New York (State). Dept. of Social Services. Commissioner's Office.

The commissioner of the Department of Social Services was empowered by the legislature to determine policies and principles upon which public assistance, service, and care were to be provided; to exercise general supervision over the social services programs administered by the fifty-eight local social services districts in the state (fifty-seven counties and the New York City Department of Social Services); to promulgate regulations for the administration of public assistance and care; and to enforce department regulations and state laws relating to public assistance and care.