STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4536 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sens. PARKER, ADDABBO, CARLUCCI, GRIFFO, MONTGOMERY, RANZENHOFER, SAVINO, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the domestic relations law and the family court act, in relation to prohibiting the making of decisions concerning guardian- ship, custody or visitation or adoption petitions solely on the basis of a parent's, guardian's or custodian's blindness; and to amend the social services law, in relation to prohibiting the department of social services from denying, deciding or opposing a petition or request for guardianship, custody or visitation solely because the petitioner is blind and to prohibiting a local social services agency from taking actions solely because a parent, custodian or guardian is blind 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 "blind 2 persons right to parent act". 3 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature finds the following: 4 a. All blind Americans have the right to found a family, to freely and 5 responsibly decide on the number and spacing of their children, and to 6 retain the custody of their offspring on an equal basis with others. 7 This right to parent is rooted in the due process clause of the Four- 8 teenth Amendment; however, blind people are often stripped of these 9 constitutional rights when state statutes, judicial decisions, and child 10 welfare practices are based on the presumption that blindness automat- 11 ically means parental incompetence. 12 b. The presumption that blindness automatically means parental incom- 13 petence is a misconception. Given the proper tools and education, blind- 14 ness can be reduced to a physical nuisance. Because many sighted people 15 do not understand the techniques that blind people use to accomplish 16 everyday tasks, sighted judges, social workers, and state official EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01687-01-9S. 4536 2 1 assume that those tasks cannot be completed by a blind person. Using 2 alternative techniques, blind people are capable of living independent, 3 productive lives, which include providing safe and loving homes for 4 their children. For example, blind people put small tactile dots over 5 markers on stoves, washing machines, and other flat surfaces so that 6 they can independently operate those devices. Specific to raising chil- 7 dren, blind parents may have their young children wear a small bell on 8 their shoes so the child's location can be known to the parents. Blind 9 parents will also pull a stroller behind them rather than push the 10 stroller in front of them so their long white cane or guide dog will 11 find obstacles or enter an intersection before the child and stroller. 12 c. When sighted parents are involved in a guardianship, custody or 13 visitation proceeding, their parental capabilities and how those capa- 14 bilities affect the best interest of the child are thoroughly evaluated 15 through a careful review of evidence. Too often, however, judges summar- 16 ily dismiss a blind parent's capabilities under the misconception that 17 blind people are incapable of most anything, despite evidence on record 18 proving otherwise. Blind parents involved in these proceedings must 19 first overcome any bias or low expectations of the judge, and then also 20 provide evidence negating those misconceptions above and beyond the 21 normal burden placed on sighted parents. 22 d. Widespread misconceptions about blindness often trigger a state 23 agency to act, unsolicited, against the wishes of a blind parent. One of 24 many countless, devastating reports of discrimination occurred in 2010, 25 when the state of Missouri wrongfully deemed a blind couple unable to 26 care for their 2-day old daughter, who remained in protective custody 27 until the family was reunited after a 57-day battle. These parents had 28 done nothing to demonstrate parental incompetence other than happening 29 to have had a child and been blind, and yet the agency solely considered 30 their blindness and decided to take action. In fact, the Missouri case 31 and many others, the parents had voluntarily contacted social service 32 officials themselves in order to seek advice and assistance and to 33 ensure that all of their child's needs were being met, but instead found 34 themselves stripped of custody. Thus, hasty actions on the part of state 35 social welfare officials can discourage blind parents from seeking 36 services and assistance for which they and their children are eligible. 37 e. During custody proceedings in cases of divorce, where one parent is 38 blind and the other is sighted, the sighted parent will often try to use 39 the other parent's blindness as a tool to deny the blind parent custo- 40 dial rights. Because custody proceedings related to a divorce are often 41 hostile, the court should demand that each party demonstrate evidence of 42 the other party's incompetence. However, courts often assume that the 43 sighted party is accurate in portraying the blind parent as incompetent, 44 and make custody and visitation decisions based solely on the fact that 45 one parent is blind. These decisions can range from limiting or denying 46 visitation unless a sighted person is present at all times to simply 47 denying the blind parent all custodial rights. This is not only discri- 48 minatory; it denies the blind parent a fair chance at custody and opens 49 courts to manipulation. 