N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 398-f

* § 398-f. Duty to provide luggage to foster children. 1. Definitions.\nFor the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the\nfollowing meanings:\n (a) "Demographic information" means race or ethnicity, gender,\ncommunity district, primary language, and any other category the office\nof children and family services deems relevant.\n (b) "Foster care agency" means the voluntary agency contracted by\nsocial services districts to provide foster care.\n (c) "Luggage" means a durable suitcase, duffel bag, backpack, or\nsimilar reusable container that is new or is in new-like condition, and\nis designed to hold an individual's personal belongings and is not a\ndisposable bag, trash bag, or cardboard box.\n 2. Foster youth luggage. The office of children and family services\nshall procure, distribute, and supply luggage to foster care youth who\ndo not have appropriate luggage of their own and who are: (a) entering\nfoster care; (b) moving from one foster care placement to another; (c)\nexiting foster care; (d) moving to college; or (e) in any other\nsituation where luggage is needed. If any foster care youth reports that\ntheir luggage has been lost, stolen, or damaged, the office of children\nand family services shall provide replacement luggage at their\ndiscretion. Any luggage provided by the office of children and family\nservices may not be reclaimed or retained by the office of children and\nfamily services, social services districts, foster care agencies, or the\nchild's foster parent.\n 3. Partnership with social services districts. The office of children\nand family services shall distribute new luggage to social services\ndistricts based on the number of foster children in each locality. Each\nsocial services district shall distribute new luggage to children within\nthe office of children and family services' care and custody or care and\nguardianship, as well as to any voluntary agencies within their\njurisdictions with whom they contract for the provision of foster care\nservices.\n 4. Foster youth luggage reporting. No later than December first of\neach year, the office of children and family services shall submit a\nreport to the governor and the legislature detailing the provision of\nluggage to foster care youth. Such report shall include, but need not be\nlimited to, the following information:\n (a) The total number of foster care youth given luggage, in total and\ndisaggregated by demographic information;\n (b) To the extent there are foster care youth utilizing disposable\nbags, trash bags, or cardboard boxes in place of luggage to transport\ntheir belongings, the number of such foster care youth utilizing such\ndisposable bags, trash bags, or cardboard boxes, in total and\ndisaggregated by demographic information, and the reason such youth are\nutilizing such disposable bag, trash bag, or cardboard box; and\n (c) The supply, cost, and inventory management procedures for the\noffice of children and family services' luggage supply.\n * NB Effective April 18, 2026\n