Article 23B. Displaced Homemakers Act

Section 825. Multipurpose service centers.

1. Upon receipt of federal funding designated to assist displaced homemakers, the commissioner shall establish multipurpose service centers for displaced homemakers which shall provide the following:

(a) job counseling services which shall:

(i) be specifically designed for a person entering the job market after a number of years as a homemaker;

(ii) operate to counsel displaced homemakers with respect to appropriate job opportunities;

(b) job training and job placement services which shall:

(i) develop, by working with state and local government agencies and private employers, training and placement programs for jobs in the public and private sectors;

(ii) assist displaced homemakers in gaining admission to existing public and private job training programs and opportunities;

(iii) assist in identifying community needs and creating new jobs in the public and private sectors;

(i) general principles of preventative health care;

(ii) health care consumer education, directed particularly to selection of physicians, dentists and health care services and health insurance;

(iii) family health care and nutrition;

(iv) alcohol and drug addictions; and

(v) other related health care matters;

(d) financial management services which provide information and assistance with respect to insurance, taxes, estate and probate problems, mortgages, loans, and other related financial matters;

(e) educational services, including:

(i) courses offering information about credit through secondary or post secondary education programs including bilingual programs when appropriate;

(ii) such other courses as the commissioner determines would be of interest and benefit to displaced homemakers; and

(f) outreach and information services with respect to federal and state employment, education, health, and unemployment assistance programs which the commissioner determines would be of interest and benefit to displaced homemakers.

2. The commissioner may enter into contracts with and make grants to public and nonprofit private entities for purposes of establishing multipurpose service centers under this article.

3. The commissioner shall consult and cooperate with the secretary of health, education and welfare, the secretary of labor, the commissioner of the social security administration, the commissioner of the administration on aging, and such other persons in the executive branch of the federal and state governments as the commissioner considers appropriate to facilitate the coordination of multipurpose service centers established under this article with existing federal and state programs of a similar nature.

4. Supervisory, technical, and administrative positions relating to multipurpose service centers established under this article shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be filled by displaced homemakers.

5. Trainees in a program established under this article, who have demonstrated a financial need to the satisfaction of the commissioner, shall be paid a stipend not less than the federal minimum wage while engaged in such program.

Section 826. Definitions.

For purposes of this article:

1. The term "displaced homemaker" means an individual who:

(a) has worked in the home, providing unpaid household services for family members;

(b) is not gainfully employed;

(d) has been dependent on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by such income, or has been dependent on federal assistance but is no longer eligible for such assistance, or is supported as the parent of minor children by government assistance or spousal support.

2. The term "commissioner" means the industrial commissioner of the state of New York.

Section 827. Study of federal programs.

The commissioner shall:

1. In consultation with appropriate heads of agencies, prepare and furnish a study to determine the feasibility of and appropriate procedures for allowing displaced homemakers to participate in:

(a) programs established under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 801 et seq.);

(b) work incentive programs established under section 432 (b) (1) of the Social Security Act;

(d) programs established or benefits provided under federal and state unemployment compensation laws by consideration of full-time homemakers as workers eligible for such benefits or programs.

2. Through coordination with the department of labor, conduct a study to determine the feasibility of and appropriate procedures for allowing displaced homemakers to participate in programs established or benefits provided under;

(a) the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (Public Law 91-373; 87 Stat. 708);

(b) title II of the Emergency Jobs and Unemployment Assistance Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-567; 88 Stat. 1850);

(d) related federal and state unemployment, employment, health and education assistance programs.

Section 828. Selection and administration of centers.

1. In selecting sites for the centers established under this article, the commissioner shall consider:

(a) the location of any existing facilities for displaced homemakers and of any existing services which might be incorporated into a center.

(b) the needs of both urban and rural communities of the state for such centers.

2. As soon as possible after the selection of a particular site for a center, and in any case not later than two years after the effective date of this article, the commissioner shall select a public or nonprofit private organization to administer each center. The selection of such an organization shall be made after consultation with local government agencies, and shall take into consideration the experience and capability of such organizations in administering the services to be provided by the center.

3. As soon as possible and in any case not later than six months after the effective date of this article, the commissioner shall issue regulations prescribing the standards which shall be met by each center in accordance with the policies set forth in this article. Continuing grants for the maintenance of each center shall be contingent upon the determination by the commissioner, based upon evaluations under section eight hundred twenty-nine of this article, that the center is in compliance with the regulations prescribed by the commissioner.

Section 829. Evaluation.

The commissioner, in consultation with appropriate heads of departments, shall prepare and furnish to the legislature a report, not later than one year after the effective date of this article, on the centers established under this article, including:

1. A thorough assessment of each center;

2. Recommendations concerning the administration and expansion of such centers;

3. A detailed statement of the findings and conclusions of the studies conducted under section eight hundred twenty-seven of this article; and

4. Such recommendations for legislative or other action as the commissioner may consider appropriate.

Section 830. Contributions.

The commissioner may, in carrying out the provisions of this article, accept, use, and dispose of contributions of money, services, and property.

Section 831. Nondiscrimination.

No person shall on the ground of sex, age, race, color, religion, or national origin be excluded from participating in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity funded in whole or in part with funds made available under this article.