Bill Text: NY A10007 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to unsealing unfounded child abuse and maltreatment reports upon a court order finding that justice requires the information in such reports is necessary for the determination of charges being investigated by a grand jury or for the purposes of prosecuting a violation of the penal law or otherwise necessary for the furtherance of justice.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-01 - referred to children and families [A10007 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A10007-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10007

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 1, 2024
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the unsealing of
          unfounded  child  abuse  and  maltreatment  reports in certain circum-
          stances

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

     1    Section  1. Subparagraphs (iv) and (v) of paragraph (a) of subdivision
     2  5 of section 422 of  the  social  services  law,  subparagraph  (iv)  as
     3  amended  by  chapter  555  of  the  laws of 2000 and subparagraph (v) as
     4  amended by chapter 256 of the laws  of  2014,  are  amended  and  a  new
     5  subparagraph (vi) is added to read as follows:
     6    (iv) to the subject of the report; [and]
     7    (v)  to a district attorney, an assistant district attorney, an inves-
     8  tigator employed in the office of a district attorney,  or  to  a  sworn
     9  officer  of  the  division  of  state police, of a city, county, town or
    10  village police department or of a county sheriff's office (A) when  such
    11  official  [verifies]  affirms under oath that the report is necessary to
    12  conduct an active investigation or prosecution of a violation of  subdi-
    13  vision  four  of  section  240.50  of the penal law; or (B) upon a court
    14  order finding that the information in such report is necessary  for  the
    15  purpose  of  prosecuting  a  violation  of the penal law or is otherwise
    16  necessary for the furtherance of justice; and
    17    (vi) to a grand jury, upon a court order finding it necessary for  the
    18  determination of charges being investigated by such grand jury or other-
    19  wise necessary for the furtherance of justice.
    20    §  2.  Paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  5 of section 422 of the social
    21  services law, as amended by section 7 of part D of chapter  501  of  the
    22  laws of 2012, is amended to read as follows:
    23    (b) Persons given access to unfounded reports pursuant to subparagraph
    24  (v)  of  paragraph  (a)  of  this  subdivision shall not redisclose such
    25  reports except as necessary to conduct such appropriate investigation or
    26  prosecution and shall request of the  court  that  any  copies  of  such
    27  reports produced in any court proceeding be redacted to remove the names

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15211-02-4
        A. 10007                            2

     1  of the subjects and other persons named in the reports or that the court
     2  issue  an  order  protecting the names of the subjects and other persons
     3  named in the reports from public disclosure. The local child  protective
     4  service  or state agency shall not indicate the subsequent report solely
     5  based upon the existence of  the  prior  unfounded  report  or  reports.
     6  Notwithstanding  section four hundred fifteen of this title, section one
     7  thousand forty-six of the family court act,  or,  except  as  set  forth
     8  herein,  any other provision of law to the contrary, an unfounded report
     9  shall not be admissible in any judicial or administrative proceeding  or
    10  action;  provided,  however,  an unfounded report may be introduced into
    11  evidence: (i) by the subject of the  report  where  such  subject  is  a
    12  respondent  in a proceeding under article ten of the family court act or
    13  is a plaintiff or petitioner in a civil action  or  proceeding  alleging
    14  the false reporting of child abuse or maltreatment; [or] (ii) in a crim-
    15  inal  court  for  the purpose of prosecuting a violation of [subdivision
    16  four of section 240.50 of] the penal law; or (iii) in a  grand  jury  or
    17  other  judicial  proceeding for the purpose of determining charges being
    18  investigated by such grand jury. Legally sealed unfounded reports  shall
    19  be expunged ten years after the receipt of the report.
    20    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    21  have become a law.