Bill Text: NY S03158 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Enacts the child abuse reporting expansion act; relates to making clergy members required reporters of child abuse or mistreatment.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S03158 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S03158-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3158

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 30, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- read twice and ordered printed, and
          when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the
          "child abuse reporting expansion act"

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

     1    Section  1.  This  act  shall  be known and may be cited as the "child
     2  abuse reporting expansion act".
     3    § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1  of  section  413  of  the  social
     4  services  law,  as  amended  by section 7 of part C of chapter 57 of the
     5  laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
     6    (a) The following persons and officials  are  required  to  report  or
     7  cause  a  report to be made in accordance with this title when they have
     8  reasonable cause to suspect that a child coming  before  them  in  their
     9  professional  or  official capacity is an abused or maltreated child, or
    10  when they have reasonable cause to suspect that a child is an abused  or
    11  maltreated  child  where  the  parent,  guardian,  custodian [or], other
    12  person legally responsible for such child comes  before  them  in  their
    13  professional  or  official  capacity  and states from personal knowledge
    14  facts, conditions or circumstances which, if correct, would  render  the
    15  child an abused or maltreated child: any physician; registered physician
    16  assistant;  surgeon;  medical examiner; coroner; dentist; dental hygien-
    17  ist; osteopath; optometrist; chiropractor; podiatrist; resident; intern;
    18  psychologist; registered nurse; social worker; emergency medical techni-
    19  cian; licensed creative arts therapist;  licensed  marriage  and  family
    20  therapist;  licensed  mental  health  counselor; licensed psychoanalyst;
    21  licensed behavior analyst; certified behavior analyst assistant;  hospi-
    22  tal  personnel  engaged in the admission, examination, care or treatment
    23  of persons; a Christian Science practitioner;  clergy  member  or  other
    24  minister  of  any  religion;  school official, which includes but is not
    25  limited to school teacher, school guidance  counselor,  school  psychol-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01223-01-3

        S. 3158                             2

     1  ogist, school social worker, school nurse, school administrator or other
     2  school  personnel  required to hold a teaching or administrative license
     3  or certificate; full or part-time compensated school  employee  required
     4  to  hold  a  temporary coaching license or professional coaching certif-
     5  icate; social services worker; employee of a  publicly-funded  emergency
     6  shelter  for  families with children; director of a children's overnight
     7  camp, summer day camp or traveling summer day camp, as  such  camps  are
     8  defined in section thirteen hundred ninety-two of the public health law;
     9  day care center worker; school-age child care worker; provider of family
    10  or  group  family  day care; employee or volunteer in a residential care
    11  facility for children that is licensed, certified  or  operated  by  the
    12  office  of  children  and  family  services;  or any other child care or
    13  foster care worker; mental health professional; substance abuse  counse-
    14  lor;  alcoholism  counselor;  all  persons credentialed by the office of
    15  alcoholism and substance abuse services; employees, who are expected  to
    16  have  regular and substantial contact with children, of a health home or
    17  health home care management agency contracting with  a  health  home  as
    18  designated  by  the  department  of  health and authorized under section
    19  three hundred sixty-five-l of this chapter or such employees who provide
    20  home and community based services under a demonstration program pursuant
    21  to section eleven hundred fifteen of the federal social security act who
    22  are expected to have regular  and  substantial  contact  with  children;
    23  peace  officer;  police officer; district attorney or assistant district
    24  attorney; investigator employed in the office of a district attorney; or
    25  other law enforcement official.
    26    § 3. Subdivision 1 of section  413  of  the  social  services  law  is
    27  amended by adding five new paragraphs (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) to read
    28  as follows:
    29    (e)  Unless the person confessing or confiding waives the privilege, a
    30  member of the clergy, or other minister of any religion or duly  accred-
    31  ited  Christian  Science  practitioner,  shall not be required to make a
    32  report  as  required  by  paragraph  (a)  of  this  subdivision  if  the
    33  confession  or  confidence  was made to him or her in his or her profes-
    34  sional character as spiritual advisor.
    35    (f) When a member of the clergy has reasonable cause to suspect that a
    36  child is an abused  or  maltreated  child  based  upon  any  information
    37  received  other than through a confession or confidence made pursuant to
    38  paragraph (e) of this subdivision, then such member of the clergy  shall
    39  promptly  make a report as required by paragraph (a) of this subdivision
    40  notwithstanding the fact that he or she may have also received a  report
    41  of  abuse or maltreatment through a confession or confidence made pursu-
    42  ant to paragraph (e) of this subdivision.
    43    (g) The provisions of paragraph (e) of this subdivision shall  not  be
    44  deemed  to  exempt a member of the clergy from any other requirements of
    45  law to prevent the perpetrator from committing additional acts of abuse.
    46    (h) For the purposes of this subdivision the term "member of the cler-
    47  gy" shall have the same definition as the term "clergyman" as set  forth
    48  in  section two of the religious corporations law and shall also include
    49  any person responsible for supervising a member of the clergy of a reli-
    50  gious institution or responsible for the administration of  a  religious
    51  institution.
    52    (i)  For the purposes of this subdivision the term "religious institu-
    53  tion" shall mean a religious corporation created to enable  its  members
    54  to  meet  for divine worship or other religious observances or a congre-
    55  gation, society, or other assemblage of persons who  are  accustomed  to
    56  statedly meet for divine worship or other religious observances, without

        S. 3158                             3

     1  having been incorporated for that purpose, as provided in section two of
     2  the religious corporations law.
     3    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
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