N.Y. Economic Development Law § 212

§ 212. Entrepreneurship support centers. 1. The department shall\nestablish and support, within available appropriations, entrepreneurship\nsupport centers at career education agencies and not-for-profit\ncorporations including, but not limited to, local development\ncorporations, chambers of commerce and community-based organizations.\nThe purpose of such support centers shall be to train dislocated\nworkers, individuals with a disability, minorities, women, and veterans\nin the principles and practice of entrepreneurship in order to prepare\nsuch persons to pursue self-employment opportunities. Such support\ncenters shall provide for training in all aspects of business\ndevelopment and small business management as defined by the\ncommissioner. For purposes of this section, "career education agency"\nshall mean a community college or board of cooperative educational\nservices operating within the state.\n 2. In furtherance of the purposes of this section, the commissioner\nshall:\n (a) require that each support center program provide at least sixty\nhours of classroom instruction and at least thirty hours of one-to-one\ncounseling for each participant and that each program be supplemented by\nongoing technical assistance for business development for those who have\ncompleted the program;\n (b) select and designate career education agencies and not-for-profit\ncorporations to offer entrepreneurship training and support on a\ncompetitive basis and in response to a request for proposals issued by\nthe commissioner. Such proposals shall include, but shall not be limited\nto:\n (i) a description of the training program to be offered;\n (ii) a listing of instructors from the career education agencies and\nnot-for-profit corporations and from the community participating in the\nprogram and their curricula vitae;\n (iii) designation of a program director;\n (iv) plans for providing ongoing technical assistance to program\ngraduates, including linkages with providers of other entrepreneurial\nassistance programs and with providers of small business technical\nassistance and services;\n (v) a program budget, including matching funds, in-kind and otherwise,\nto be provided by the applicant; and\n (vi) such other requirements as deemed necessary by the commissioner;\nand\n (c) permit joint application from a consortium of career education\nagencies and not-for-profit corporations, or any combination thereof,\nfor establishing a cooperative program.\n 3. The commissioner is authorized to make grants to career education\nagencies and not-for-profit corporations, or any combination thereof,\nfor the purpose of establishing entrepreneurship support centers and\nprograms subject to the following limitations: (a) no grant shall be\nmade to any one or any consortium of career education agencies and\nnot-for-profit corporations in excess of fifty thousand dollars;\n (b) such grant shall be disbursed for payment of the cost of services\nand expenses of the program director, the instructors of the\nparticipating career education agency or not-for-profit corporation, the\nfaculty and support personnel thereof and any other person in the\nservice of providing instruction and counseling in furtherance of the\nprogram; and\n (c) training programs of entrepreneurship support centers proposed and\napproved for funding shall be required to meet the standards of\ninstructional quality established in regulations by the commissioner of\neducation. These standards shall include, but not be limited to,\nqualification of the administrative and instructional personnel, quality\nof the curricula, quality of facilities and equipment, record keeping,\nadmission, attendance, and record of placement of completers which meets\nstandards of acceptability as established by the commissioner of\neducation in conjunction with the commissioner of labor.\n 4. Application for grants made pursuant to the provisions of\nsubdivision three of this section shall be made in the manner and on\nforms prescribed by the commissioner.\n