Bill Text: NY S00551 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requires child protective services to orally and in writing disclose certain information to parents and caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investigation; requires such oral and written disclosure to contain certain information regarding the rights of the person under investigation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 22-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-08 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S00551 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S00551-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           551

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 8, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  BRISPORT,  BAILEY, BROUK, CLEARE, COMRIE, COONEY,
          FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, LIU,
          MAY, MYRIE, RAMOS, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SANDERS, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO,  WEBB
          -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
          the Committee on Children and Families

        AN  ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring child
          protective services to disclose certain  information  to  parents  and
          caretakers who are the subject of a child protective services investi-
          gation

          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  424-c to read as follows:
     3    § 424-c. Information regarding parent or caretaker's rights.  A parent
     4  or  caretaker  has  the  right  to receive certain information regarding
     5  their rights at the initial point of contact during a  child  protective
     6  services investigation.
     7    1. Upon receiving a report of alleged maltreatment or abuse of a child
     8  pursuant  to section four hundred fifteen of this title child protective
     9  services shall, at the initial point of contact with a parent  or  care-
    10  taker,  orally  and  in  writing  disseminate,  in plain language of the
    11  parent or caretaker's  preferred  language,  information  regarding  the
    12  parent  or  caretaker's rights during such investigation and shall docu-
    13  ment in the case record that such information has been provided  to  the
    14  parent  or  caretaker.  Such  information shall include, but need not be
    15  limited to, the following information:
    16    (a) The parent or caretaker  is  not  required  to  permit  the  child
    17  protective  services representative to enter the residence of the parent
    18  or caretaker;
    19    (b) The parent or caretaker who is the subject of the investigation is
    20  entitled to be informed of the allegations being investigated;
    21    (c) The parent or caretaker is not required to speak  with  the  child
    22  protective  services  representative,  and  any  statement  made  by the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00066-01-5
        S. 551                              2

     1  parent, caretaker or other family member may be used against the  parent
     2  or caretaker in an administrative or court proceeding;
     3    (d)  The  parent  or  caretaker  is  entitled to seek the advice of an
     4  attorney and to have an attorney present when the parent or caretaker is
     5  questioned by a child protective services representative,  including  at
     6  any  meeting conducted with the parent or caretaker to determine whether
     7  the parent or caretaker's child should be removed from the home;
     8    (e) The child protective services representative is  not  an  attorney
     9  and cannot provide legal advice to the parent or caretaker;
    10    (f)  The  parent or caretaker is not required to allow a child protec-
    11  tive services representative to interview or examine a child;
    12    (g) The parent or caretaker is not required to sign  any  document  or
    13  accept  any  services presented by a child protective services represen-
    14  tative, and is entitled to have an attorney  review  any  such  document
    15  before agreeing to sign it;
    16    (h)  Contact  information  for  resources  which  may  be available to
    17  parents and caretakers during a child protective services investigation,
    18  including legal services from a designated organization; and
    19    (i) The parent or caretaker  is  entitled  to  exercise  any  and  all
    20  rights.    Regardless of whether the parent or caretaker exercises their
    21  rights, child protective services is required to determine how  best  to
    22  assess  the safety of the child or children. The parent or caretaker may
    23  wish to speak with an attorney or advocate before they determine how  to
    24  proceed.
    25    2.  The child protective services representative shall make reasonable
    26  efforts to ensure that the notice and all  information  required  to  be
    27  provided  to  a  parent or caretaker pursuant to subdivision one of this
    28  section is written in a manner which will be understood by the parent or
    29  guardian, including, but not limited to, ensuring that  the  notice  and
    30  information  is written in the preferred language of the parent or care-
    31  taker. In the event the preferred language of the parent or caretaker is
    32  unknown prior to the initial contact, a child preventive services repre-
    33  sentative may provide the information  orally  utilizing  a  translation
    34  service.
    35    3.  The  child  protective services representative shall sign and date
    36  the notice described in subdivision one of this section as  evidence  of
    37  having  provided  the  notice  at  the first point of contact. The child
    38  protective services representative shall provide the parent or caretaker
    39  with a copy of the signed notice at the time.
    40    4. If at the initial point of contact with the parent or caretaker the
    41  child protective services representative has reasonable cause to believe
    42  that exigent circumstances exist that present an imminent danger to  the
    43  child's  life or health and there is no time to seek a court order under
    44  section one thousand twenty-four of the  family  court  act,  the  child
    45  protective services representative shall take all lawful measures neces-
    46  sary to protect the child's life or health prior to disseminating infor-
    47  mation  regarding  the  parent or caretaker's rights during the investi-
    48  gation pursuant to subdivision one of this section.
    49    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    50  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    51  repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
    52  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
    53  on or before such effective date.