STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6357--B 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 18, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MANNION, BORRELLO, COMRIE, FERNANDEZ, ROLISON, WEBER -- 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 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to allowing for child protective services workers to complete certain required train- ing through distance learning methods The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 5 of section 421 of the social 2 services law, as amended by chapter 525 of the laws of 2006, is amended 3 to read as follows: 4 (b) promulgate regulations setting forth training requirements which 5 shall specify, among other things, that all persons hired by a child 6 protective service on or after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six 7 shall have satisfactorily completed a course approved by the department 8 within the first three months of employment, in the fundamentals of 9 child protection, provided, however, that on or after April first, two 10 thousand twenty-five, such course may be satisfactorily completed 11 through distance learning methods which evince that all participants are 12 in attendance for the duration of the course and are able to ask ques- 13 tions of the instructor. Each county shall be authorized to adopt a 14 local law, ordinance or resolution to provide for a local department of 15 social services to fulfill the training requirement established by this 16 paragraph through a distance learning method, excluding the annual in 17 service training requirement. Such course shall include at least basic 18 training in the principles and techniques of investigations, including 19 relationships with other investigative bodies, legal issues in child EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10845-05-4S. 6357--B 2 1 protection, and methods of remediation, diagnosis, treatment and 2 prevention. Such regulations shall also specify that all persons 3 employed by a child protective service on or after December first, two 4 thousand six shall satisfactorily complete six hours of annual in 5 service training, beginning in their second year of employment. Such 6 annual in service training shall include, but is not limited to, review 7 of the protocols for identification and investigation of child abuse and 8 maltreatment, any developments in legal, treatment and prevention issues 9 in child protection, and review and analysis of field experiences of 10 child protective services workers. 11 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.