Bill Text: NY S00902 | 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 19-1)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-06 - referred to children and families [S00902 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00902-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         902--B

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  BRISPORT,  BROUK, CHU, CLEARE, COMRIE, FERNANDEZ,
          GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN-SIGAL,  JACKSON,  MURRAY,  MYRIE,  RAMOS,
          RIVERA,  SALAZAR,  SANDERS, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, WEBB -- read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Children  and Families -- recommitted to the Committee on Children and
          Families in accordance  with  Senate  Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to  said  committee  --  reported  favorably  from  said committee and
          committed to the Committee on Finance --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee

        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

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03747-10-4

        S. 902--B                           2

     1  special unlisted express telephone  number  and  a  telephone  facsimile
     2  number  for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone calls,
     3  or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the
     4  commissioner  of  children  and family services, alleging child abuse or
     5  maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for
     6  determining the existence of prior reports  in  order  to  evaluate  the
     7  condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in
     8  such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse
     9  or  maltreatment,  after  utilizing protocols that would reduce implicit
    10  bias from the decision-making process, such  allegations,  the  caller's
    11  name,  the  caller's contact information and any previous reports to the
    12  central registry involving the subject of such report or children  named
    13  in  such report, including any previous report containing allegations of
    14  child abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other  counties
    15  and  districts in New York state shall be immediately transmitted orally
    16  or electronically by the office of children and family services  to  the
    17  appropriate  local  child  protective  service  for  investigation.  The
    18  inability of the person calling the register  to  identify  the  alleged
    19  perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the
    20  register  to  reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation
    21  for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report  concerning
    22  a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a
    23  sibling,  other  children  in  the household, other persons named in the
    24  report or other  pertinent  information,  the  appropriate  local  child
    25  protective  service  shall  be  immediately notified of the fact. If the
    26  report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in
    27  paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one  thousand
    28  twelve  of  the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death
    29  of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment  which  alleges  any  physical
    30  harm  when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to
    31  section four hundred thirteen of this title within  six  months  of  any
    32  other  two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involv-
    33  ing the same child, sibling, or other children in the household  or  the
    34  subject  of the report, the office of children and family services shall
    35  identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting
    36  the report to the local child protective services for investigation.
    37    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section  422  of  the  social  services  law  is
    38  amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
    39    (d)  A caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment
    40  to the central registry shall be asked for their name and contact infor-
    41  mation. No report shall be  transmitted  to  a  local  child  protective
    42  service  for investigation unless the caller's name and contact informa-
    43  tion is provided.  Except for disclosures  authorized  by  subparagraphs
    44  (a)  through  (c)  and  (e) through (bb) of paragraph (A) of subdivision
    45  four of this section, and  disclosure  to  the  local  child  protective
    46  service  as  required  pursuant  to  paragraph  (a) of this subdivision,
    47  neither the commissioner nor the central register shall release the name
    48  and contact information of a caller who made a report of suspected child
    49  abuse or maltreatment unless ordered by an administrative law judge or a
    50  court of competent jurisdiction; provided, however, that this  provision
    51  shall  not  apply  to  individuals  who are mandated to report suspected
    52  child abuse or maltreatment pursuant to section four hundred thirteen of
    53  this title.  Prior to the entry of any such  order,  the  petitioner  or
    54  social services official may move for a protective order to withhold the
    55  identity of such individual if such disclosure is likely to endanger the

        S. 902--B                           3

     1  life  or  health  of  the person reporting such suspected child abuse or
     2  maltreatment.
     3    §  3.  Subdivision  7  of  section  422 of the social services law, as
     4  amended by chapter 434 of the laws  of  1989,  is  amended  to  read  as
     5  follows:
     6    7.  At  any time, a subject of a report and other persons named in the
     7  report may receive, upon request, a copy of all information contained in
     8  the central register; provided, however, that the office of children and
     9  family services shall not release information identifying a  person  who
    10  made  a  report  pursuant to section four hundred fourteen of this title
    11  except with that person's permission or pursuant to subdivision  (b)  of
    12  section one thousand thirty-eight of the family court act or pursuant to
    13  section  four  hundred twenty-four-a of this title; and that the commis-
    14  sioner is authorized to prohibit the release of data that would identify
    15  the person who made the report or who cooperated in a subsequent  inves-
    16  tigation  or  the  agency,  institution,  organization, program or other
    17  entity where such person is employed or with which [he] such  person  is
    18  associated,  which [he] the commissioner reasonably finds will be detri-
    19  mental to the safety or interests of such person.
    20    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
    21  section  one  of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth
    22  day after it shall have become a law.
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