Bill Text: NY A07484 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires child protective services to document home visits as part of a treatment plan, supervision and monitoring, pursuant to a court order, or on an emergency basis with photographs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-11-20 - enacting clause stricken [A07484 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A07484-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7484
                              2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     May 13, 2015
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by M. of A. PERSAUD -- read once and referred to the Commit-
         tee on Children and Families
       AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring  child
         protective services to document home visits with photographs
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1.  This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as  "Marchella
    2  Pierce's Law".
    3    S  2.    Subdivision  3  of section 421 of the social services law, as
    4  amended by chapter 718 of the laws of 1986, paragraph (a) as amended  by
    5  chapter  110 of the laws of 1989 and the closing paragraph as amended by
    6  chapter 320 of the laws of 1990, is amended to read as follows:
    7    3. promulgate regulations setting forth requirements for the  perform-
    8  ance  by  local  social  services  departments  of the duties and powers
    9  imposed and conferred upon them by the provisions of this title  and  of
   10  article  ten  of  the family court act. Such regulations shall establish
   11  uniform requirements for the investigation of reports of child abuse  or
   12  maltreatment  under  this  title. The department shall also issue guide-
   13  lines which shall set forth the circumstances or conditions under which:
   14    (a) personal contact shall be made with the child named in the  report
   15  and  any  other  children  in the same household, including interviewing
   16  such child or children absent the subject of the report whenever  possi-
   17  ble and appropriate;
   18    (b) photographs of visible physical injuries or trauma of children who
   19  may  be  the victims of abuse or maltreatment shall be taken or arranged
   20  for;
   21    (c) medical examination of a child who may be a  victim  of  abuse  or
   22  maltreatment and documentation of findings of such examination, shall be
   23  required.
   24    The department shall promulgate regulations to establish standards for
   25  intervention,  criteria  for  case  closings,  criteria  for determining
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD07921-02-5
       A. 7484                             2
    1  whether or not to initiate a child protective proceeding,  and  criteria
    2  for  the  formulation  of  treatment plans and for the delivery of child
    3  protective services including specification of the services to be  clas-
    4  sified as child protective services, which shall also apply to any soci-
    5  ety  for  the prevention of cruelty to children which has entered into a
    6  currently valid contract with a local department of social  services  to
    7  investigate  child  abuse  or maltreatment reports. The department shall
    8  promulgate regulations establishing minimum standards and practices  for
    9  the  delivery of child protective services in connection with monitoring
   10  and supervising respondents and their families as ordered  by  a  family
   11  court  pursuant  to  section ten hundred thirty-nine and paragraphs (i),
   12  (iii), (iv) and (v) of subdivision (a) of section ten hundred  fifty-two
   13  of  the  family court act. THE DEPARTMENT SHALL REQUIRE THAT EVERY CASE-
   14  WORKER, CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEE OR ANY PERSON ACTING PURSUANT
   15  TO A CONTRACT FOR SERVICES WITH A LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES  DEPARTMENT  WHO
   16  HAS  CONTACT WITH A CHILD AS PART OF A TREATMENT PLAN OR SUPERVISION AND
   17  MONITORING, TO DOCUMENT EACH SUCH CONTACT WITH A DATE AND  TIME  STAMPED
   18  PHOTOGRAPH  OF THE FRONT DOOR OF THE RESIDENCE WHERE SUCH CHILD IS DOMI-
   19  CILED DURING SUCH VISIT OR CONTACT USING A GLOBAL POSITIONING  SATELLITE
   20  CAPABLE  TABLET,  CELLULAR  PHONE  OR COMPARABLE DEVICE. SUCH PHOTOGRAPH
   21  SHALL BE PART OF THE CONFIDENTIAL CASE RECORD FOR SUCH CHILD  AND  SHALL
   22  BE SUBJECT TO PERIODIC REVIEW BY THE SUPERVISOR OF THE CASE. SUCH PHOTO-
   23  GRAPH  MUST  BE OF SUFFICIENT QUALITY TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY THE FRONT DOOR
   24  OF THE RESIDENCE WHERE THE CHILD IS DOMICILED, AND CONTAIN ACCURATE DATA
   25  WITH REGARD TO THE TIME, DATE AND LOCATION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH. THE SUPER-
   26  VISING AUTHORITY SHALL ALSO REQUIRE THAT THE  CASEWORKER  GEOGRAPHICALLY
   27  DOCUMENT  SUCH  VISIT  UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY ALLOWING FOR SUCH GEOGRAPHIC
   28  DOCUMENTATION. IF THE PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN OBJECTS TO THE PHOTOGRAPH
   29  OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE RESIDENCE WHERE THE CHILD IS DOMICILED OR FOR THE
   30  GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION OF THE VISIT, THE CASEWORKER  SHALL  PROVIDE  A
   31  FORM,  SUPPLIED  BY  THE CASEWORKER'S AGENCY OF EMPLOYMENT, STATING THAT
   32  THE CASEWORKER CONDUCTED THE VISIT WITH THE CHILD AND VERIFIED THE  WELL
   33  BEING  OF  THE CHILD. SUCH FORM SHALL INDICATE WHICH PROCEDURE OR PROCE-
   34  DURES PRESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION WERE OBJECTED TO AND  SHALL  BE  SIGNED
   35  AND DATED BY BOTH THE CHILD'S PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN AND THE CASEWORK-
   36  ER.  SUCH FORM SHALL BE UTILIZED AT EACH VISIT WHERE EITHER A PHOTOGRAPH
   37  IS NOT TAKEN OR THE VISIT IS NOT GEOGRAPHICALLY DOCUMENTED.  Such  regu-
   38  lations  REQUIRED  UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION shall also require local child
   39  protective services to comply  with  notification  requirements  of  the
   40  family  court  act  in  connection  with such monitoring and supervisory
   41  responsibilities.
   42    S 3. Section 372 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
   43  subdivision 4-c to read as follows:
   44    4-C. THE RECORDS MAINTAINED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION BY ANY  CASEWORK-
   45  ER,  CHILD  PROTECTIVE SERVICES EMPLOYEE OR AUTHORIZED AGENCY AS DEFINED
   46  IN SECTION THREE HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE OF THIS TITLE WHO HAS CONTACT  WITH
   47  A  FOSTER  CHILD AS PART OF A TREATMENT PLAN OR SUPERVISION AND MONITOR-
   48  ING, SHALL INCLUDE DOCUMENTATION OF EACH SUCH CONTACT IN ACCORDANCE WITH
   49  THE REQUIREMENTS SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION FOUR  HUNDRED
   50  TWENTY-ONE OF THIS ARTICLE.
   51    S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
feedback