Children and Family Services, Office of

Agency Web Site: https://ocfs.ny.gov/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 $3.99 billion for OCFS, which is an increase of $85.5 million from the 2014-15 budget. The increase primarily reflects capital investments for raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction, funding for the human services two percent salary increase and child care provider representative activities. The increase is partially offset by decreased General Fund dollars for child care subsidies due to an equal increase in Federal TANF funds for subsidies and a reduction in funding authority for Systems Support to better reflect anticipated costs.

The Executive Budget recommends a workforce of 3,059 FTEs. This is an increase of 65 FTEs from the 2014-15 budget and reflects the following: an increase of 38 positions for the Human Services Contact Center to handle calls for the various phone lines it took over during the previous year, an increase of 33 for positions that were scheduled to be filled during 2014-15 but will now be filled during 2015-16, and a decrease of six positions that will be transferred to the Business Services Center.

Major budget actions include:

• Implementation of the Commission on Youth, Public Safety and Justice recommendations to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction from age 16 to age 18. First year investments total $25 million to plan, create and expand services for 16 and 17 year old youth who will be involved in the juvenile justice system and to place newly sentenced 16 and 17 year old youth in OCFS facilities. Full implementation costs are estimated at $375 million in 2020-21. Capital investments of $110 million are also included to address the need for additional OCFS facility capacity.
• Sharing the cost of the two percent salary increase for foster parents and eligible staff at foster care nonprofits with Local Social Services Districts.
• Increasing funding for home-based child care provider representatives to support professional development and to improve the quality of child care.

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 01/21/2015

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables