Bill Text: NY S05484 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Requires child protective services to orally and in writing disclose certain information to parents and caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investigation; requires such oral and written disclosure to contain certain information regarding the rights of the person under investigation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-04-28 - PRINT NUMBER 5484B [S05484 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S05484-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         5484--B

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      March 8, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  BRISPORT,  BIAGGI, JACKSON, MYRIE, RAMOS, RIVERA,
          SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed
          to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee -- 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

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring  child
          protective  services  to  disclose  certain information to parents and
          caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investi-
          gation

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

     1    Section  1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
     2  424-c to read as follows:
     3    § 424-c. Information regarding parent or caretaker's rights.  A parent
     4  or caretaker has the right  to  receive  certain  information  regarding
     5  their  rights  at the initial point of contact during a child protective
     6  investigation.
     7    1. At the initial point of contact with a parent or  caretaker,  child
     8  protective  services  shall  orally  and  in writing disseminate, in the
     9  parent or caretaker's  preferred  language,  information  regarding  the
    10  parent  or  caretaker's rights during such investigation and shall docu-
    11  ment in the case record that such information has been provided  to  the
    12  parent  or  caretaker.  Such  information shall include, but need not be
    13  limited to, the following information:
    14    (a) The parent or caretaker is not required, unless court ordered,  to
    15  permit  the  child protective services representative to enter the resi-
    16  dence of the parent or caretaker;

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10274-06-2
        S. 5484--B                          2

     1    (b) The parent or caretaker who is the subject of the investigation is
     2  entitled to be informed of the allegations being investigated;
     3    (c)  The parent or caretaker is not required, unless court ordered, to
     4  speak with the child protective services representative, and any  state-
     5  ment  made  by  the parent, caretaker or other family member may be used
     6  against the parent or caretaker in an administrative or  court  proceed-
     7  ing;
     8    (d)  The  parent  or  caretaker  is  entitled to seek the advice of an
     9  attorney and to have an attorney present when the parent or caretaker is
    10  questioned by a child protective representative;
    11    (e) The parent or caretaker is not required, unless court ordered,  to
    12  allow a child protective services representative to interview or examine
    13  a child;
    14    (f)  The parent or caretaker is not required, unless court ordered, to
    15  agree to any requests made by  a  child  protective  services  represen-
    16  tative,  including,  but  not  limited to, requests to sign a release of
    17  information, to take a drug or alcohol test, or to  submit to  a  mental
    18  health evaluation;
    19    (g)  Contact  information  for  resources  which  may  be available to
    20  parents and caretakers during a child protective services investigation,
    21  including legal services from a designated organization.
    22    2. If at the initial point of contact with the parent or caretaker the
    23  child protective services worker has reasonable cause  to  believe  that
    24  exigent  circumstances  exist  that  present  an  imminent danger to the
    25  child's life or health and there is no time to seek a court order  under
    26  section  one  thousand  twenty-four  of  the family court act, the child
    27  protective services worker shall take all lawful measures  necessary  to
    28  protect  the  child's  life or health prior to disseminating information
    29  regarding the parent or  caretaker's  rights  during  the  investigation
    30  pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
    31    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.