N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 18, § 451.4 – Intake.

(a) Designated group emergency foster care programs shall accept eligible clients in such programs on a 24-hour basis, 365 days a year.
1. (1) In order to be eligible for group emergency foster care, a child must be:
  1. (i) referred by a social services district for temporary care;
  2. (ii) in a situation requiring immediate care which must be documented in the child's case record; and
  3. (iii) a child for whom no other immediate and appropriate foster care placement is available.
(b) Designated group emergency foster care programs shall accept any eligible client up to their designated capacity, except where the acceptance of the child would violate intake criteria established by the program and approved by the appropriate social services district.
(c) Children referred for emergency foster care shall not be required to have current diagnostic evaluations, except as provided in section 451.5(a)(4) of this Part.
(d) Group emergency foster care programs shall maintain a procedural manual which describes after-hour intake procedures and procedures for admitting a child into emergency foster care. Group emergency foster care intake policies shall not exclude the admission of any child who meets the eligibility standards of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except as authorized by subdivision (b) of such section. Such manual must be approved by the department prior to the initiation of any group emergency foster care program.