50 § 3. The domestic relations law is amended by adding a new section 51 75-m to read as follows: 52 § 75-m. Consideration of blindness during guardianship, custody or 53 visitation proceedings. 1. The court may not deny or decide a petition 54 for guardianship, custody or visitation solely on the basis that the 55 petitioner is blind. The blindness of the petitioner shall be considered 56 relevant only to the extent that the court finds, based on evidence inS. 4536 3 1 the record, that the blindness affects the best interests of the child 2 whose guardianship, custody or visitation is the subject of the peti- 3 tion. 4 2. As used in this section, "blind" or "blindness" means: 5 a. vision that is 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye; or 6 b. vision that subtends an angle of not greater than twenty degrees in 7 the best corrected eye. 8 § 4. The domestic relations law is amended by adding a new section 9 111-d to read as follows: 10 § 111-d. Consideration of blindness during adoption proceedings. 1. 11 The court may not deny or decide a petition for adoption solely on the 12 basis that the petitioner is blind. The blindness of the petitioner 13 shall be considered relevant only to the extent that the court finds, 14 based on evidence in the record, that the blindness affects the best 15 interests of the child whose adoption is the subject of the petition. 16 2. As used in this section, "blind" or "blindness" means: 17 a. vision that is 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye; or 18 b. vision that subtends an angle of not greater than twenty degrees in 19 the best corrected eye. 20 § 5. The family court act is amended by adding a new section 643 to 21 read as follows: 22 § 643. Consideration of blindness during adoption proceedings. 1. The 23 court may not deny or decide a petition for adoption solely on the basis 24 that the petitioner is blind. The blindness of the petitioner shall be 25 considered relevant only to the extent that the court finds, based on 26 evidence in the record, that the blindness affects the best interests of 27 the child whose adoption is the subject of the petition. 28 2. As used in this section, "blind" or "blindness" means: 29 a. vision that is 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye; or 30 b. vision that subtends an angle of not greater than twenty degrees in 31 the best corrected eye. 32 § 6. The family court act is amended by adding a new section 658 to 33 read as follows: 34 § 658. Consideration of blindness during guardianship, custody or 35 visitation proceedings. 1. The court may not deny or decide a petition 36 for custody or visitation under this part or guardianship under part 37 four of this article solely on the basis that the petitioner is blind. 38 The blindness of the petitioner shall be considered relevant only to the 39 extent that the court finds, based on evidence in the record, that the 40 blindness affects the best interests of the child whose guardianship, 41 custody or visitation is the subject of the petition. 42 2. As used in this section, "blind" or "blindness" means: 43 a. vision that is 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye; or 44 b. vision that subtends an angle of not greater than twenty degrees in 45 the best corrected eye. 46 § 7. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 393 to 47 read as follows: 48 § 393. Consideration of blindness during guardianship, custody or 49 adoption proceedings. 1. The department may not deny, decide or oppose a 50 petition or request for guardianship, custody or visitation under this 51 article solely on the basis that the petitioner, parent, guardian or 52 custodian is blind. The blindness of the petitioner, parent, guardian or 53 custodian shall be considered relevant only to the extent that the 54 blindness affects the best interests of the child whose guardianship, 55 custody or visitation is the subject of the petition.S. 4536 4 1 2. The department shall not seek custody or guardianship of a child 2 solely because the child's parent, guardian or custodian is blind. The 3 blindness of the parent, guardian or custodian shall be considered rele- 4 vant only to the extent that the blindness affects the best interests of 5 the child whose guardianship, custody or visitation is the subject of 6 the petition. 7 3. As used in this section, "blind" or "blindness" means: 8 a. vision that is 20/200 or less in the best corrected eye; or 9 b. vision that subtends an angle of not greater than twenty degrees in 10 the best corrected eye. 11 § 8. The commissioner of social services is authorized and directed to 12 promulgate rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the 13 provisions of this act on or before its effective date. 14 § 9. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 15 have become a law.