§ 2515-a. Administration. 1. The department is authorized to request and receive community service project plans, as defined in section twenty-five hundred fifteen-b of this title. Such projects shall be limited to a twelve month duration but may, with the approval of such department, be renewed for additional periods based on demonstrated effectiveness, need, and availability of funds. The department shall offer technical assistance to applicants for and operators of community service projects. Technical assistance shall be provided for, but shall not be limited to, the following activities: development of community service plans, overall program planning, contract development, budgeting, and designing local client-specific data collection systems. 2. The department shall review such community service project plans. The commissioner, within appropriations made therefor, may approve such plans for funding in accordance with the provisions of this title. In approving or disapproving the funding of such plans, the commissioner shall only approve projects which meet the requirements set forth in section twenty-five hundred fifteen-b of this title which demonstrate clear coordinating activities with local social services districts and other available city, school, county, state or federally funded programs and shall give priority to projects which:(a) stress the development and expansion of primary prevention programs aimed at decreasing the incidence of adolescent pregnancy, and the establishment of a comprehensive and coordinated approach to prevent initial and repeated pregnancy and to deal more effectively with the consequences associated with adolescent parenting;
(b) serve a geographic area where there is a large number of eligible adolescents, or a high rate of adolescent pregnancy;
(c) serve a geographic area where the incidence of infant mortality, low birth weight infants, childhood obesity and the prevalence of low-income families are high and where the availability or accessibility of services for eligible adolescents is low;
(d) utilize existing community resources; and
(e) maximize the use of federal, or other state, private and local resources.
