In 1944, Governor Thomas E. Dewey appointed an interdepartmental committee to study the problem of juvenile delinquency. Upon the recommendation of this committee, the New York State Youth Commission, a temporary state commission comprised of a chairperson appointed by the governor and the commissioners of the departments of Correction, Education, Health, Mental Hygiene, and Social Welfare, the industrial commissioner, and the chairperson of the Board of Parole, was established in 1945 (Chapter 556). The commission, which was extended until 1956, studied and made recommendations on the problems of youth guidance, prevention of juvenile delinquency, and treatment of youthful offenders and provided local municipalities with financial and technical aid for delinquency prevention projects. In 1955 (Chapter 603), a year before the temporary state commission was scheduled to terminate, the Temporary State Commission on Youth and Delinquency - a bipartisan group of legislators, public officials, and laymen - was established to review public policy in this area. As a result of this commission's analysis, the State Youth Commission was reestablished as a permanent Executive Department agency in 1956 (Chapter 636). Commission membership was nine persons appointed by the governor for five-year terms. Three years later, Governor Rockefeller appointed a Task Force on Youth and Juvenile Delinquency to again study state youth policy. Based on legislation drafted by this task force, the Division for Youth was created in 1960 (Chapter 881) to supersede the Youth Commission. Under a director appointed by the governor, the Division assumed all the functions of the former commission and was also authorized to establish and operate centers for the rehabilitation of delinquent adolescents. The Youth Commission was renamed the Council on Youth and continued to exist as an advisory body to the director of the division. Youth-care facilities operated by the Department of Social Services were transferred to the division in 1971 (Chapter 947). In 1997 (Chapter 436), in conjunction with federal welfare reform legislation, the Department of Social Services and the Division for Youth were abolished. The Department of Family Assistance was created, consisting of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance and the Office of Children and Family Services. The Office of Children and Family Services assumed the functions formerly carried out by the Division for Youth, as well as the family and children's programs formerly administered by the Department of Social Services. The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance assumed the temporary and transitional assistance, disability assistance, and child support collection services formerly administered by the Department of Social Services. In 2000, the Office of Youth Development was created within the Office of Children and Family Services to design, coordinate, and promote cooperative, inter-disciplinary programs that help youth develop socially and emotionally, succeed academically, and make positive life choices.
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The Office of Children and Family Services was created to improve the integration of services for the State's children, youth, families and vulnerable populations and to promote their development and protect them from violence, neglect, abuse and abandonment. The Office has numerous responsibilities including foster care, adoption and adoption assistance, child protective services, preventive services for children and families, services for pregnant adolescents, child care and referral programs, and protective programs for vulnerable adults. The Office is also responsible for the functions performed by the State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH), and coordinates state government response to the needs of Native Americans on reservations and in communities. Furthermore, the Office is responsible for the administration and management of specialized programs and residential facilities for youth remanded to the agency's custody by family and criminal courts. The Office also works closely with local governments to ensure that adequate youth development services and programs are available at the local level.
L. 1997, Ch. 436.
