New teams link homeless to housing

Summary#

Assembly Bill A-11700 would amend New York’s Social Services Law by adding rules for multidisciplinary personnel teams. Its stated goal is to help professionals identify homeless people and connect them with housing and supportive services through prompt, coordinated, confidential information-sharing. The bill is introduced and is not law.

  • Counties outside a city with a population of one million or more, and cities with a population of one million or more, may establish or approve a team; the bill does not require them to do so.
  • A team must have at least two trained professionals. It may include health care providers, law enforcement or probation representatives, legal counsel, social services workers, case managers, veterans services providers, domestic-violence service organizations, school personnel, housing or homeless-services representatives, and data analysts.
  • Team members may share confidential information for identifying, assessing, and linking homeless people and families to services, notwithstanding other laws. Health care providers’ use and disclosure for those purposes would be treated as part of treatment activities under applicable law.
  • Each team must create written protocols limiting information to what is reasonably necessary and setting access rules, security safeguards, retention and disposal schedules, confidentiality agreements, and ongoing privacy and security training.
  • A county that establishes a team must allow a city within it to participate if the city asks, unless participation would materially hinder the team’s objectives.
  • Shared information and records of team communications would be strictly confidential and inadmissible in legal proceedings. Violations remain subject to available legal remedies, including civil penalties and court orders to stop or prevent conduct.

What it means for you#

  • Local governments: Establishing a team is optional. If a county establishes one, it must allow a requesting city to join, unless that would materially hinder the team’s objectives.
  • Professionals and participating agencies: Members would be authorized to share confidential information for the stated service-linkage purposes. A team that is set up must adopt and distribute written protocols and provide training. The bill does not require professionals to join a team.
  • People experiencing homelessness and their families: The bill does not require you to apply for services or provide information. It does authorize team members to share confidential information about you for the stated purposes; the bill does not set out a consent process or individual notice requirement.
  • Public: The bill creates no direct right to housing or supportive services, and does not require that any particular person receive them.

Money#

No publicly available information on costs is included in the supplied materials.

  • The bill provides no cost estimate, funding amount, or new appropriation.
  • Local governments that choose to establish teams would have to meet the protocol requirements, but the bill does not specify staffing levels or costs.

What is unclear#

  • The supplied materials do not include the current Social Services Law or the other laws the bill would affect, so the existing rules for these disclosures cannot be verified here.
  • The bill does not define what information is “reasonably necessary,” or explain how teams decide which people or cases to address.
  • It does not set rules for consent, notice to the people whose information is shared, complaints, or review of a team’s decisions.
  • The Department must receive the protocols, but the bill does not give it approval authority or describe ongoing oversight.
  • The bill refers to the existing Social Services Law definition of “homeless”; that definition is not included in the supplied materials.
  • The bill says violations are subject to available remedies, including civil penalties, but does not specify penalty amounts or who would enforce them.

Case for#

  • The bill appears intended to address barriers to coordinating housing and supportive services when relevant information is held by different professionals.
  • Allowing local governments to create teams may let them choose whether this approach fits their needs.
  • Written limits on information access, security, retention, and training could help teams share information while protecting it.
  • Treating health care providers’ disclosures for these purposes as treatment activities may make coordination easier for those providers.

Case against#

  • One concern is that the bill authorizes sharing despite other laws, while leaving important details about consent, notice, and individual review unstated.
  • The bill allows local teams to set their own protocols without prior state approval; the required safeguards may therefore differ between teams.
  • The text does not explain how people can challenge inaccurate information or what happens if sharing affects access to services.
  • The bill requires protocols and training for teams that are established but provides no funding or cost estimate.