by the court. The name, address and telephone number of the assigned counsel shall be inserted at the end of the warning referred to in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph; (v) that if the respondent or retained counsel does not appear at the hearing to determine whether the petition is to be granted, the court will appoint a guardian ad litem; (vi) that if the respondent discharges the assigned counsel prior to the hearing to determine if the petition is to be granted, such counsel shall report this fact to the court no later than the commencement of the hearing, and shall appear at the hearing, unless otherwise relieved by the court. In the event that neither the respondent nor his retained counsel appears at the hearing, the court may appoint the person previously assigned as counsel to act as the guardian ad litem; and (vii) that a copy of the order to show cause, the petition, and supporting affidavits, if any, shall be served upon the respondent. (c) Petitioner shall cause the order to show cause, the petition, and supporting affidavits, if any, to be delivered to the counsel assigned by the court. (d) The order to show cause shall be made returnable within forty-eight hours following its issuance, unless such forty-eight hour period ends on a day in which the court is not in session, in which case the return date shall be the first business day following issuance of the order to show cause. 6. Service. (a) Service of the order to show cause, the petition, and supporting affidavits, if any, shall be made upon the respondent by any of the methods permitted by section three hundred eight of the civil practice law and rules. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, Saturday and Sunday service is valid. (b) The respondent shall be authorized to answer either orally or in writing. 7. Hearing. (a) Upon the return date designated in the order to show cause issued pursuant to subdivision five of this section a hearing shall be held forthwith. (b) The allegedly endangered adult shall be entitled to be present at the hearing. (c) Adjournments shall be permitted only for good cause shown. In granting adjournments the court shall consider the need to provide short-term involuntary services expeditiously. (d) At the conclusion of the hearing the court shall issue for the record a statement of its findings of fact and conclusions of law. 8. Preference. The special proceeding authorized by this title shall have preference over all other causes in all courts of appropriate jurisdiction. 9. Findings. After a hearing, the court must find, in order to authorize the provision of short-term involuntary protective services, that all of the material allegations as specified in paragraph (c) of subdivision four of this section have been admitted or proven by clear and convincing proof. 10. Judgment. (a) The court, upon making the findings required by subdivision nine herein, shall direct the entry of a judgment authorizing the provision of short-term involuntary protective services to an endangered adult. (b) A judgment authorizing short-term involuntary protective services to be provided to an endangered adult: (i) shall prescribe those specific protective services, authorized by section four hundred seventy-three of this article, which are to be provided and what person or persons are authorized or ordered to provide them; and (ii) shall not provide for any forcible entry unless the persons so entering are accompanied by a peace officer, acting pursuant to his special duties, or a police officer, who is a member of an authorized police department or force or of a sheriff's department; (iii) shall require persons acting under subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of this paragraph to submit a written report to the court within one week following the commencement of the ordered protective services. (c) The judgment may order any other public or law enforcement official to render such assistance and cooperation as shall be within his legal authority, as may be required to further the objects of this title. (d) The judgment shall not order removal to a hospital, as that term is defined in section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law. (e) Issuance of the judgment shall not be evidence of the competency or incompetency of the endangered adult. (f) No order issued pursuant to this title shall extend for more than seventy-two hours. An original order may be renewed once for up to another seventy-two hour period upon showing by the petitioner to the court that ntinuation is necessary to remedy the original situation or condition. No further renewals shall be permitted. (g) In no event shall the short-term involuntary services authorized to be provided to an endangered adult by the judgment be broader than those which are necessary to remedy the situation or condition which poses an imminent risk of death or imminent risk of serious physical harm to the endangered adult. (h) Notice of the judgment rendered by the court shall be given to the respondent personally, or if personal service is not possible in whatever other fashion the court shall prescribe. 11. Appeals. Appeals arising from the issuance of judgments pursuant to the provisions of this title shall be expedited. 12. The assigned counsel and the guardian ad litem appointed by the court pursuant to this title shall be reimbursed for their services pursuant to section thirty-five of the judiciary law. 13. Nothing in this title precludes the simultaneous commencement of a proceeding under this title and a proceeding under section 9.43 of the mental hygiene law, or a proceeding under article seventy-seven or article seventy-eight of such law. A pending proceeding under section 9.43 of the mental hygiene law or under article seventy-seven or article seventy-eight of the mental hygiene law does not preclude commencement of a proceeding under this title. 14. No existing right or remedy of any character shall be lost, impaired or affected by reason of this title.
