Bill Text: NY A00456 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Establishes standards for caseloads for child protective services workers; requires the state to pay for one hundred percent of the costs associated with compliance of such caseload standard; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to children and families [A00456 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00456-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           456

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. HEVESI, MEEKS -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to caseload  stand-
          ards for child protective services workers

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 20-a of the social services law, as added by  chap-
     2  ter 107 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 20-a.  Local personnel; limitations on department's power.  Notwith-
     4  standing  any  inconsistent  provision  of  this chapter, the board, the
     5  commissioner or the department, acting singly or in  unison,  shall  not
     6  have  the  power,  directly  or  indirectly  to  prescribe the number of
     7  persons to be employed in any social  services  district  providing  the
     8  district  complies  with the minimum federal standards relating thereto;
     9  provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall  not  apply
    10  to  the regulations of the office of children and family services estab-
    11  lishing caseload standards for child protective services workers promul-
    12  gated pursuant to paragraph (a) of  subdivision  nine  of  section  four
    13  hundred twenty-one of this chapter.
    14    §  2.  Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 1 of section 153-k of the social
    15  services law, as added by section 15 of part C of chapter 83 of the laws
    16  of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
    17    (a) Expenditures made by social services districts for  child  protec-
    18  tive  services, preventive services provided, as applicable, to eligible
    19  children and families of children who are in  and  out  of  foster  care
    20  placement, independent living services, aftercare services, and adoption
    21  administration  and  services  other  than  adoption  subsidies provided
    22  pursuant to article six of this  chapter  and  the  regulations  of  the
    23  department  of  family  assistance  shall,  if approved by the office of
    24  children and family services, be subject  to  sixty-five  percent  state

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01535-01-5
        A. 456                              2

     1  reimbursement  exclusive  of  any  federal funds made available for such
     2  purposes, in accordance with the directives of the department of  family
     3  assistance  and  subject  to the approval of the director of the budget.
     4  Provided  however,  for  requirements  prescribed in subdivision nine of
     5  section four hundred twenty-one of this chapter, such expenditures shall
     6  be subject to one hundred percent  state  reimbursement,  provided  that
     7  local  social  services  districts continue to maintain current expendi-
     8  tures related to child protective services at a level equal to or great-
     9  er than expenditures for such activities during the fiscal year prior to
    10  the effective date of a chapter of the laws of two thousand  twenty-five
    11  which amended this paragraph.
    12    § 3. Section 421 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
    13  subdivision 9 to read as follows:
    14    9.  promulgate  regulations in consultation with local social services
    15  districts, relating to caseload standards for child protective  services
    16  workers. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to:
    17    (a)  limitations on the number of investigations which can be assigned
    18  to child protective services workers, provided however,  to  the  extent
    19  possible  and  within  amounts  appropriated  therefor, no more than two
    20  initial investigations per week may be assigned per full time equivalent
    21  child protective services worker; and
    22    (b) guidance as it relates to how such  investigations  are  assigned,
    23  taking  into  consideration the child protective services worker current
    24  caseload, as well as the complexity of the particular investigation,  if
    25  known.  Nothing  in  this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit the
    26  office from prescribing local social services districts from  establish-
    27  ing  caseload  standards  that  are  less  than what is required in this
    28  subdivision.
    29    § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1  of  section  423  of  the  social
    30  services  law,  as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended
    31  to read as follows:
    32    (c) The child protective service shall have  a  sufficient  staff,  in
    33  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  subdivision  nine of section four
    34  hundred twenty-one  of  this  title,  of  sufficient  qualifications  to
    35  fulfill  the purposes of this title and be organized in such a way as to
    36  maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and service of  individ-
    37  ual  workers  toward individual children and families. A social services
    38  district shall have flexibility in assigning staff to the child  protec-
    39  tive  service  provided that each staff assigned to such service has the
    40  staff qualifications and has  received  the  training  required  by  the
    41  department  regulations  promulgated  pursuant  to subdivisions four and
    42  five of section four hundred twenty-one of this title.
    43    § 5. Section 426 of the social services law,  as  amended  by  section
    44  11-a of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
    45  follows:
    46    § 426. Annual reports. The commissioner shall prepare for inclusion in
    47  the  annual  report  required by subdivision (d) of section seventeen of
    48  this chapter to be filed with the governor and the legislature prior  to
    49  December fifteenth of each year, a report on the operations of the state
    50  central  register  of child abuse and maltreatment and the various local
    51  child protective services. The report shall include a  full  statistical
    52  analysis  of  the  reports  made to the central register together with a
    53  report on the implementation of this title, [his or  her]  such  commis-
    54  sioner's  evaluation  of services offered under this chapter and [his or
    55  her] such commissioner's recommendations for additional  legislation  to
    56  fulfill  the  purposes  of  this  title.  Such report shall indicate the
        A. 456                              3

     1  number of child abuse and maltreatment reports and cases received by the
     2  statewide central register of  child  abuse  and  maltreatment  by  each
     3  district  in  the preceding year, the number of such cases determined to
     4  have  been  indicated  and  the  number  of  such cases determined to be
     5  unfounded by each district in the preceding year,  the  number  of  such
     6  cases  which have not been indicated or unfounded within the time period
     7  required by subdivision seven of section  four  hundred  twenty-four  of
     8  this  [article] title by each district in the preceding year [and]. Such
     9  report shall also include a monthly accounting by local social  services
    10  districts,  of  the  total  number  of child protective services workers
    11  [assigned to the child protective service in each district in]  with  an
    12  indication of how many hold a supervisory position, as well as the aver-
    13  age number of active cases per child protective services worker, with an
    14  indication  of  how  many were in the initial investigation stage at the
    15  time the information was collected for the preceding year.  Such  report
    16  shall  include,  among other information, available demographic informa-
    17  tion and available information concerning the racial and ethnic  charac-
    18  teristics  of  the family members and persons served by the differential
    19  response program pursuant to section four hundred twenty-seven-a of [the
    20  social services law]  this  title,  as  well  as  available  information
    21  concerning  the  racial and ethnic characteristics of the family members
    22  and persons serviced under the  traditional  child  protective  services
    23  program, in each local social services district in the state.
    24    §  6.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately; provided, however,
    25  sections one, two, three and four of this act shall take effect  on  the
    26  seven  hundred thirtieth day after it shall have become a law; provided,
    27  further, however that the amendments to  section  153-k  of  the  social
    28  services law made by section two of this act shall not affect the repeal
    29  of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.