Children and Family Services, Office of
skip breadcrumbsAgency Web Site: https://ocfs.ny.gov
Mission
The Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) serves New York's public by promoting the safety, permanency and well-being of our children, families and communities. OCFS achieves results by setting and enforcing policies, building partnerships, and funding and providing quality services.
Organization and Staffing
OCFS is headed by a Commissioner who is supported by several Deputy Commissioners who oversee various departments and programs. Agency staff are located throughout the State in OCFS operated residential facilities and in regional offices, where they work with county commissioners to implement and monitor local programs.
Budget Highlights
The FY 2021 Executive Budget recommends $3.8 billion in appropriations for OCFS, which is consistent with 2020 levels. A net year-to-year increase of less than $1 million primarily reflects the following actions: a $25 million decrease in General Fund support for child welfare costs attributed to additional Federal funding directed to offset such costs, a $22 million decrease in General Fund support related to eliminating the State share of Committee on Special Education (CSE) costs, a $1.2 million decrease related to the closure of the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) Limited Secure Facility, a $3.59 million decrease related to elimination of the Public Private Partnership program, a $4.2 million decrease for union professional development and quality enhancement activities, and a $26.3 million decrease related to the elimination of legislative adds. These decreases are offset by an increase of $75 million in Federal appropriations related to implementation of the Federal Family First Act, a General Fund increase of $5 million for a domestic violence pilot program, and an increase of $3.8 million in Federal appropriation authority for the Commission for the Blind . The FY 2021 Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 2,856 FTEs, a decrease of 63 FTEs from FY 2020 resulting from the closure of the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) Limited Secure Facility.
For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:
Briefing Book – Human Services (PDF)
Program Highlights
Child Welfare Services
Child Welfare Services provide a variety of services to families to ensure the safety and well-being of children, and to strengthen families to successfully care for their children. Child Protective Services include: investigating reports of child abuse or maltreatment, providing solutions to protect children, and helping prevent future occurrences of abuse or maltreatment. Preventive Services are provided to families with children at risk of entering foster care. Independent Living Services teach youth aging out of foster care the necessary skills to be independent adults.
Foster Care
Foster Care provides out-of-home placements for children and youth who have been removed from their homes due to abuse/neglect by their parent, or a court determination that a child is a "person in need of supervision" or a juvenile delinquent. Foster boarding homes provide care in a home setting by foster parents, and residential programs serve youth with more significant health or emotional needs. The foster care caseload has dropped from 37,000 in FY 2003 to less than 16,000 in FY 2019 after the State reformed child welfare financing to incentivize preventive and Child Protective Services that help keep families together.
Child Care
The Child Care Block Grant (CCBG) provides child care subsidies to families on public assistance, families transitioning off of public assistance, and low-income families.
Adoption Services
Adoption Services provide funding for expenses related to the adoption of children from the Foster Care system. Subsidies are provided to families to help meet the needs of caring for handicapped and hard-to-place children.
Adult Protective Services
Adult Protective Services assist individuals 18 and over that present the following: physical and/or mental disabilities resulting in a reduced capacity for self-care; evidence of harm or risk of being harmed by others; and lack of assistance from others. In 2018, the agency received approximately 53,812 adult protective services referrals.
Domestic Violence Services
Domestic Violence Services assist individuals 16 and over that have been victims of domestic violence (DV). Services are designed to provide safety and support to victims and their children through approved residential and non-residential programs. In 2018, 12,074 adults and children received DV residential services and 39,458 adults and children received DV non-residential services.
Runaway and Homeless Youth Services
The Runaway and Homeless Youth Program provides funding to counties for contracts with not-for-profit runaway programs that provide services to youth. Services include short-term shelter and long-term transitional and independent living services for youth. All youth receive case management services and basic needs, either directly by the service provider or through referral to other programs.
Youth Facilities and Youth Program Services
The Youth Facilities Program supports the Division for Juvenile Justice and Opportunities for Youth (DJJOY), which provides a range of core mandated and enhanced services to court adjudicated youth and their families, delivered in state-operated residential facilities and at community sites. The Program also provides support for local detention facilities that house youth while the cases are pending in family court. In addition, the Youth Development Program provides funding to localities to support delinquency prevention programs.
Commission for the Blind
The Commission for the Blind supports services to legally blind children and older adults including Vocational Rehab Basic Support, Independent Living for Adults and Preschool Children, Independent Living for Older Blind, Supported Employment programming and In-Service Training. The Commission also provides support for assessments, mobility training, academic instruction, case management, and job-oriented vocational instruction.
Statewide Central Register
The Statewide Central Register (SCR) is responsible for screening all calls of suspected child abuse and maltreatment. In 2018 the SCR handled 297,233 calls and received 316,481 requests for database check clearances.
