During our testing, we identified the following instances where DYS did not always follow its own guidelines regarding 504 plans serving youths with disabilities. Out of all 20 youths tested, we found the following:
- For 2 youths, the 504 plan processes did not begin until after 30 days of the youths’ being at DYS.
- For 2 youths, DYS did not confirm that written consents were obtained from the youths’ caregivers regarding the eligibility evaluations.
- For 3 youths, DYS did not complete eligibility evaluations in less than 30 business days.
- For 1 youth, the 504 plan was not completed within 10 days of the meeting with the 504 team.
- For 1 youth, before the implementation of the 504 plan, the caregivers were not provided with copies of the proposed plans or copies of the Notification of Parental Rights.
- For 1 youth, the caregivers did not consent to the initial implementation of the 504 plans.
If DYS does not provide appropriate accommodations for youths in its custody who have disabilities, then these youths may not receive a proper education.
Authoritative Guidance
According to DYS’s Guidelines for Serving Youth with Disabilities Under Section 504,
Section I: Identification and Referral for a 504 Evaluation. . . .
The 504 Process for detained youth, youth whose grants of conditional liberty have been revoked, Youth Engaged in Services (YES), and court referral youth without an existing plan, occurs after 30 days in a DYS residential setting unless an immediate accommodation is needed to respond to an emergency. . . .
The DYS Regional 504 Coordinator shall oversee this process and confirm the required referral forms and consents are received and copies given to a youth’s Parent/Guardian/[the Department of Children and Families (DCF)] Educational Surrogate or [Guardians Ad Litem (GAL)]. . . .
Section II: Evaluation for a 504 Plan. . . .
Prior to the initiation of an eligibility evaluation, written consent must be obtained from the youth’s Parent/Guardian/DCF Educational Surrogate or GAL. . . .
Once the written consent is received, the eligibility evaluation and development of a Section 504 Plan deemed necessary should take no more than 30 business days. . . .
A determination of Section 504 eligibility must be based on a multi-source evaluation. . . .
Section III: Eligibility Determination. . . .
After receipt of relevant documents and other information collected from persons knowledgeable about the youth and their impairment(s), the 504 Team will hold an eligibility determination meeting to review the information elicited through the evaluation process. . . .
If the 504 Team determines that a youth is eligible, they shall notify any parent/legal guardian/DCF Educational Surrogate/GAL or the youth. . . .
If after careful review of all existing information about the youth, the 504 Team determines that the youth does not require accommodations for a disability, the DYS Regional 504 Coordinator shall notify the DYS Statewide 504 Coordinator. . . .
If it is the final determination that the youth does not require an accommodation, the DYS Regional 504 Coordinator will send the Notice of Section 504 Eligibility form to the parent/legal guardian/DCF Educational Surrogate/GAL, along with a copy of the Section 504 Notice of Parent/Student Rights in Identification, Evaluation, and Placement. . . .
Section IV: Development of a Section 504 Plan. . . .
The 504 Plan for the youth will be completed in [DYS’s online document management system], either at the meeting or, if not possible, within 10 days of the 504 Team meeting.
Prior to implementation of the 504 Plan, the parent/guardian shall be provided with a copy of the proposed Plan and a copy of the Notification of Parental Rights.
The parent/guardian must consent to the initial implementation of the 504 Plan.
Reasons for Issue
In a memorandum sent to us, dated July 22, 2025, DYS stated,
DYS Section 504 Guidelines were new and evolving during the audit period. DYS 504 Coordinators were directed to make reasonable attempts to contact parents or guardians to obtain consent for evaluation. Each attempt was to be documented with the date, type of contact (phone, letter, DYS staff who may be in contact with parents) and outcome of contact.
Because the 504 Guidelines were new and evolving, some outreach may not have been documented in [DYS’s online document management system] e-file, but the status of obtaining consent for evaluation was discussed amongst staff and attempts to problem solve made (i.e. the consent form may have been left with clinicians prior to a scheduled visit and/or the consent form may have been given to caseworkers if assigned and meeting with family). In addition, staff and parents/guardians were informed that a youth can be evaluated for a 504 plan at any time. . . .
Once DYS obtained the prior 504 the process began, unless there was immediate need. Also of note, the fact that there might not have been a 504 plan does not mean the youth was ineligible, but rather that parents/guardians/youth felt DYS provided the accommodations already and the 504 was not needed.
Recommendation
DYS should ensure that its employees are aware of, understand, and follow DYS’s own guidelines created for serving youths with disabilities, specifically regarding the 504 plan process, and DYS should update its guidelines to ensure that the 504 process is continued for youths if they reenter DYS’s care or custody.
Auditee’s Response
While DYS agrees with the recommendation that its employees should follow DYS’s guidelines regarding the 504 process and shares the concern of the auditor that the 504 accommodations should be provided to any youth who is eligible, DYS disputes this finding. DYS did comply with its Guidelines for each of the youth reviewed by the audit team. There were a total of three youths out of 20 sampled with missing data identified by the audit team. DYS provided the relevant information to the audit team during the audit, and the information reflects DYS’ compliance with its Guidelines as detailed below. Accordingly, DYS respectfully requests the removal of this finding.
