N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18 § 422.5

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 43, October 23, 2024

Section 422.5 - Administration of referrals

(a) Parents must be informed of their legal obligations to contribute toward the costs of their children's foster care when applications for foster care are made. Parents who are non-signatories to the applications for foster care must be informed of this obligation within seven days after such parents are notified of their children's placements. Such information must include a description of the procedures for making referrals to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district; a statement that the parents may be legally responsible for the costs of public assistance and care paid on behalf of their children; and a statement that court orders may be sought in order to determine the amounts of the support obligations.

(b) Such information also must be provided to parents of children in foster care when there is a change of circumstances which requires referral of the parent or parents to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district.

(c) In accordance with section 422.4 of this Part, an assessment must be made of the appropriateness of referring each parent of a child in foster care to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district. Each parent must be evaluated individually for the appropriateness of making a referral.

(d) Where it is determined that a referral to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district is appropriate the social services district must:

(1) obtain documentation required by this subdivision from any available sources;

(2) provide necessary documentation to make such referral in accordance with the procedures of the child support enforcement unit of the social services district and transmit such information to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district;

(i) such documentation must be provided in the form and manner required by the department;

(ii) to the extent available, necessary documentation includes but is not limited to the following concerning absent parents, putative fathers and/or legally responsible relatives:

(a) name, address, sex, date of birth, and social security number;

(b) employer name and address;

(c) medical insurance carrier and policy number;

(d) CIN number;

(e) whether paternity has been established by acknowledgment or by court adjudication and, if a court adjudication of paternity has been granted, the court where the order has been entered and the date of the order of filiation;

(f) if a court order for support is in effect, the court where the order has been entered, the date of the order for support, the amount and payment frequency and whether health care coverage is included in the order of support; and

(g) date of abandonment;

(iii) necessary documentation includes but is not limited to the following concerning children in foster care:

(a) name, sex, date of birth and social security number;

(b) date of placement, placement address; and

(c) case number, claiming category and the name and telephone number of the foster care case manager;

(3) determine the costs of foster care for each foster child for whom a referral is to be made in accordance with standards established by the department pursuant to Part 427 of this Title and transmit this information as part of the referral to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district. For the purposes of this Part, the costs of foster care are:

(i) those costs associated with the care and maintenance of the foster child which, at the time of placement or replacement, are regular and recurring, or other expenses incurred by the child during the course of placement, exclusive of medical and educational costs; and

(ii) those administrative costs associated with a child's placement in a residential program operated or administered by a voluntary authorized agency; or

(iii) those costs that are equivalent to the amount of any adoption subsidy payment provided in accordance with section 421.24 of this Title.

Nothing herein is intended to preclude the right of the State and social services district to recover from the parents the costs of any medical assistance paid on behalf of the child;

(4) redetermine the costs of foster care each time a foster child's placement changes and transmit the fact of the changed placement and any change to the costs of foster care to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district;

(5) notify the child support enforcement unit of the social services district when a child is discharged from foster care;

(6) notify the child support enforcement unit of the social services district of any change in the foster child's status including, but not limited to, trial discharge, legal detention, absent from foster care without consent, hospitalization, and that foster care payments are no longer being made for the child;

(7) notify the child support enforcement unit of the social services district when a foster child born out-of-wedlock is surrendered for adoption, or when the adoption of a foster child is completed after the termination of parental rights pursuant to section 384-b of the Social Services Law or a surrender pursuant to section 383-c or 384 of such law;

(8) respond to requests for information from the child support enforcement unit of the social services district; and

(9) forward any new or changed information regarding a previous referral to the child support enforcement unit of the social services district including changes to a foster child's costs of care.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 422.5