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. LBD03747-10-4S. 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 theS. 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.