First, the audit team identified that for two youths, the 504 process did not begin within 30 days of the youths’ arriving at DYS. However, the 504 process only begins for a youth without an existing 504 if said youth is identified as needing a 504 (DYS Guidelines, section IA(1)(3)). If a youth is not identified as needing a 504, such an evaluation “occurs only after 30 days in a DYS residential setting unless an immediate accommodation is needed to respond to an emergency.” Accordingly, Guidelines’ reference for “after 30 days” should not be interpreted as “within 30 days.” DYS intentionally chose the “only after 30 days” language to account for the necessary adjustment process most youth experience at DYS where a youth’s difficulties in adjustment to a new setting could be misinterpreted as a disability—especially in the realm of behavioral irregularities or emotional dysregulation. Moreover, DYS was made aware after the 30 days specified in the Guidelines that both of the youths the audit team identified had previous 504s. As soon as DYS was made aware of the prior 504 and the plan was made available, DYS initiated a new 504 process. For both youths, the prior plan was made available on 7/5/2022 and the 504 process was initiated on 7/29/22, well within the requisite timeframe. Further, in these two cases, the 504 process could not be completed because both youths were bailed and left DYS: one on 8/1/22 and the other on 8/9/22. Accordingly, DYS disagrees that it did not follow its guidelines for 2 youths related to the timeline for beginning the 504 process.
Next, for all 3 youths cited by OSA, the audit team identified that DYS did not complete the eligibility evaluations in less than 30 business days; however, in one case this issue was the result of the youths’ parents’ failure to consent to the 504 process and without consent, DYS cannot proceed with the 504 process. In the other two cases, the youth were bailed by the court 19 business days after the process was initiated. Therefore, DYS disagrees that it did not follow its guidelines for 3 youths related to completed eligibility evaluations in less than 30 business days.
In addition, with regard to the one youth identified by OSA in the sample as having multiple incomplete fields (1—lack of caregiver consent; 2—504 plan not completed within 10 days of meeting with the 504 team; and 3—caregivers not provided with copies of the proposed plans or copied of the Notification of Parental Rights), this youth had transitioned to the community and as such, the 504 process was discontinued as it was not relevant to [their] new placement. This youth’s parent did consent to the 504 process and a meeting was scheduled on 9/9/22. The 504 plan for this youth could not be completed within 10 days because the youth was moved from a DYS placement before the 10 days elapsed. Because no meeting could be held for this youth, the caregivers could not be provided with copies of the proposed plan or the Notification of Parental Rights. Accordingly, DYS disagrees that it did not follow its guidelines for the one youth related to the aforementioned three requirements.
Finally, DYS disagrees that it did not follow its guidelines for the two youths related to confirming that written consents were obtained from the youths’ caregivers regarding eligibility evaluations. For one youth consent was obtained and the other youth was released from DYS before consent was sent out.
Auditor’s Reply
We recognize DYS’s clarification on its Guidelines for Serving Youth with Disabilities Under Section 504, noting that the guidelines state that 504 plan evaluations “occur after 30 days,” as opposed to within 30 days, of a youth’s arrival at DYS. However, the two youths we identified had extensive histories with DYS and the opportunity to conduct a 504 evaluation could have occurred during any of the detainments or commitments, especially since these two youths had prior 504 plans at their respective public schools. Specifically, one of the two youths identified was detained for over 90 days before DYS learned that the youth had a 504 plan. That same youth was bailed out on August 9, 2022, but detained again on January 27, 2023 for approximately five months, but the 504 plan process never resumed or started anew. Additionally, for the second youth we identified, while they were released on August 1, 2022, after the 504 process had started, they returned on September 20, 2022, but the 504 plan process was never resumed or started anew.
Regarding the three youths who did not have eligibility evaluations completed in less than 30 business days, DYS stated that one youth’s parents did not consent to the 504 plan, and therefore, DYS did not proceed with the process. However, according to DYS’s Guidelines for Serving Youth with Disabilities Under Section 504, in the case of a parent’s nonconsent to a 504 plan, the youth in question must be considered for an Individual Support Plan. No evidence was provided to us that indicated that this was considered. In addition, DYS stated that the other two youths were bailed out before 30 days within DYS’s custody. We agree that the youths were released soon after the Consent for Evaluation field in DYS’s online document management system indicated that the caregiver gave their consent; however, the two youths were detained again shortly after with no new 504 plan process started. As noted above, we recommend that DYS follows its Guidelines for Serving Youth with Disabilities Under Section 504 regarding 504 plans, and reexamines a youth’s 504 plan eligibility during each detainment or commitment to DYS, given the highly transitional population.
Regarding one of the sampled youth’s caregiver’s consent to the 504 plan and a meeting being scheduled for the evaluation, we can confirm that DYS did inform us of this and that the youth was transitioned to the community before the 10-day due date that DYS originally gave to us during our audit work. However, it is important to note that DYS did not provide adequate evidence of the caregiver’s consent or of the date given for the scheduled meeting, but rather provided us with testimonial evidence, which we could not verify. We reiterate that we understand the highly transitional population that exists at DYS, but do not believe that this should interfere with a youth’s ability to be evaluated (or reevaluated) for a 504 plan. We understand that some youths may have been released or bailed out before the completion of the 504 plan; however, we identified these instances and recognized that these youths may have been detained or committed to DYS again. Thus, the process should begin again.
DYS should update its Guidelines for Serving Youth with Disabilities Under Section 504 to accommodate youth who repeatedly enter and leave DYS’s care and that DYS should ensure that the 504 plan process either restarts or picks back up where the process stopped.
| Date published: | April 24, 2026 |
|---|