Human Services Call Center
The Human Services Call Center (HSCC) handles more than one million calls annually for ten state agencies from 46 different lines, providing callers with information through high-quality customer service.
| Category | Available FY 2020 |
Appropriations Recommended FY 2021 |
Change From FY 2020 |
Reappropriations Recommended FY 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Operations | 495,312,000 | 508,982,000 | 13,670,000 | 628,976,000 |
| Aid To Localities | 3,281,501,350 | 3,268,478,150 | (13,023,200) | 4,094,600,702 |
| Capital Projects | 43,453,000 | 43,453,000 | 0 | 425,065,000 |
| Total | 3,820,266,350 | 3,820,913,150 | 646,800 | 5,148,641,702 |
| Program | FY 2020 Estimated FTEs 03/31/20 |
FY 2021 Estimated FTEs 03/31/21 |
FTE Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Administration | |||
| General Fund | 290 | 290 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Internal Service Funds | 99 | 99 | 0 |
| Child Care | |||
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 232 | 232 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | |||
| General Fund | 32 | 32 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 106 | 106 | 0 |
| Family and Children Services | |||
| General Fund | 484 | 484 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 45 | 45 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Maintenance & Improvement of Youth Facilities | |||
| Capital Projects Funds - Other | 69 | 69 | 0 |
| Systems Support | |||
| General Fund | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Training and Development | |||
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 42 | 42 | 0 |
| Youth Facilities | |||
| General Fund | 1,508 | 1,445 | (63) |
| Total | 2,919 | 2,856 | (63) |
| Fund Type | Available FY 2020 |
Recommended FY 2021 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Funds | 515,000 | 515,000 | 0 |
| General Fund | 273,126,000 | 271,887,000 | (1,239,000) |
| Internal Service Funds | 22,162,000 | 22,162,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 153,415,000 | 168,324,000 | 14,909,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 46,094,000 | 46,094,000 | 0 |
| Total | 495,312,000 | 508,982,000 | 13,670,000 |
| Adjustments: | |||
| Transfer(s) From | |||
| Children and Family Services, Office of | |||
| General Fund | |||
| (Aid To Localities) | (987,000) | ||
| Appropriated FY 2020 | 494,325,000 | ||
| Program | Available FY 2020 |
Recommended FY 2021 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Administration | |||
| General Fund | 30,528,000 | 30,528,000 | 0 |
| Internal Service Funds | 22,062,000 | 22,062,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 528,000 | 528,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 3,534,000 | 3,534,000 | 0 |
| Child Care | |||
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 51,777,000 | 62,886,000 | 11,109,000 |
| Family and Children Services | |||
| General Fund | 42,270,000 | 42,270,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 37,970,000 | 37,970,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 1,346,000 | 1,346,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | |||
| General Fund | 8,224,000 | 8,224,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 32,547,000 | 36,347,000 | 3,800,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 1,920,000 | 1,920,000 | 0 |
| Systems Support | |||
| General Fund | 12,461,000 | 12,461,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 30,593,000 | 30,593,000 | 0 |
| Training and Development | |||
| Enterprise Funds | 200,000 | 200,000 | 0 |
| General Fund | 19,299,000 | 19,299,000 | 0 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 39,294,000 | 39,294,000 | 0 |
| Youth Facilities | |||
| Enterprise Funds | 315,000 | 315,000 | 0 |
| General Fund | 160,344,000 | 159,105,000 | (1,239,000) |
| Internal Service Funds | 100,000 | 100,000 | 0 |
| Total | 495,312,000 | 508,982,000 | 13,670,000 |
| Program | Total | Personal Service Regular (Annual Salaried) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Central Administration | 22,920,000 | (100,000) | 22,539,000 | (100,000) |
| Family and Children Services | 35,295,000 | 0 | 32,847,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | 2,209,000 | 0 | 2,197,000 | 0 |
| Systems Support | 153,000 | 0 | 153,000 | 0 |
| Training and Development | 778,000 | 778,000 | 770,000 | 770,000 |
| Youth Facilities | 120,077,000 | (1,063,000) | 106,851,000 | (1,063,000) |
| Total | 181,432,000 | (385,000) | 165,357,000 | (393,000) |
| Program | Temporary Service (Nonannual Salaried) |
Holiday/Overtime Pay | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Central Administration | 308,000 | 0 | 73,000 | 0 |
| Family and Children Services | 0 | 0 | 2,448,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | 0 | 0 | 12,000 | 21,000 |
| Training and Development | 0 | 0 | 8,000 | 18,000 |
