Welcome to the . . .
Out-of-State Placement (OSP) Committee Initiative

On August 2, 2005, Chapter 392 of the Laws of 2005 were signed, enacting the Out-of-State Placement (OSP) Committee. The law improves the monitoring of out-of-state residential placements, promotes coordination across all levels of government and establishes a process for identifying and considering in-state resources prior to making an out-of-state placement. This legislation is a direct outcome of the Report of the Interagency Work Group on Out-of-State Residential Placements (June 2005) and became effective October 31, 2005.

The legislation requires the following:

• Establishing an Out-of-State Placement Committee within the Council on Children and Families composed of the Commissioners of the State Education Department (SED), Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), Office of Mental Health (OMH), Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives (DPCA), and Department of Health (DOH);
• Creating individual agency registries of out-of-state residential schools and facilities and a comprehensive registry to be housed at the Council on Children and Families;
• Developing contract parameters to be used by local education agencies and local departments of social services for placement of children in out-of-state residential schools and facilities;
• Developing model processes for placement of children who may be at risk of out-of-state residential services;
• Providing ongoing and future technical assistance and public awareness resources;
• Studying integrated funding options specific to children at risk of out-of-state residential placements;
• Recommending additional steps to strengthen the infrastructure of children and youth residential placements and community services in New York State; and
• Submitting an annual report to the Governor and Legislature.

The Out-of-State Placement Committee has been organized into six subcommittees – Registries, Contract Parameters, Model Processes, Integrated Funding, Infrastructure and Technical Assistance/Public Awareness – to achieve these results. This work is coordinated by an OSP Work Group, led by the Council on Children and Families. In addition to the agencies identified above, the Division of the Budget, Commission on the Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities, the statewide director of the Coordinated Children’s Services Initiative, and two family liaisons serve on the OSP Work Group.

The 2006 Annual Report provides greater detail of the work of the Out of State Placement Committee.