Children and Family Services, Office of

Agency Web Site: http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/

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.

Budget Highlights

The Executive Budget recommends $3.8 billion for OCFS. This is an increase of $47.7 million from the 2013-14 budget. The increase primarily reflects the impact of increased child care funding for local social services districts to support higher costs for child care services in order to maintain child care subsidies, continued implementation of the New York City Close to Home initiative, and adjusting funding authority for Systems Support and the Human Services Contact Center to better reflect anticipated costs.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 2,796 FTEs. This is a decrease of 234 FTEs from the 2013-14 budget. The net decrease primarily reflects the continued closing and downsizing of youth facilities associated with the Close to Home initiative and staff for continued implementation of the Human Services Contact Center.

Major budget actions include:

• Increasing child care funding by $21 million to allow local social services districts to maintain child care subsidies in the face of increased costs for child care services.
• Delaying the 2014-15 Human Services Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) to providers until 2015-16.
• Building upon the 2013-14 initiative that authorized OCFS to enter into contracts with the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) for special education services at its youth facilities, the Executive Budget will expand OCFS' authority to contract with BOCES to cover additional areas that may include foreign languages, music, art, career and technical skills and others that would increase educational opportunities for youth at the agency's facilities.

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)

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/20/2014

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables