Bill Text: NY A00888 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts the child abuse reporting expansion act; relates to making clergy members required reporters of child abuse or mistreatment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to children and families [A00888 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A00888-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 888 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. WALLACE, SIMON, STIRPE, BUTTENSCHON, FAHY, FERNANDEZ -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the "child abuse reporting expansion act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "child 2 abuse reporting expansion act". 3 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social 4 services law, as amended by section 7 of part C of chapter 57 of the 5 laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows: 6 (a) The following persons and officials are required to report or 7 cause a report to be made in accordance with this title when they have 8 reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming before them in their 9 professional or official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or 10 when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused or 11 maltreated child where the parent, guardian, custodian [or], other 12 person legally responsible for such child comes before them in their 13 professional or official capacity and states from personal knowledge 14 facts, conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would render the 15 child an abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician 16 assistant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygien- 17 ist; osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern; 18 psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni- 19 cian; licensed creative arts therapist; licensed marriage and family 20 therapist; licensed mental health counselor; licensed psychoanalyst; 21 licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant; hospi- 22 tal personnel engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment 23 of persons; a Christian Science practitioner; clergy member or other EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02243-01-1A. 888 2 1 minister of any religion; school official, which includes but is not 2 limited to school teacher, school guidance counselor, school psychol- 3 ogist, school social worker, school nurse, school administrator or other 4 school personnel required to hold a teaching or administrative license 5 or certificate; full or part-time compensated school employee required 6 to hold a temporary coaching license or professional coaching certif- 7 icate; social services worker; employee of a publicly-funded emergency 8 shelter for families with children; director of a children's overnight 9 camp, summer day camp or traveling summer day camp, as such camps are 10 defined in section thirteen hundred ninety-two of the public health law; 11 day care center worker; school-age child care worker; provider of family 12 or group family day care; employee or volunteer in a residential care 13 facility for children that is licensed, certified or operated by the 14 office of children and family services; or any other child care or 15 foster care worker; mental health professional; substance abuse counse- 16 lor; alcoholism counselor; all persons credentialed by the office of 17 alcoholism and substance abuse services; employees, who are expected to 18 have regular and substantial contact with children, of a health home or 19 health home care management agency contracting with a health home as 20 designated by the department of health and authorized under section 21 three hundred sixty-five-l of this chapter or such employees who provide 22 home and community based services under a demonstration program pursuant 23 to section eleven hundred fifteen of the federal social security act who 24 are expected to have regular and substantial contact with children; 25 peace officer; police officer; district attorney or assistant district 26 attorney; investigator employed in the office of a district attorney; or 27 other law enforcement official. 28 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 413 of the social services law is 29 amended by adding five new paragraphs (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) to read 30 as follows: 31 (e) Unless the person confessing or confiding waives the privilege, a 32 member of the clergy, or other minister of any religion or duly accred- 33 ited Christian Science practitioner, shall not be required to make a 34 report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision if the 35 confession or confidence was made to him or her in his or her profes- 36 sional character as spiritual advisor. 37 (f) When a member of the clergy has reasonable cause to suspect that a 38 child is an abused or maltreated child based upon any information 39 received other than through a confession or confidence made pursuant to 40 paragraph (e) of this subdivision, then such member of the clergy shall 41 promptly make a report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision 42 notwithstanding the fact that he or she may have also received a report 43 of abuse or maltreatment through a confession or confidence made pursu- 44 ant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision. 45 (g) The provisions of paragraph (e) of this subdivision shall not be 46 deemed to exempt a member of the clergy from any other requirements of 47 law to prevent the perpetrator from committing additional acts of abuse. 48 (h) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "member of the cler- 49 gy" shall have the same definition as the term "clergyman" as set forth 50 in section two of the religious corporations law and shall also include 51 any person responsible for supervising a member of the clergy of a reli- 52 gious institution or responsible for the administration of a religious 53 institution. 54 (i) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "religious institu- 55 tion" shall mean a religious corporation created to enable its members 56 to meet for divine worship or other religious observances or a congre-A. 888 3 1 gation, society, or other assemblage of persons who are accustomed to 2 statedly meet for divine worship or other religious observances, without 3 having been incorporated for that purpose, as provided in section two of 4 the religious corporations law. 5 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
