N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18 § 491.9

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

Section 491.9 - Referrals and assessments

(a)Referrals.

Any homeless adult who applies to a social services district for temporary housing assistance may be considered for referral to a shelter for adults or a small-capacity shelter; and, any homeless adult family that applies to a social services district for temporary housing assistance may be considered for referral to a shelter for adult families. A homeless adult family may not be referred to a shelter for adults or a small-capacity shelter unless the family can be provided with an individual room with a door containing a working door lock and with the minimum square footage per family member as required by the applicable State or local regulation or code.

(b)Assessments.

(1) When an individual adult or adult family applies for temporary housing assistance, the social services district or the social services district's designee shall commence to evaluate the adult or adult family to assess the individual adult's or the adult family's housing and housing-related public assistance and care needs pursuant to section 352.35 of this Title, and the suitability of the individual adult or adult family for placement in a shelter, by the end of the next business day. The assessment shall be completed by the social services district or its designee as soon as possible thereafter.

(2) An individual or adult family must cooperate in and complete an assessment. When an individual or family fails to cooperate in and complete the assessment, the social services district must deny the individual's or family's application for temporary housing assistance unless non-compliance is due to a physical or mental impairment. When such a physical or mental impairment appears to be present and interfering with an individual's ability to cooperate in and complete an assessment, the social services district must refer the individual or the family member with the apparent physical or mental impairment for an evaluation by an appropriate professional. When an individual states that they have a physical or mental impairment that interferes with their compliance, they must provide documentation of this impairment, unless the physical or mental impairment is known or apparent to shelter or intake staff, in which case the individual shall not be required to provide documentation of the physical or mental impairment. If they do not have such documentation and cannot obtain it with or without the assistance of the social services district, the social services district may refer the individual to an appropriate qualified professional for an evaluation and/or for such documentation. The social services district also may refer the individual to an appropriate qualified professional for an independent medical examination if the social services district believes additional information is necessary to confirm that the individual has a physical or mental impairment that is interfering with their ability to cooperate in and complete an assessment.

(c) A social services district shall not, without the approval of the office, place any person in a shelter for adults, a small-capacity shelter, or a shelter for adult families who:

(1) has a mental or physical condition that makes such placement inappropriate or otherwise may cause danger to himself/herself or others;

(2) requires services beyond those that the shelter is authorized to provide by law and regulation, and by an operational plan approved by the office;

(3) is likely to substantially interfere with the health, safety, welfare, care or comfort of other residents;

(4) is in need of a level of medical, mental health, nursing care or other assistance that cannot be rendered safely and effectively by the facility, or that cannot be reasonably provided by the facility through the assistance of other community resources;

(5) is incapable of ambulation on stairs without personal assistance, unless such a person can be assigned a room on a floor with ground level egress or the facility is equipped with an elevator;

(6) has a generalized systemic communicable disease or a readily communicable local infection which cannot be properly isolated and quarantined in the facility.

(d) When a person cannot be referred to a shelter for adults, a small-capacity shelter, or a shelter for adult families for any of the reasons set forth in subdivision (c) of this section, the social services district must ensure that action is taken which is appropriate to the health, safety and needs of that person. Such action may include, but is not limited to, referral for appropriate medical or clinical services where a person is determined to be in need of treatment for physical or mental health issues, or to an appropriate adult protective or law enforcement agency or similar entity.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 491.9

Amended New York State Register December 11, 2019/Volume XLI, Issue 50, eff. 1/1/2020