A 3590: Establishes a twenty-four hour, toll-free hotline and website for runaway and homeless youth that provides immediate support, referrals, resource lists and other information to such youth.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3590 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY January 28, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to establishing a twen- ty-four hour, toll-free hotline and website for runaway and homeless youth The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraphs (g) and (h) of subdivision 1 of section 532-b of 2 the executive law, as added by section 3 of part M of chapter 56 of the 3 laws of 2017, are amended and a new paragraph (i) is added to read as 4 follows: 5 (g) contact the appropriate local social services district if it is 6 believed that the youth may be a destitute child, as such term is 7 defined in section one thousand ninety-two of the family court act. The 8 office of children and family services shall provide appropriate guid- 9 ance to the runaway and homeless youth crisis services program on how to 10 accurately identify a youth that may be a destitute child; [and] 11 (h) provide information to eligible youth about their ability to 12 re-enter foster care in accordance with article ten-B of the family 13 court act, and in appropriate cases, refer any such youth who may be 14 interested in re-entering foster care to the applicable local social 15 services district. The office of children and family services shall 16 provide the runaway and homeless youth crisis services program with the 17 appropriate educational materials to give to eligible youth regarding 18 their ability to re-enter foster care. The office of children and family 19 services shall also provide appropriate guidance to the runaway and 20 homeless youth crisis services program on how to accurately identify 21 youth that may be eligible to re-enter foster care and how to refer such 22 youth to the applicable local social services district if 23 appropriate[.]; and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07637-01-5 
 A. 3590 2 1 (i) establish a twenty-four hour, toll-free hotline and website for 2 runaway and homeless youth that shall provide immediate support, refer- 3 rals, resource lists and other information to such youth, including, but 4 not limited to, the location and phone number of relevant services or 5 programs in the area of the state where the youth is located, such as 6 food and hygiene pantries, public transportation, shelters, youth 7 centers, mental health clinics, suicide prevention programs, gender 8 identity counseling, reproductive health clinics, immigration services, 9 veteran's assistance, disability services, domestic violence and crime 10 victims services, addiction counseling, rape and sexual assault 11 prevention and counseling, police stations, medical clinics, and legal 12 aid offices, as well as information on obtaining legal identification. 13 The hotline shall provide linguistic and culturally competent advice for 14 high-risk and specialized populations. 15 § 2. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a 16 law.