Bill Text: NY A02479 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
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 20-2)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-28 - amended on third reading 2479a [A02479 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A02479-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2479--A Cal. No. 72 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 26, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, EPSTEIN, SIMON, McDONOUGH, CLARK, ALVA- REZ, JACKSON, RAGA, SEAWRIGHT, GIBBS, DE LOS SANTOS, DAVILA, TAPIA, MAMDANI, STECK, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, MITAYNES, SHRESTHA, SILLITTI, REYES, BRABENEC, FORREST -- read once and referred to the Committee on Chil- dren and Families -- ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading 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 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03747-09-4A. 2479--A 2 1 determining the existence of prior reports in order to evaluate the 2 condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in 3 such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse 4 or maltreatment, after utilizing protocols that would reduce implicit 5 bias from the decision-making process, such allegations, the caller's 6 name, the caller's contact information and any previous reports to the 7 central registry involving the subject of such report or children named 8 in such report, including any previous report containing allegations of 9 child abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other counties 10 and districts in New York state shall be immediately transmitted orally 11 or electronically by the office of children and family services to the 12 appropriate local child protective service for investigation. The 13 inability of the person calling the register to identify the alleged 14 perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the 15 register to reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation 16 for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report concerning 17 a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a 18 sibling, other children in the household, other persons named in the 19 report or other pertinent information, the appropriate local child 20 protective service shall be immediately notified of the fact. If the 21 report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in 22 paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one thousand 23 twelve of the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death 24 of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment which alleges any physical 25 harm when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to 26 section four hundred thirteen of this title within six months of any 27 other two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involv- 28 ing the same child, sibling, or other children in the household or the 29 subject of the report, the office of children and family services shall 30 identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting 31 the report to the local child protective services for investigation. 32 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 422 of the social services law is 33 amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows: 34 (d) A caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment 35 to the central registry shall be asked for their name and contact infor- 36 mation. No report shall be transmitted to a local child protective 37 service for investigation unless the caller's name and contact informa- 38 tion is provided. Except for disclosures authorized by subparagraphs 39 (a) through (c) and (e) through (bb) of paragraph (A) of subdivision 40 four of this section, and disclosure to the local child protective 41 service as required pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, 42 neither the commissioner nor the central register shall release the name 43 and contact information of a caller who made a report of suspected child 44 abuse or maltreatment unless ordered by an administrative law judge or a 45 court of competent jurisdiction; provided, however, that this provision 46 shall not apply to individuals who are mandated to report suspected 47 child abuse or maltreatment pursuant to section four hundred thirteen of 48 this title. Prior to the entry of any such order, the petitioner or 49 social services official may move for a protective order to withhold the 50 identity of such individual if such disclosure is likely to endanger the 51 life or health of the person reporting such suspected child abuse or 52 maltreatment. 53 § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 422 of the social services law, as 54 amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as 55 follows:A. 2479--A 3 1 7. At any time, a subject of a report and other persons named in the 2 report may receive, upon request, a copy of all information contained in 3 the central register; provided, however, that the office of children and 4 family services shall not release information identifying a person who 5 made a report pursuant to section four hundred fourteen of this title 6 except with that person's permission or pursuant to subdivision (b) of 7 section one thousand thirty-eight of the family court act or pursuant to 8 section four hundred twenty-four-a of this title; and that the commis- 9 sioner is authorized to prohibit the release of data that would identify 10 the person who made the report or who cooperated in a subsequent inves- 11 tigation or the agency, institution, organization, program or other 12 entity where such person is employed or with which [he] such person is 13 associated, which [he] the commissioner reasonably finds will be detri- 14 mental to the safety or interests of such person. 15 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 16 section one of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth 17 day after it shall have become a law.
