Bill Text: NY A01980 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires child protective services to orally and in writing disclose certain information to parents and caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investigation; requires such oral and written disclosure to contain certain information regarding the rights of the person under investigation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 36-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-06-05 - reported referred to rules [A01980 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01980-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1980--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 23, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. WALKER, COOK, SAYEGH, TAYLOR, SIMON, EPSTEIN,
          JACKSON, CRUZ, BURGOS, JEAN-PIERRE, DICKENS,  L. ROSENTHAL,  ANDERSON,
          GIBBS, MEEKS, DE LOS SANTOS, HEVESI, SEPTIMO, FORREST, GONZALEZ-ROJAS,
          ALVAREZ,  SOLAGES,  LUNSFORD,  PRETLOW,  LUCAS,  REYES, DAVILA, STECK,
          CUNNINGHAM,  MITAYNES,  CHANDLER-WATERMAN,  TAPIA  --  read  once  and
          referred  to  the  Committee  on Children and Families -- reported and
          referred to the Committee on Codes -- recommitted to the Committee  on
          Codes  in  accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3,  sec.  2  -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring  child
          protective  services  to  disclose  certain information to parents and
          caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investi-
          gation

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

     1    Section  1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
     2  424-c to read as follows:
     3    § 424-c. Information regarding parent or caretaker's rights.  A parent
     4  or caretaker has the right  to  receive  certain  information  regarding
     5  their  rights  at the initial point of contact during a child protective
     6  services investigation.
     7    1. Upon receiving a report of alleged maltreatment or abuse of a child
     8  pursuant to section four hundred fifteen of this title child  protective
     9  services  shall,  at the initial point of contact with a parent or care-
    10  taker, orally and in writing  disseminate,  in  plain  language  of  the
    11  parent  or  caretaker's  preferred  language,  information regarding the
    12  parent or caretaker's rights during such investigation and  shall  docu-
    13  ment  in  the case record that such information has been provided to the
    14  parent or caretaker. Such information shall include,  but  need  not  be
    15  limited to, the following information:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03741-05-4
        A. 1980--A                          2

     1    (a)  The  parent  or  caretaker  is  not  required to permit the child
     2  protective services representative to enter the residence of the  parent
     3  or caretaker;
     4    (b) The parent or caretaker who is the subject of the investigation is
     5  entitled to be informed of the allegations being investigated;
     6    (c)  The  parent  or caretaker is not required to speak with the child
     7  protective services  representative,  and  any  statement  made  by  the
     8  parent,  caretaker or other family member may be used against the parent
     9  or caretaker in an administrative or court proceeding;
    10    (d) The parent or caretaker is entitled  to  seek  the  advice  of  an
    11  attorney and to have an attorney present when the parent or caretaker is
    12  questioned  by  a child protective services representative, including at
    13  any meeting conducted with the parent or caretaker to determine  whether
    14  the parent or caretaker's child should be removed from the home;
    15    (e)  The  child  protective services representative is not an attorney
    16  and cannot provide legal advice to the parent or caretaker;
    17    (f) The parent or caretaker is not required to allow a  child  protec-
    18  tive services representative to interview or examine a child;
    19    (g)  The  parent  or caretaker is not required to sign any document or
    20  accept any services presented by a child protective  services  represen-
    21  tative,  and  is  entitled  to have an attorney review any such document
    22  before agreeing to sign it;
    23    (h) Contact information  for  resources  which  may  be  available  to
    24  parents and caretakers during a child protective services investigation,
    25  including legal services from a designated organization; and
    26    (i)  The  parent  or  caretaker  is  entitled  to exercise any and all
    27  rights.  Regardless of whether the parent or caretaker  exercises  their
    28  rights,  child  protective services is required to determine how best to
    29  assess the safety of the child or children. The parent or caretaker  may
    30  wish  to speak with an attorney or advocate before they determine how to
    31  proceed.
    32    2. The child protective services representative shall make  reasonable
    33  efforts  to  ensure  that  the notice and all information required to be
    34  provided to a parent or caretaker pursuant to subdivision  one  of  this
    35  section is written in a manner which will be understood by the parent or
    36  guardian,  including,  but  not limited to, ensuring that the notice and
    37  information is written in the preferred language of the parent or  care-
    38  taker. In the event the preferred language of the parent or caretaker is
    39  unknown prior to the initial contact, a child preventive services repre-
    40  sentative  may  provide  the  information orally utilizing a translation
    41  service.
    42    3. The child protective services representative shall  sign  and  date
    43  the  notice  described in subdivision one of this section as evidence of
    44  having provided the notice at the first  point  of  contact.  The  child
    45  protective services representative shall provide the parent or caretaker
    46  with a copy of the signed notice at the time.
    47    4. If at the initial point of contact with the parent or caretaker the
    48  child protective services representative has reasonable cause to believe
    49  that  exigent circumstances exist that present an imminent danger to the
    50  child's life or health and there is no time to seek a court order  under
    51  section  one  thousand  twenty-four  of  the family court act, the child
    52  protective services representative shall take all lawful measures neces-
    53  sary to protect the child's life or health prior to disseminating infor-
    54  mation regarding the parent or caretaker's rights  during  the  investi-
    55  gation pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
        A. 1980--A                          3

     1    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
     2  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
     3  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
     4  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
     5  on or before such effective date.