| Youth Facilities | 3,574,000 | 0 | 9,652,000 | 0 |
| Total | 3,882,000 | 0 | 12,193,000 | 39,000 |
| Program | Total | Supplies and Materials | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Central Administration | 7,608,000 | 100,000 | 462,000 | 30,000 |
| Family and Children Services | 6,975,000 | 0 | 635,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | 6,015,000 | 0 | 8,000 | 0 |
| Systems Support | 12,308,000 | 0 | 154,000 | 0 |
| Training and Development | 18,521,000 | (778,000) | 47,000 | 47,000 |
| Youth Facilities | 39,028,000 | (176,000) | 13,892,000 | (63,000) |
| Total | 90,455,000 | (854,000) | 15,198,000 | 14,000 |
| Program | Travel | Contractual Services | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Central Administration | 181,000 | 0 | 4,455,000 | 0 |
| Family and Children Services | 215,000 | 0 | 6,065,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | 5,000 | 0 | 6,002,000 | 0 |
| Systems Support | 177,000 | 0 | 11,106,000 | 0 |
| Training and Development | 274,000 | 274,000 | 17,831,000 | (1,468,000) |
| Youth Facilities | 670,000 | (3,000) | 23,632,000 | (106,000) |
| Total | 1,522,000 | 271,000 | 69,091,000 | (1,574,000) |
| Program | Equipment | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | |
| Central Administration | 2,510,000 | 70,000 |
| Family and Children Services | 60,000 | 0 |
| Systems Support | 871,000 | 0 |
| Training and Development | 369,000 | 369,000 |
| Youth Facilities | 834,000 | (4,000) |
| Total | 4,644,000 | 435,000 |
| Program | Total | Personal Service | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | Amount | Change | |
| Central Administration | 26,124,000 | 0 | 11,205,000 | 0 |
| Child Care | 62,886,000 | 11,109,000 | 24,102,000 | 5,169,000 |
| Family and Children Services | 39,316,000 | 0 | 7,696,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | 38,267,000 | 3,800,000 | 8,507,000 | 0 |
| Systems Support | 30,593,000 | 0 | 500,000 | 500,000 |
| Training and Development | 39,494,000 | 0 | 5,591,000 | 0 |
| Youth Facilities | 415,000 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 237,095,000 | 14,909,000 | 57,601,000 | 5,669,000 |
| Program | Nonpersonal Service | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount | Change | |
| Central Administration | 14,919,000 | 0 |
| Child Care | 38,784,000 | 5,940,000 |
| Family and Children Services | 31,620,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | 29,760,000 | 3,800,000 |
| Systems Support | 30,093,000 | (500,000) |
| Training and Development | 33,903,000 | 0 |
| Youth Facilities | 415,000 | 0 |
| Total | 179,494,000 | 9,240,000 |
| Fund Type | Available FY 2020 |
Recommended FY 2021 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | 1,804,703,350 | 1,727,789,150 | (76,914,200) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 1,462,996,000 | 1,526,887,000 | 63,891,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 13,802,000 | 13,802,000 | 0 |
| Total | 3,281,501,350 | 3,268,478,150 | (13,023,200) |
| Adjustments: | |||
| Transfer(s) To | |||
| Children and Family Services, Office of | |||
| General Fund | |||
| (State Operations) | 987,000 | ||
| Appropriated FY 2020 | 3,282,488,350 | ||
| Program | Available FY 2020 |
Recommended FY 2021 |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child Care | |||
| General Fund | 193,082,100 | 186,575,900 | (6,506,200) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 443,746,000 | 432,637,000 | (11,109,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 343,000 | 343,000 | 0 |
| Family and Children Services | |||
| General Fund | 1,606,755,450 | 1,536,397,450 | (70,358,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 1,018,900,000 | 1,093,900,000 | 75,000,000 |
| Special Revenue Funds - Other | 13,459,000 | 13,459,000 | 0 |
| New York State Commission for the Blind | |||
| General Fund | 50,000 | 0 | (50,000) |
| Special Revenue Funds - Federal | 350,000 | 350,000 | 0 |
| Training and Development | |||
| General Fund | 4,815,800 | 4,815,800 | 0 |
| Total | 3,281,501,350 | 3,268,478,150 | (13,023,200) |
| Comprehensive Construction Program | Available FY 2020 |
Recommended FY 2021 |
Change | Reappropriations FY 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design and Construction Supervision | ||||
| Youth Facilities Improvement Fund | 7,000,000 | 7,000,000 | 0 | 34,128,000 |
| Facilities Maintenance and Operations | ||||
| Capital Projects Fund | 5,754,000 | 5,754,000 | 0 | 3,273,000 |
| Maintenance and Improvement of Youth Facilities | ||||
| Capital Projects Fund | 2,699,000 | 2,699,000 | 0 | 15,589,000 |
| Youth Facilities Improvement Fund | 18,000,000 | 18,000,000 | 0 | 284,818,000 |
| Program Improvement or Program Change | ||||
| Youth Facilities Improvement Fund | 10,000,000 | 10,000,000 | 0 | 87,257,000 |
| Total | 43,453,000 | 43,453,000 | 0 | 425,065,000 |
Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/29/2020