Bill Text: NY A02864 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes standards for caseloads for child protective services workers; requires the state to pay for one hundred percent of the costs associated with compliance of such caseload standard; makes related provisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to children and families [A02864 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A02864-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2864

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 27, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. HEVESI, MEEKS -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Children and Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to caseload  stand-
          ards for child protective services workers

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

     1    Section 1. Section 20-a of the social services law, as added by  chap-
     2  ter 107 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 20-a.  Local personnel; limitations on department's power.  Notwith-
     4  standing  any  inconsistent  provision  of  this chapter, the board, the
     5  commissioner or the department, acting singly or in  unison,  shall  not
     6  have  the  power,  directly  or  indirectly  to  prescribe the number of
     7  persons to be employed in any social  services  district  providing  the
     8  district  complies  with the minimum federal standards relating thereto;
     9  provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall  not  apply
    10  to  the regulations of the office of children and family services estab-
    11  lishing caseload standards for child protective services workers promul-
    12  gated pursuant to paragraph (a) of  subdivision  nine  of  section  four
    13  hundred twenty-one of this chapter.
    14    §  2.  Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 1 of section 153-k of the social
    15  services law, as added by section 15 of part C of chapter 83 of the laws
    16  of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
    17    (a) Expenditures made by social services districts for  child  protec-
    18  tive  services, preventive services provided, as applicable, to eligible
    19  children and families of children who are in  and  out  of  foster  care
    20  placement, independent living services, aftercare services, and adoption
    21  administration  and  services  other  than  adoption  subsidies provided
    22  pursuant to article six of this  chapter  and  the  regulations  of  the
    23  department  of  family  assistance  shall,  if approved by the office of
    24  children and family services, be subject  to  sixty-five  percent  state
    25  reimbursement  exclusive  of  any  federal funds made available for such

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05040-02-3
        A. 2864                             2

     1  purposes, in accordance with the directives of the department of  family
     2  assistance  and  subject  to the approval of the director of the budget.
     3  Provided however, for requirements prescribed  in  subdivision  nine  of
     4  section four hundred twenty-one of this chapter, such expenditures shall
     5  be  subject  to  one  hundred percent state reimbursement, provided that
     6  local social services districts continue to  maintain  current  expendi-
     7  tures related to child protective services at a level equal to or great-
     8  er than expenditures for such activities during the fiscal year prior to
     9  the effective date of a chapter of the laws of two thousand twenty-three
    10  which amended this paragraph.
    11    § 3. Section 421 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
    12  subdivision 9 to read as follows:
    13    9.  promulgate  regulations in consultation with local social services
    14  districts, relating to caseload standards for child protective  services
    15  workers. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to:
    16    (a)  limitations on the number of investigations which can be assigned
    17  to child protective services workers, provided however,  to  the  extent
    18  possible  and  within  amounts  appropriated  therefor, no more than two
    19  initial investigations per week may be assigned per full time equivalent
    20  child protective services worker; and
    21    (b) guidance as it relates to how such  investigations  are  assigned,
    22  taking  into  consideration the child protective services worker current
    23  caseload, as well as the complexity of the particular investigation,  if
    24  known.  Nothing  in  this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit the
    25  office from prescribing local social services districts from  establish-
    26  ing  caseload  standards  that  are  less  than what is required in this
    27  subdivision.
    28    § 4. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1  of  section  423  of  the  social
    29  services  law,  as amended by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995, is amended
    30  to read as follows:
    31    (c) The child protective service shall have  a  sufficient  staff,  in
    32  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  subdivision  nine of section four
    33  hundred twenty-one  of  this  title,  of  sufficient  qualifications  to
    34  fulfill  the purposes of this title and be organized in such a way as to
    35  maximize the continuity of responsibility, care and service of  individ-
    36  ual  workers  toward individual children and families. A social services
    37  district shall have flexibility in assigning staff to the child  protec-
    38  tive  service  provided that each staff assigned to such service has the
    39  staff qualifications and has  received  the  training  required  by  the
    40  department  regulations  promulgated  pursuant  to subdivisions four and
    41  five of section four hundred twenty-one of this title.
    42    § 5. Section 426 of the social services law,  as  amended  by  section
    43  11-a of part D of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, is amended to read as
    44  follows:
    45    § 426. Annual reports. The commissioner shall prepare for inclusion in
    46  the  annual  report  required by subdivision (d) of section seventeen of
    47  this chapter to be filed with the governor and the legislature prior  to
    48  December fifteenth of each year, a report on the operations of the state
    49  central  register  of child abuse and maltreatment and the various local
    50  child protective services. The report shall include a  full  statistical
    51  analysis  of  the  reports  made to the central register together with a
    52  report on the implementation of this title, his  or  her  evaluation  of
    53  services  offered  under this chapter and his or her recommendations for
    54  additional legislation to fulfill  the  purposes  of  this  title.  Such
    55  report shall indicate the number of child abuse and maltreatment reports
    56  and  cases received by the statewide central register of child abuse and
        A. 2864                             3

     1  maltreatment by each district in the preceding year, the number of  such
     2  cases  determined  to  have  been indicated and the number of such cases
     3  determined to be unfounded by each district in the preceding  year,  the
     4  number  of  such cases which have not been indicated or unfounded within
     5  the time period required by subdivision seven of  section  four  hundred
     6  twenty-four  of  this  [article] title by each district in the preceding
     7  year [and]. Such report shall also include a monthly accounting by local
     8  social services districts, of  the  total  number  of  child  protective
     9  services  workers  [assigned  to  the  child  protective service in each
    10  district in] with an indication of how many hold a supervisory position,
    11  as well as the average number  of  active  cases  per  child  protective
    12  services  worker,  with  an  indication  of how many were in the initial
    13  investigation stage at the time the information was  collected  for  the
    14  preceding  year.  Such  report  shall  include, among other information,
    15  available demographic information and available  information  concerning
    16  the  racial and ethnic characteristics of the family members and persons
    17  served by the differential response program  pursuant  to  section  four
    18  hundred  twenty-seven-a of [the social services law] this title, as well
    19  as available information concerning the  racial  and  ethnic  character-
    20  istics  of the family members and persons serviced under the traditional
    21  child  protective  services  program,  in  each  local  social  services
    22  district in the state.
    23    §  6.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately; provided, however,
    24  sections one, two, three and four of this act shall take effect  on  the
    25  seven  hundred thirtieth day after it shall have become a law; provided,
    26  further, however that the amendments to  section  153-k  of  the  social
    27  services law made by section two of this act shall not affect the repeal
    28  of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.