Bill Text: NY A02479 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires a caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the central registry to leave their name and contact information; prohibits the office of children and family services from releasing information identifying a person who made such a report.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - ordered to third reading cal.72 [A02479 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A02479-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2479 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 26, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, EPSTEIN, SIMON, McDONOUGH, CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the adminis- tration of the statewide central register of child abuse and maltreat- ment The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social 2 services law, as amended by section 6 of subpart A of part JJ of chapter 3 56 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows: 4 (a) The central register shall be capable of receiving telephone calls 5 alleging child abuse or maltreatment and of immediately identifying 6 prior reports of child abuse or maltreatment and capable of monitoring 7 the provision of child protective service twenty-four hours a day, seven 8 days a week. To effectuate this purpose, but subject to the provisions 9 of the appropriate local plan for the provision of child protective 10 services, there shall be a single statewide telephone number that all 11 persons, whether mandated by the law or not, may use to make telephone 12 calls alleging child abuse or maltreatment and that all persons so 13 authorized by this title may use for determining the existence of prior 14 reports in order to evaluate the condition or circumstances of a child. 15 In addition to the single statewide telephone number, there shall be a 16 special unlisted express telephone number and a telephone facsimile 17 number for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls, 18 or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the 19 commissioner of children and family services, alleging child abuse or 20 maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for 21 determining the existence of prior reports in order to evaluate the 22 condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in 23 such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse 24 or maltreatment, after utilizing protocols that would reduce implicit EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03747-01-3A. 2479 2 1 bias from the decision-making process, such allegations, the caller's 2 name, the caller's contact information and any previous reports to the 3 central registry involving the subject of such report or children named 4 in such report, including any previous report containing allegations of 5 child abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other counties 6 and districts in New York state shall be immediately transmitted orally 7 or electronically by the office of children and family services to the 8 appropriate local child protective service for investigation. The 9 inability of the person calling the register to identify the alleged 10 perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the 11 register to reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation 12 for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report concerning 13 a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a 14 sibling, other children in the household, other persons named in the 15 report or other pertinent information, the appropriate local child 16 protective service shall be immediately notified of the fact. If the 17 report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in 18 paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one thousand 19 twelve of the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death 20 of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment which alleges any physical 21 harm when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to 22 section four hundred thirteen of this title within six months of any 23 other two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involv- 24 ing the same child, sibling, or other children in the household or the 25 subject of the report, the office of children and family services shall 26 identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting 27 the report to the local child protective services for investigation. 28 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social services law is 29 amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows: 30 (d) A caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment 31 to the central registry shall be asked for their name and contact infor- 32 mation. No report shall be transmitted to a local child protective 33 service for investigation unless the caller's name and contact informa- 34 tion is provided. 35 § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 422 of the social services law, as 36 amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as 37 follows: 38 7. At any time, a subject of a report and other persons named in the 39 report may receive, upon request, a copy of all information contained in 40 the central register; provided, however, that the office of children and 41 family services shall not release information identifying a person who 42 made a report pursuant to section four hundred fourteen of this title 43 except with that person's permission or pursuant to subdivision (b) of 44 section one thousand thirty-eight of the family court act or pursuant to 45 section four hundred twenty-four-a of this title; and that the commis- 46 sioner is authorized to prohibit the release of data that would identify 47 [the person who made the report] persons or who cooperated in a subse- 48 quent investigation or the agency, institution, organization, program or 49 other entity where such person is employed or with which he or she is 50 associated, which he or she reasonably finds will be detrimental to the 51 safety or interests of such person. 52 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 53 section one of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth 54 day after it shall have become a law.
