Bill Text: NY A07332 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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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 - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to ways and means [A07332 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A07332-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7332--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 5, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Children  and  Families  --  committee  discharged,  bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        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

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10909-03-1
        A. 7332--A                          2

     1  reimbursement  exclusive  of  any  federal funds made available for such
     2  purposes, in accordance with the directives of the department of  family
     3  assistance  and  subject  to the approval of the director of the budget.
     4  Provided  however,  for  requirements  prescribed in subdivision nine of
     5  section four hundred twenty-one of this chapter, such expenditures shall
     6  be subject to one hundred percent  state  reimbursement,  provided  that
     7  local  social  services  districts continue to maintain current expendi-
     8  tures related to child protective services at a level equal to or great-
     9  er than expenditures for such activities during the fiscal year prior to
    10  the effective date of a chapter of the laws of two  thousand  twenty-one
    11  which amended this paragraph.
    12    § 3. Section 421 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
    13  subdivision 9 to read as follows:
    14    9.  promulgate  regulations in consultation with local social services
    15  districts, relating to caseload standards for child protective  services
    16  workers. Such standards shall include, but not be limited to:  (a) limi-
    17  tations  on  the number of investigations which can be assigned to child
    18  protective services workers, provided however, to  the  extent  possible
    19  and  within  amounts  appropriated  therefor,  no  more than two initial
    20  investigations per week may be assigned per full time  equivalent  child
    21  protective  services  worker; and (b) guidance as it relates to how such
    22  investigations are assigned, taking into consideration the child protec-
    23  tive services worker current caseload, as well as the complexity of  the
    24  particular investigation, if known. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
    25  construed  to prohibit the office from prescribing local social services
    26  districts from establishing caseload standards that are less  than  what
    27  is required in this 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. 7332--A                          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 sections
    24  one,  two,  three  and  four  of this act shall take effect on the seven
    25  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.