Bill Text: NY A00066 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced


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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - referred to children and families [A00066 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A00066-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           66

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. HEVESI, EPSTEIN, SIMON, CLARK, JACKSON, RAGA,
          GIBBS, DE LOS SANTOS, TAPIA, MAMDANI, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, FORREST --  read
          once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families

        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
    16  special  unlisted  express  telephone  number  and a telephone facsimile
    17  number for use only by persons mandated by law to make telephone  calls,
    18  or to transmit telephone facsimile information on a form provided by the
    19  commissioner  of  children  and family services, alleging child abuse or
    20  maltreatment, and for use by all persons so authorized by this title for
    21  determining the existence of prior reports  in  order  to  evaluate  the
    22  condition or circumstances of a child. When any allegations contained in

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00298-01-5

        A. 66                               2

     1  such telephone calls could reasonably constitute a report of child abuse
     2  or  maltreatment,  after  utilizing protocols that would reduce implicit
     3  bias from the decision-making process, such  allegations,  the  caller's
     4  name,  the  caller's contact information and any previous reports to the
     5  central registry involving the subject of such report or children  named
     6  in  such report, including any previous report containing allegations of
     7  child abuse and maltreatment alleged to have occurred in other  counties
     8  and  districts in New York state shall be immediately transmitted orally
     9  or electronically by the office of children and family services  to  the
    10  appropriate  local  child  protective  service  for  investigation.  The
    11  inability of the person calling the register  to  identify  the  alleged
    12  perpetrator shall, in no circumstance, constitute the sole cause for the
    13  register  to  reject such allegation or fail to transmit such allegation
    14  for investigation. If the records indicate a previous report  concerning
    15  a subject of the report, the child alleged to be abused or maltreated, a
    16  sibling,  other  children  in  the household, other persons named in the
    17  report or other  pertinent  information,  the  appropriate  local  child
    18  protective  service  shall  be  immediately notified of the fact. If the
    19  report involves either (i) an allegation of an abused child described in
    20  paragraph (i), (ii) or (iii) of subdivision (e) of section one  thousand
    21  twelve  of  the family court act or sexual abuse of a child or the death
    22  of a child or (ii) suspected maltreatment  which  alleges  any  physical
    23  harm  when the report is made by a person required to report pursuant to
    24  section four hundred thirteen of this title within  six  months  of  any
    25  other  two reports that were indicated, or may still be pending, involv-
    26  ing the same child, sibling, or other children in the household  or  the
    27  subject  of the report, the office of children and family services shall
    28  identify the report as such and note any prior reports when transmitting
    29  the report to the local child protective services for investigation.
    30    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section  422  of  the  social  services  law  is
    31  amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read as follows:
    32    (d)  A caller making a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment
    33  to the central registry shall be asked for their name and contact infor-
    34  mation. No report shall be  transmitted  to  a  local  child  protective
    35  service  for investigation unless the caller's name and contact informa-
    36  tion is provided.  Except for disclosures  authorized  by  subparagraphs
    37  (a)  through  (c)  and  (e) through (bb) of paragraph (A) of subdivision
    38  four of this section, and  disclosure  to  the  local  child  protective
    39  service  as  required  pursuant  to  paragraph  (a) of this subdivision,
    40  neither the commissioner nor the central register shall release the name
    41  and contact information of a caller who made a report of suspected child
    42  abuse or maltreatment unless ordered by an administrative law judge or a
    43  court of competent jurisdiction; provided, however, that this  provision
    44  shall  not  apply  to  individuals  who are mandated to report suspected
    45  child abuse or maltreatment pursuant to section four hundred thirteen of
    46  this title.  Prior to the entry of any such  order,  the  petitioner  or
    47  social services official may move for a protective order to withhold the
    48  identity of such individual if such disclosure is likely to endanger the
    49  life  or  health  of  the person reporting such suspected child abuse or
    50  maltreatment.
    51    § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 422  of  the  social  services  law,  as
    52  amended  by  chapter  434  of  the  laws  of 1989, is amended to read as
    53  follows:
    54    7. At any time, a subject of a report and other persons named  in  the
    55  report may receive, upon request, a copy of all information contained in
    56  the central register; provided, however, that the office of children and

        A. 66                               3

     1  family  services  shall not release information identifying a person who
     2  made a report pursuant to section four hundred fourteen  of  this  title
     3  except  with  that person's permission or pursuant to subdivision (b) of
     4  section one thousand thirty-eight of the family court act or pursuant to
     5  section  four  hundred twenty-four-a of this title; and that the commis-
     6  sioner is authorized to prohibit the release of data that would identify
     7  the person who made the report or who cooperated in a subsequent  inves-
     8  tigation  or  the  agency,  institution,  organization, program or other
     9  entity where such person is employed or with which [he] such  person  is
    10  associated,  which [he] the commissioner reasonably finds will be detri-
    11  mental to the safety or interests of such person.
    12    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
    13  section  one  of this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth
    14  day after it shall have become a law.
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