28		N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 473-b Adult Protective Services; Reporting of endangered adults; persons in need of protective services.	Any person who in good faith believes that a person eighteen years of age or older may be an endangered adult or in need of protective or other services, pursuant to this article, and who, based on such belief either: (a) reports or refers such person to the department, office for the aging, or any local social services district office or designated area agency on aging, law enforcement agency, or any other person, agency or organization that such person, in good faith, believes will take appropriate action; or (b) testifies in any judicial or administrative proceeding arising from such report or referral shall have immunity from any civil liability that might otherwise result by reason of the act of making such report or referral or of giving of such testimony.
29		N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 473-c An order to gain access to persons believed to be in need of protective services for adults.	1. A social services official may apply to the supreme court or county court for an order to gain access to a person to assess whether such person is in need of protective services for adults in accordance with the provisions of section four hundred seventy-three of this article when such official, having reasonable cause to believe that such person may be in need of protective services, is refused access by such person or another individual. Such application shall state, insofar as the facts can be ascertained with reasonable diligence: (a) the name and address of the person who may be in need of protective services for adults and the premises on which this person may be found; (b) the reason the social services official believes the person may be in need of protective services for adults, which may include information provided by other agencies or individuals who are familiar with the person who may be in need of protective services for adults; (c) the person or persons who are responsible for preventing the social services official from gaining access to the person who may be in need of protective services for adults; (d) the efforts made by the social services official to gain access to the person who may be in need of protective services for adults; (e) the names of any individuals, such as physicians or nurses, or other health or mental health professionals qualified to participate in the assessment, who shall accompany and assist the social services official conducting an assessment of the need of a person for protective services for adults; (f) the manner in which the proposed assessment is to be conducted; (g) that the social services official seeks an order solely for the purpose of assessing the need of a person for protective services for adults in accordance with the provisions of section four hundred seventy-three of this article and applicable regulations of the department; (h) that no prior application has been made for the relief requested or for any similar relief, or if prior application has been made, the determination thereof, and the new facts, if any, that were not previously shown which warrant a renewal of the application. 2. Any allegations which are not based upon personal knowledge shall be supported by affidavits provided by a person or persons having such knowledge. Such affidavits shall be attached to the application. 3. The applications authorized in this section shall have preference over all other causes in all courts of appropriate jurisdiction, except those with a similar statutory preference. 4. If the court is satisfied that there is reasonable cause to believe that a person in need of protective services for adults may be found at the premises described in the application, that such person may be in need of protective services for adults, and that access to such person has been refused, it shall grant the application and issue an order authorizing the social services official and such other individuals as may be designated by the said official, accompanied by a police officer, to enter the premises to conduct an assessment to determine whether the person named in the application is in need of protective services for adults. The standard for proof and procedure for such an authorization shall be the same as for a search warrant under the criminal procedure law. 5. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to authorize a social services official to remove any person from the premises described in the application, or to provide any involuntary protective services to any person other than to assess a person's need for protective services for adults. Nothing in this section shall be construed to impair any existing right or remedy.
30		N.Y. City Admin. Code § 21-201 Definitions.	Whenever used in this chapter, the following words shall have the following meanings: a. "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of the department for the aging. b. "Department" shall mean the department for the aging. c. "Regularly scheduled activities" shall mean all activities which are funded in whole or in part by the city of New York. d. "Senior center" shall mean facilities operated by the city of New York or operated by an entity that has contracted with the department to provide services to senior citizens on a regular basis including, but not limited to meals, recreation and counseling. e. "Elder abuse" shall mean any knowing, intentional, or negligent act by a caregiver or any other person holding a trusting relationship with a vulnerable older adult, which causes harm or a serious risk of harm to that older adult including physical, emotional, sexual, or financial harm, or neglect, abandonment or confinement.
31		N.Y. City Admin. Code § 21-203 Elder abuse training.	a. The commissioner shall develop a program to train senior service providers in the detection and reporting of elder abuse. Such program shall also include training on the counseling of elder abuse victims. b. The commissioner shall require that employees of senior centers and employees of entities that contract with the department to provide services to senior citizens, be trained in elder abuse detection, reporting and counseling, and receive supplemental refresher training regarding the same at least once every 3 years, if such employee has or is expected to have significant and direct person to person contact with senior citizens. c. The commissioner shall require senior centers to hold at least two educational sessions per year during which guests and members of the senior center will receive counseling regarding elder abuse prevention and awareness and be instructed on how to detect and report instances of elder abuse. d. The commissioner shall require that every senior center post signage in a prominent common area section within the center that directs those who need information regarding elder abuse detection, reporting, counseling and services to call either the 311 citizen service system or the department's Elderly Crime Victims Resource Center.