PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
Addition of section 352.38 to Title 18 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Social Services Law, sections 17(a)-(b), (j), 20(2)-(3), 34, 460-c and 460-d
Subject:
Emergency shelters.
Purpose:
To address security measures and incident reporting in shelters for the homeless.
Text or summary was published
in the June 22, 2016 issue of the Register, I.D. No. TDA-25-16-00002-EP.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
No changes.
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Richard P. Rhodes, Jr., New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, 40 North Pearl Street, 16-C, Albany, NY 12243-0001, (518) 486-7503, email: richard.rhodesjr@otda.ny.gov
Initial Review of Rule
As a rule that requires a RFA, RAFA or JIS, this rule will be initially reviewed in the calendar year 2019, which is no later than the 3rd year after the year in which this rule is being adopted.
Assessment of Public Comment
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) received comments relative to emergency regulation 18 NYCRR § 352.38 (§ 352.38), which addresses security measures and incident reporting in shelters for the homeless. The comments pertaining to § 352.38 have been reviewed and are duly considered in this Assessment of Public Comments.
One comment characterized § 352.38 as an unfunded mandate and requested that OTDA fully reimburse the social services districts (SSDs) for any and all expenses related to the administration of § 352.38. As previously stated in the Regulatory Impact Statement, OTDA anticipates the fiscal impact of the emergency regulation will be minimal so long as SSDs are in compliance with existing security and fire safety standards.
One comment asserted that SSD employees do not generally have the expertise to assess the adequacy of security plans or to provide the oversight and guidance necessary to ensure that a security plan is operational. However, SSL § 62(1) explicitly provides that “each public welfare district shall be responsible for the assistance and care of any person who resides or is found in its territory and who is in need of public assistance and care which he is unable to provide for him or herself.” SSDs are therefore statutorily mandated to take appropriate measures to help ensure the safety and welfare of persons in need of public assistance and care.
Another comment requested that commercial hotels and motels used to provide emergency shelter be excluded from consideration under § 352.38(a), which requires each emergency shelter to submit a security plan to both the SSD in which it is located and to OTDA. The comment reasoned that in some SSDs commercial hotels and motels are utilized only occasionally for emergency shelter, and it would be impractical, if not impossible, to prospectively obtain, review and assess safety plans for commercial hotels or motels. OTDA notes that the emergency regulation, by its explicit terms, applies only to “facilit[ies] with overnight sleeping accommodations, the primary purpose of which is to provide temporary shelter to recipients of temporary housing assistance” (emphasis added). Consequently, under the current emergency regulation, a hotel or motel is required to submit a security plan for approval only when more than 50 percent of its space is used to provide emergency shelter; therefore, commercial hotels and motels used only occasionally to provide emergency shelter when no other suitable housing is available generally will not be required to submit security plans.
In view of the foregoing, OTDA does not believe that revisions to the current emergency regulation are necessary.
