Bill Text: NY A00164 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits certain enumerated child care facilities from employing or using as volunteers, persons convicted of certain enumerated offenses; allows the facilities to have access to criminal records of its volunteers and employees and prospective volunteers and employees.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to children and families [A00164 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A00164-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 164 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Children and Families AN ACT to amend the social services law and the executive law, in relation to day care for children 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 2 378-b to read as follows: 3 § 378-b. Certificates and licenses; record access; prohibitions. 1. 4 Notwithstanding the provisions of any law, rule or regulation to the 5 contrary, no license, permit, certificate or registration shall be 6 issued by the department or any authorized agency to an applicant to 7 operate a child day care center, head start day care center program 8 funded pursuant to title V of the federal economic opportunity act of 9 1964, school age child care program, group family day care home, family 10 day care home, nor where granted, shall any such license, permit, 11 certificate or registration be renewed for any such entity, if the 12 applicant and/or operator thereof shall have been convicted of a violent 13 felony offense as defined in section 70.02 of the penal law, or shall 14 have been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony as defined in articles 15 one hundred twenty, one hundred twenty-five, one hundred thirty, one 16 hundred thirty-five, two hundred five, two hundred twenty, two hundred 17 twenty-one, two hundred thirty, two hundred thirty-five, two hundred 18 forty-five, two hundred fifty-five, two hundred sixty, two hundred 19 sixty-three and two hundred sixty-five of the penal law. 20 2. No such entity shall employ any assistant or employee, nor shall it 21 accept any person for volunteer activity in any such entity, if such 22 assistant, employee or volunteer has been convicted of any offense as 23 enumerated in subdivision one of this section. Every such entity, as 24 enumerated in subdivision one of this section, may obtain, with the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01908-01-3A. 164 2 1 consent of the volunteer or prospective volunteer or employee or 2 prospective employee of such entity, the conviction records maintained 3 by the division of criminal justice services pertaining to such volun- 4 teer or prospective volunteer or employee or prospective employee; 5 provided, however, that conviction records shall be requested only for 6 volunteers or prospective volunteers, employees or prospective employees 7 who have direct contact, as determined by such entity, with children 8 served by such entity. The fee for such record shall be paid by such 9 entity. 10 3. The conviction record shall be marked "confidential" upon receipt 11 by the person who has requested such records. Only such person shall 12 have access to such conviction record, and such conviction record shall 13 at all times be maintained in a secure place in order to insure such 14 confidentiality. A person who wilfully violates the confidentiality 15 required by this subdivision shall be guilty of a class E felony. 16 4. Prior to requesting a conviction record of a volunteer or prospec- 17 tive volunteer or employee or prospective employee from the division of 18 criminal justice services, a representative of such entity shall inform 19 any such person who works directly with children in any activities 20 authorized by such entity that a request for a conviction record and 21 review thereof is required in order for such person to continue in the 22 same capacity or for such prospective volunteer or employee to be 23 accepted by such entity. Such person shall sign a form provided by the 24 division of criminal justice services stating that such person has been 25 informed of the reason for a request for his or her conviction record 26 and consents to such request. Such form shall accompany each request for 27 a conviction record made by the person of such entity requesting the 28 record. 29 5. After being informed of the requirement for such entity to obtain 30 his or her conviction record and before such person gives consent to the 31 provision of such record to such entity, a person may have access to his 32 or her conviction record as maintained by the division of criminal 33 justice services pursuant to the procedures of such division. Such 34 person shall be provided with all necessary information regarding access 35 to such records by a representative of such entity. Such person shall 36 also be provided by such division with information regarding procedures 37 for such person to verify the accuracy of such records. Such person 38 shall notify such entity if he or she wishes to have access to his or 39 her conviction record prior to giving consent to such entity's request 40 for such record. 41 6. A prospective volunteer or employee may withdraw from the applica- 42 tion process, whether or not he or she has had access to his or her 43 conviction record and whether or not such record has been received by 44 such entity, without prejudice. If the conviction record of such person 45 has been received by such entity, the person designated by such entity 46 to have access to conviction records shall destroy such record if the 47 prospective volunteer or employee is not hired and/or accepted by such 48 entity or withdraws from the application process. 49 7. The conviction record of such a person shall be destroyed by the 50 person designated by such entity to have access to conviction records 51 when such volunteer or employee no longer has direct contact with chil- 52 dren served by such entity. 53 8. The provisions of this section shall not, however, be applicable to 54 any person who has a minor child under the care and supervision of such 55 entity where he or she volunteers or is employed or seeks employment.A. 164 3 1 9. The division of criminal justice services shall respond to any 2 request for a conviction record which is accompanied by a form signed by 3 the subject of such request consenting to the provision of such record 4 made pursuant to this section within fourteen days after such inquiry is 5 received. The commissioner of such division shall promulgate rules and 6 regulations providing for a hearing for a prospective volunteer or 7 volunteer or employee or prospective employee before representatives of 8 such division and the department for purposes of verifying the accuracy 9 of his or her conviction record and for access by such persons to perti- 10 nent documents related thereto. 11 10. For purposes of this section, "conviction record" shall mean any 12 record maintained by the division of criminal justice services of 13 convictions of a crime in violation of the penal law or any other law of 14 another jurisdiction which, if committed in this state, would constitute 15 a crime. 16 § 2. Subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law, as amended 17 by chapter 561 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows: 18 8-a. Charge a fee when, pursuant to statute or the regulations of the 19 division, it conducts a search of its criminal history records and 20 returns a report thereon in connection with an application for employ- 21 ment or for a license or permit or returns a conviction report thereon 22 as required by section three hundred seventy-eight-b of the social 23 services law. The division shall adopt and may, from time to time, 24 amend a schedule of such fees which shall be in amounts determined by 25 the division to be reasonably related to the cost of conducting such 26 searches and returning reports thereon but, in no event, shall any such 27 fee exceed twenty-five dollars and an additional surcharge of fifty 28 dollars. The comptroller is hereby authorized to deposit such fees into 29 the general fund, provided, however, that the monies received by the 30 division of criminal justice services for payment of the additional 31 surcharge shall be deposited in equal amounts to the general fund and to 32 the fingerprint identification and technology account. Notwithstanding 33 the foregoing, the division shall not request or accept any fee for 34 searching its records and supplying a criminal history report pursuant 35 to section two hundred fifty-one-b of the general business law relating 36 to participating in flight instruction at any aeronautical facility, 37 flight school or institution of higher learning. 38 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 39 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 40 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 41 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 42 completed on or before such effective date.
