New York Consolidated Laws, Executive Law - EXC § 532-a. Definitions

(a) a person under the age of eighteen who is in need of services and is without a place of shelter where supervision and care are available;  or

(b) a person who is under the age of twenty-one but is at least age eighteen and who is in need of services and is without a place of shelter.

(c) Provided however, when a municipality's approved comprehensive plan authorizes that services pursuant to this article be provided to “homeless young adults” as such term is defined in this section, then for purposes related to the provisions of that municipality's approved comprehensive plan that include “homeless young adults”, the term “homeless youth” as used in this article shall be deemed to include “homeless young adults”.

(a) any non-residential program approved by the office of children and family services, after submission by the municipality as part of its comprehensive plan, that provides services to runaway youth and homeless youth in accordance with the regulations of the office of children and family services;  or

(b) any residential program which is operated by an authorized agency as defined in subdivision ten of section three hundred seventy-one of the social services law, and certified by the office of children and family services to provide short-term residential services to runaway youth and homeless youth in accordance with the applicable regulations of the office of temporary and disability assistance and the office of children and family services.

(c) Runaway and homeless youth crisis services programs may also provide non-residential crisis intervention and, if certified, residential respite services to youth in need of crisis intervention or respite services, as such term is defined in this section.  Residential respite services in a certified runaway and homeless youth crisis services program may be provided to such youth for no more than twenty-one days, in accordance with the regulations of the office of children and family services and section seven hundred thirty-five of the family court act.

(a) any non-residential program approved by the office of children and family services, after submission by the municipality as part of its comprehensive plan, that provides supportive services to enable homeless youth to progress from crisis care and transitional care to independent living, in accordance with the applicable regulations of the office of children and family services;  or

(b) any residential program established and operated to provide supportive services, in accordance with the regulations of the office of children and family services, to enable homeless youth to progress from crisis care and transitional care to independent living.

(c) A transitional independent living support program may also provide services to youth in need of crisis intervention or respite services.  Notwithstanding the time limitation in paragraph (i) of subdivision (d) of section seven hundred thirty-five of the family court act, residential respite services may be provided in a transitional independent living support program for a period of more than twenty-one days.